Re-using Shower Doors?

Dear Chris,

I read your post where a blogger wanted to replace the trim on their current glass doors with aluminum and reuse the glass.  I see that you warn not to do this. However, I do have a similar question.  Is it possible to reuse the entire door and surround.  My door is trimmed in silver/aluminum (whatever it is) and I actually like it.  The problem is that I do not like the builder’s grade shower stall that we have . We are hoping to replace it with tile.  Would it be possible to reuse those doors if they were to be kept whole? I have attached a picture for your review.  I may not be the best at my description.

Thanks

Kenya

 

 

 

Hi Kenya,

It may be possible to reuse your shower enclosure. It will have to be removed very carefully to prevent destroying the materials or breaking the glass. The opening where the enclosure is installed will need to be nearly exactly the same in order for the old materials to work. Normally, I discourage this, because it rarely works out… If the shower stall ends up being ½” bigger or smaller after the work is done, the old enclosure won’t work.

On the other hand, you have nothing to lose (other than the time and effort put into trying it). So, why not?

Good luck!

-Chris

 

No Weep Holes?

Hi, Chris.

We had one of our baths redone a few years ago but the apartment has been empty ever since as we were away from the country. A the time,  a frameless door was installed and we never thought about looking for weep holes on the track until now that we found your blog. The shower has never been used so we don’t know if water would collect on the track.

Our question: Is there such a thing as a shower door track without weep holes? The photos show –instead of a conventional channel– a sloped, low lip on the side of the pan with no room for holes even if we wanted to drill some. Our guess was that, with this type of slanted lip, weep holes are not needed as water will just slide down onto the pan. We also checked if the track has been installed with the wrong side facing the pan but we failed to find weep holes on the other side as well.

Your clarification will be greatly appreciated. All the best to you.

Diana

 

 

Hi Diana,

Great question! Actually, this type of shower enclosure doesn’t require holes in the frame in order for the water to weep. The “L” shape of the bottom sill allows the water to run off back into the shower. As a rule, the sill is caulked on the outside only, or the inside is only partially caulked. This allows water the finds its way under the sill to escape, or at least dry out over time.

Thanks for reading the blog!

-Chris

Frameless Shower Enclosures for Bathtubs

These days there are more and more people requesting frameless heavy glass enclosures for their bathtub showers. Several years ago, people began asking if this was a possibility… today, this is pretty common. There are newer innovations that incorporate sliding glass panels with heavy glass enclosures that are suitable for bathtubs. Among these are the “Skyline” series enclosure by Cardinal, and the “Serenity” series by CRL. The latest sliding frameless enclosure is called the “Essence” series enclosure. Click this link – http://youtu.be/EmSJPjmRGBI – to check it out.

         

The enclosures shown in the photos above were designed, manufactured, and installed by Showcase Shower Door. These enclosures are designed according to customer specifications, and include Diamond Seal treatment as a standard feature. Diamond Seal helps to prevent water spotting, and protects glass from the permanent damage that hard water can cause over time. If you need help with ideas for your tub enclosure, or just have questions, give me a call any time at (831) 464-3899.

Getting it Done Right the First Time

I have to redo my shower enclosure because the installer did not waterproof the wall and it started leaking into the basement. My question is how do I remove the glass? Use a knife and cut the seams, or is it a special too that I need? I looked on you blog and didn’t see this answered. …I have to take to doors out completely to repair the shower because the installer didn’t waterproof and after 15 years the wood under the tile was all rotted.

Any help would be appreciated.

Demo

         

 

 

This is a serious issue, and needs to be addressed. I am always hesitant to talk about how badly a shower enclosure installation can turn out if done incorrectly. I never want people to think that I am using scare tactics to make a sale. Any time a customer tells me that another company has given them a much lower bid for a project, I have to wonder what corners they plan to cut in order to do it for so little.

I had 20 years of experience in the commercial glazing (glass) industry before I started Showcase. I have seen all types of glass systems, and a wide variety of problems. A water leak is one of the most common, and potentially serious issues in the glass business. Water has an amazing ability to penetrate even the smallest opening. Once water finds its way in, it will increase over time. The result is rot, mold, rust, etc.

Bathroom renovations can be very expensive. You don’t want to have to do it twice. There are a lot of areas where you can save money when doing your bathroom remodel. If you buy inexpensive fixtures, they will be easy to replace when they wear-out in a few years. A shower enclosure is not. Don’t compromise on your shower glass. A frameless enclosure can last 20 years, easily! Budget enough to buy a good shower door from an expert installer. It may save you a BUNDLE in the long run.

-Chris

Adding New Aluminum to an Old Shower Enclosure

Read your blog and hope that you can help. My husband and I are HOPING to retire next year and want to “freshen up” our house a bit before we put it on the market in the spring. I have searched the web extensively, but can’t seem to find out if it is possible to order metal strips to replace the existing SHINY GOLD frame on our shower enclosure — as opposed to replacing the entire structure, which costs major $$$. Do you have a resource for purchasing replacement frame strips????

Trina & Ted Williams
Franklin, TN

    

Dear Trina and Ted,

This is actually a fairly common question. Customers ask me pretty frequently if it is possible to reuse the glass from a shower enclosure and replace just the aluminum. Of course, the glass lasts virtually forever, while the aluminum framework starts to break-down after about ten years or so. People are usually pretty surprised to learn that the aluminum frame on the shower enclosure is actually the most expensive part. There is too much work involved to disassemble the enclosure and reassemble it using the old glass and new aluminum. There is no chance of saving any money by doing this.

It is possible, however, to install new aluminum strips over the old metal. In the glass industry this is known as “cladding.” The finish you are looking for (bright gold) is available in a couple of different sizes. The first is a 5/8″ wide strip with a beveled edge on one side. The second is a 1″ extrusion that is “L” shaped. A combination of these two shapes should be satisfactory to clad an existing manufactured shower enclosure. The aluminum strips are actually designed for use in the installation of mirrors, and come in 12′ lengths.

Now, hiring a glazier to come out and do the cladding would end up costing at least as much as the enclosure is worth. It is possible to do it yourself more affordably, though. You can purchase these parts from Showcase Shower Door. I will be happy to give some instructions on what you will need and how to do the work.

Happy New Year!

-Chris

Letters from Our Visitors

Over the past few months, I have been receiving emails from visitors to the website who have shower door related questions. Here is an example of one recent exchange:

Dear Chris,

Just studied your great web site. I have a question for you.

I have the standard 60 inch wide walk in shower and want to replace the sliding framed doors with one fixed clear glass panel and one hinged panel.

Can the fixed say 30 inch wide by 82 to 84 inch tall panel be attached to the wall with two or three of the typical glass panel attachments, and likewise to the floor WITHOUT any top support and still be steady ? Should both panels be 1/2 inch thick in order for the fixed panel to be steady?

Thanks in advance for your advise to a former California resident, now retired in Florida.

Sincerely,

Herman Bergman

Hi Herman,

Thanks for writing! I guess “steady” is a relative term. 3/8” glass does flex a bit, especially when it is more than 80” tall. We install 3/8” glass that is over 80” tall on a regular basis. If the glass is tempered, it is definitely strong enough for the application.

On the other hand, it really isn’t that much more expensive to go ahead and use 1/2” glass instead. Half inch glass will give you the added strength that you are concerned about, and also an added touch of elegance that is really worth it.

I hope this helps,

-Chris

Showcase Shower Door – Our New Location

Wow! I can’t believe how long it has been since I updated my blog. There has been so much happening in the past 30 days that I have been forced to prioritize everything that I do, and I’m afraid that my blog simply didn’t make the top 20 (sorry.) My wife, Tiffany, and I (along with our dog Cecilia,) relocated our residence this month. The move went very quickly and quite smoothly, thanks to our awesome friends. They showed up in droves to help us load, unload, and move our stuff! We are really blessed to have such a great bunch of people in our lives. At the same time, we moved our business delivery address to a different part of Live Oak (in Santa Cruz.) The new delivery location is working out great for us. And in addition to all of that, we also signed a lease for our first commercial building, right here in Santa Cruz! The new 1200 square foot location, at 1970 17th Avenue, is large enough to house our shop, office, and showroom.

         

Of course, we just moved in, and all of those things are still in the process of getting set up, but we are operating out of the new store right now. We’re fixing up the front “showroom” area, where we will be able to meet with customers, display some product samples, and stuff like that. We still need to get our sign for the front of the building, and finish getting stuff organized, but we are making excellent progress. We have been staying pretty busy with installations at the same time, so the move has been a bit challenging. I’m not complaining, though… You guys know how much I love shower doors, so this is a pretty exciting time for me. Expect a lot of new and exciting things to be happening at Showcase Shower Door in the coming months. I’ll be sure to keep you updated as things continue to happen. Thanks to our loyal customers who continue to make our business a success!

Time for a Comment?

Hello, I came across your website/blog when looking for opinions on mounting a frameless shower door through glass tile.  If you have a moment to offer your opinion I would appreciate it but I also understand if you don’t have time to opine on a project in Minnesota.

The wall is 2×4 stud-1/2” backer board-acrylic modified thinset-1/4” 4×4 glass tile.  The opening is 57” and 32” of that will be dual-swing door with 2 heavy duty hinges and the other piece will be fixed with a metal base and single high wall mount bracket.  The installer said they can try to install it but they might crack the tile, which is understandable.  However, I was wondering if you have ever used or thought about using a metal spacer that the installation screw can pass through and sink into the stud.  If the spacer were an 1/8” proud of the glass tile, passed through the backer board and into the wood a set depth it would then compress the wood stud as it was tightened rather than the tile.

Thanks,

Eric

     

Hi Eric,

Thanks for taking time to contact me. I am always interested in hearing about shower door projects – especially when there is some challenging element involved. It’s not unusual to see glass tile being used in shower stalls these days. When I first started coming across it, several years ago, I was pretty nervous about it. I find that the process of drilling through the tile is the tricky part. Although it is possible to drill through glass with a standard masonry bit, I prefer to use a diamond drill or a “spear-point” bit. The key is to take your time, and keep the material cool to prevent the glass from breaking.

Your idea for using a metal spacer is pretty clever. If I understand you correctly, you are proposing the idea of a hollow metal “tube” large enough to allow the screw to pass through, preventing compression of the glass by the screw when tightened. What I do in this situation is actually very similar. I use a plastic expansion plug in the hole, which protects the glass tile by preventing the screw from coming in contact with it. The down side to using a metal spacer is that the weight if the glass pulling down on the hinge could possibly cause it to, eventually, come in contact with the glass. A plastic plug acts as an isolator, even if the sheer force of the weight of the door forces it downward.

Either way, I have found that glass tile does an excellent job of holding up against a shower door installation. Glass is every bit as strong as most tile, and is actually a very similar material. When you run screws through the hinge plate, through the tile, through the backer board, and finally into the stud, the force of the fasteners is actually spread out over the whole surface area of the hinge’s back plate. The best thing you can do to keep the glass tile from breaking is to drill the holes carefully, and keep the screws from coming in contact with the glass once the door is hung.

I hope this helps,

-Chris

Replacing a Shower Enclosure with a Frameless One

Some people want to know whether they can upgrade their existing shower enclosure to a European style “frameless” shower enclosure without having to replace their tile. We recently had a customer who had upgraded their bathroom, and had some regrets about having settled for a standard, manufactured shower enclosure. The biggest challenge to replacing a “semi-frameless” shower enclosure with a true frameless one is hiding the screw holes in the tiles. In some cases, the previous installer will have drilled the holes into the grout lines. When this is the case, you can simply fill in the missing grout with little effort. This, however, is rarely the case. There is also the issue of removing the silicone sealant, and discoloration due to the “weathering” of the tile, granite, or marble.

 

     

Here are some before and after photos of a shower enclosure that we recently replaced with a 1/2″ frameless shower enclosure. We were able to remove the old enclosure, clean up the silicone sealant, and locate the new shower door and fixed panel on top of the area where the old enclosure used to be. We were also able to find silicone caulk that matched the color of the tile, and used it to fill the holes in the tile left behind by the previous shower door installation. Even though the glass is clear, it is impossible to see the old holes through the glass. As you can see, the improvement is pretty incredible.

Protecting Shower Glass from Water Damage

I would say that the question I am most frequently asked is whether or not there is a practical way to protect shower glass from water damage. These days, customers are remodeling their bathrooms using granite, marble, and high-end tile work. They are looking for a frameless glass enclosure that will accent the beauty of the tile, and clear glass is the obvious choice. But keeping it clean and looking like new can be a real challenge. Over the years, I have seen a number of products that claim to prevent water spots. I have been keeping an eye on the industry to see which brand would come out on top. Although the different products do basically the same thing, it seems that the real challenge has been coming up with the right system to maintain the treatment.

     

Of course, I want to be able to offer my customers a way to keep their glass looking beautiful for years… At the same time, I feel that I am putting my own reputation on the line when I endorse a surface protection product. Showcase Shower Door is proud to be a local dealer of Diamond Seal Systems repellant coatings. Diamond Seal is a green technology that comes with a manufacturer’s lifetime warranty. Having worked with Diamond Seal Systems for years, I feel comfortable recommending it to my own customers. Diamond Seal delivers what it promises and, when properly maintained, continues to work indefinitely. We offer it as an option with all shower doors and enclosures, and more than half of our customers are taking advantage of this exciting new technology. As always, if you have any questions, feel free to give me a call at (831) 272-2341.