RE: Replacing Shower Door Hinge Gaskets

How difficult is it to replace the gaskets in the frameless glass shower door hinges? Do you have to take the door all the way off or can you do it one hinge at a time and leave the other two hinges attached?  If you do have to take the door all the way off, do you also have to unscrew the hinges from the wall or can you leave the hinges attached to the wall and just remove them from the glass?

      

You may be able to do them one at a time with the glass in place. It will be a little more challenging with three hinges rather than two, but the gaskets are pretty thin, and should be easy enough to change in a small space.

I normally have one guy inside and one guy outside. I put wood shims under the glass to make sure it doesn’t shift when the hinge cover plate comes off. You should be able to remove the two screws in the cover plate without removing the four screws that anchor the hinge to the wall. If you wet the gaskets with a little rubbing alcohol they will slip right into place, and get a good seal.

Let me know how it works out,

Chris Phillips – Owner

RE: Bathtub Shower Door

Hello, I’m trying to install tub shower door. When I put in the inside panel the bottom part touches the bottom bumper but on the top there is a two gap. I tried adjusting the rolling wheels but nothing workings. I’m thinking of either cutting the wall jamb on the side of the gap or put something on the other wall jamb to raise it a little higher.  If you could please advice on what I should do ? Thank you for your help.

Hi Francisco,

The problem you are having is caused by a bathtub that is way out-of-level, or a wall that is way out-of-plumb. In order to give you the correct advice, I would need to know if it is one or both of these issues.

If you are unable to get the sliding panels to line up with the wall jambs properly, and are thinking of leveling out the header by cutting one jamb, or shimming the other one up a bit, there are a couple of things to think about. If you cut one of the jambs, and you cut it too short, the corner of the door will hit the sill when it slides to the short side. If you shim the other jamb up, you run the risk of the panel coming out of the guide when it slides to the tall side…

The proper way to address this is to use an insert under the sill or behind the jamb (between the jamb and the tile). First you need to find out which you are going to need… Is the wall leaning out-of-plumb two inches? If so, you will need an insert for that jamb. The manufacturer of the enclosure will be able to provide one of these for you. It is a length of aluminum that is the same overall height of the one that came in your kit, but will be wider at the top (or bottom) as needed to correct the outage. If the outage is at the bottom (the tub), the same approach can be taken… the manufacturer can supply a length of aluminum that will fit between the tub and the sill of the enclosure.

Let me know if this is helpful,

Chris Phillips
Showcase Shower Door Company

The Sentimental Value of Aging Shower Doors

Hello Chris,

We had our shower doors  put in fourteen years ago. They have a aluminum frame around and on the doors.   I find that the clear caulking around the frame is getting quite dirty with mildew,  and some of it has also come out in some places.  Is it ok to remove this  clear caulk out around the frame and replace it with new clear caulking without causing any damage?  Would greatly appreciate your reply as soon as possible.

Thanks.

Mumtaz

Hi Mumtaz,

If your shower doors are fourteen years old, I really wouldn’t worry that much about it. If you can get another year’s worth of use out of them, you are way ahead of the game. Your shower doors are near the end of their expected lifespan. Go ahead and caulk them!

Thanks for writing,

-Chris

http://showcaseshowerdoor.com/index.htm

RE: Adhesive for Frameless Shower Doors

​Hello,

I’ve been reading the info on your website and wonder if I may ask a question.

I would come to your shop but we live in Rochester, NY.

We have a frameless shower door and the seal is coming loose. Can you recommend an adhesive so I can attach the seal?

Thank You.

Kind Regards,

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

The adhesive used for that purpose is clear VHB (very high bond) tape. CR Laurence provides a few different sizes of this tape that works excellent for shower door edge seals. If you want to get some of the VHB tape from CRL, you can visit your local glass shop and see if they have some in stock. If they don’t have it, they can certainly order it for you. Otherwise, you can try your local home improvement store. They will most likely have some clear VHB tape in stock. You may have to trim it to size, and that may be a little tricky.

Let me know how it works out for you,

-Chris

DIY – Why Not Give it a Try?

Hi,

We have a 5 yr old sterling shower door that has some mold growing under the clear seal that holds the glass in the aluminum frame.  I was thinking of taking this apart (it has screws in each corner holding it together) and cleaning it.  The gasket looks ok.  My question is, is the gasket reusable, and if not, where could I buy one?  Would I be ruining the integrity of the door by taking it apart?  When I bought it, the panel came sealed and assembled. Thanks!

Pete

         

Hi Pete,

If your door is only five years old it is probably in good enough shape to survive being disassembled and reassembled again. Generally, the gaskets hold up well, and can usually be reused. If for some reason you are unable to make the old gasket work, I’m sure you can contact the manufacturer of the shower door and order a replacement part. Sterling is a Kohler company, so you should have no problem getting help from them, if you need it.

Best of luck!

-Chris