I'm not an expert in transoms or steam shower design, but I'm surprised nobody has yet said why they were invented, get installed, and are used. 1/ Steam machines make steam. More and more of it. Without new steam, the experience of a steam shower can be less and less enjoyable. New steam is needed. It actually puts pressure on the walls, and in 24hour commercial steam showers this is a big thing. But, even at home, where does all the water vapor go? It doesn't all become liquid (condensation) and go into the drain. 2/ :: Plan where it will go, otherwise it will go places you don't want it to go. A transom is a safety valve putting your excess steam into the bathroom, from where the fan exhausts it. 3/ :: Otherwise steam seeps into everything. Wall-ceiling junctions. Light fixtures. Into the attic insulation. Water vapor can penetrate anything, because it has time on its side, and the world's best solvent: H2O molecules. The opposite approach is "If you only use the steam shower for a short time and not often, who cares?" Anyone want to defend that point of view? I think there is no point building something that you "really ought not to let run". Some future user might want long steam showers, or frequent steam showers. Without a transom, you are guaranteeing that your escape route for water vapor will be confused, since it's unplanned, uncoordinated and unwanted, and your result will eventually lead to problems. As far as I know. Anyone reading this thread so far would be well advised to look more into it instead of concluding that transoms are just for fun. Many homeowners don't care much about codes or practices and will allow anyone to build anything for them. After that, it may or may not work as expected, and ultimately the homeowner may or may not be satisfied. This applied to all fields of construction. My writing this out is not to say that anyone here has been intending to do the wrong thing deliberately. Hth

The reason why tempered glass cannot be cut or drilled is because of the surface tension holding the glass (glass is a super cooled liquid and not a solid). Consequently, the glass is harder than normal and will shatter when the surface is damaged. Glass panel walls are hence extremely expensive as all the holes/ cuts must be exact. Installation is also tricky as the panel must not shatter from an accidental scratch. Local glass shops in the bay area, CA also charge in the vicinity of $50 to $100+ per sq ft. Labour charges take the lion's share of the cost. The alternatives are large format tile, fibre reinforced panels like swanstone, quartz/ stone. The swanstone panel option is probably the cheapest and will last longer than fiberglass shower surrounds.

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. The reason I am hesitant to go the permanent route was it is so permanent. And if we don't like how it turned out, that's an expensive mistake. The reason I am hesitant on film is because I'm not sure how it holds up from a quality perspective. Oaktown: Wow, that's cool film. I wonder if it works? Very interesting. Virgil: We have tried pinging the architect on it. He hasn't responded to our emails. I wouldn't mind him being more engaged on the issue, but maybe he thinks it is too small an issue to get involved? I imagine if he did weigh in, he would say to just leave it all plain glass (no obscure). I will try to give him a call and ask about it. I get the impression that he thinks we over-think things.

I'm new to this site. I am a stained glass artist but am now going to do my first mosaic. I have an old wooden cabinet that has two glass doors. I will be cutting out the main 'story' pieces from textured semi-transparent glasses and plan to adhere all of this to the existing glass on the cabinet doors then do the mosaic work around it. I plan to incorporate some nice flat stones I've collected from various places I have vacationed at into the art piece. I have removed the doors so that I am working on the horizontal, so there is no problem with waiting for the adhesive to set. From what I am reading, It sounds like "weldbond" may be a good choice. I would like it to dry clear. I plan to use black grout in the project. There are lights inside of the cabinet that will illuminate the project when finished. I am hoping I am on the right track. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!