Archive
Buying Shower Doors and Enclosures Online
More and more people are shopping online these days. It is a convenient way to shop for a lot of different items. People even buy shower doors online, if you can believe it! There are a lot of options available, and some are actually quite good. Showcase Shower Door Company carries a full line of shower doors and enclosures manufactured by Fleurco. They are some of the finest shower enclosures you will find anywhere. We can offer our customers a complete package including the shower pan, glass, hardware, and instructions. All of this delivered right to your front door!
There is the challenge, however, of getting your shower enclosure installed once it arrives. We offer the service of installing customer-supplied shower enclosures for people in our area, whether they buy it from us or not. Wherever it is that you live, there is a good chance that there is a qualified shower enclosure installer available in your area. We here at Showcase Shower Door Company are taking steps to put together a network of quality shower door installers in different parts of the United States. We hope to be able to refer these experts to people who need their services. This will also allow shower enclosure manufacturers who sell their products across the country to take advantage of the skills of qualified installers in every area. Anyway, it’s something we are working on, and I’ll let you know as things develop.
Installing Customer-Supplied Shower Enclosures
We get calls from people who have purchased shower enclosures online and are looking for qualified technicians to install them. In the past, we have made it our policy to avoid installing customer-supplied shower door kits. There are so many different types of enclosures made by various companies… We have found it to be a good idea to just avoid the pitfalls of getting involved with installing them. We have vendors who can supply any type of enclosure that we are not able to manufacture ourselves, so it has made sense to us to install only the doors and enclosures the we sell.
Recently, glass barn door style shower enclosures have become very popular. I first became familiar with these types of enclosures when Cardinal came out with the “Skyline” series enclosure. This was the first frameless sliding enclosure of that type (to the best of my knowledge). It wasn’t long before other manufacturers began to make similar products. It took a while, however, to find any that matched the quality of the Cardinal version.
Today, they are common, and are likely all being made at the same factory overseas… We have started to take orders to install enclosures for people who have purchased them elsewhere, having become so familiar with them. There are other, even more innovative frameless sliding shower enclosures that have come on the market. One such product is the “Essence” series enclosure from C. R. Laurence. It utilizes 1/2″ tempered glass, and has no cross bar at all. This enclosure has become my favorite sliding shower door to install. It’s AWESOME!
For more information, feel free to get in touch.
-Chris
RE: Just One Bracket (?)
Chris,
As shown in the attached picture, our contractor installed our new glass shower panel using only one bracket (along the tiled wall near the top of the panel). A clear adhesive (supposedly “the best material in the business”) was also used along that tiled wall, as well as along the bottom of the panel where it meets a plank tile threshold atop – hopefully – proper shimming).
I can’t find another example of just one bracket being used on anyone’s glass shower panel, anywhere on the internet. Should I be concerned, not just for aesthetics, but also for safety?
Thanks,
Bill
Hi Bill,
We use shower door engineering software from C.R. Laurence to design our enclosures. In order to meet their minimum standard for structural support at the bottom, two brackets or a channel securing the bottom edge are required. I am aware that other shower door companies sometimes use one clamp at the bottom and two clamps on the vertical edge of the glass, but never one single clamp on a panel like the one shown in you photo. This is the first time I have ever seen something like that.
Silicone really is about the best material in the business… I’m guessing that is what was used here? The truth is that the silicone alone probably does have enough strength to keep the panel secure without any other mechanical fasteners. But the only legitimate reason I can see for someone doing it that way would be for looks. It doesn’t sound like you particularly like how it looks, though. I think the most logical explanation for this is that someone forgot the cutouts for the clamps at the bottom of the glass panel, and now they are pretending they meant to do it that way.
Whenever we sell a frameless shower enclosure, we supply a sketch of how it will look when completed. It is a good policy to make the contractor do that for you. Then you can compare the finished product to the sketch and see how close they are to one another. We all make mistakes sometimes. When that happens, it is best to just do the right thing and buy new glass. It never pays off, in the long run, to try cutting corners.
Thanks for writing,
-Chris
Drilling Holes in Tile for Shower Enclosures – Preventing Leaks
Chris, I am so glad I discovered your site!
We live in Birmingham, AL and are in the final phase of a major double bathroom remodel. We went very modern with barrier free entries to the shower enclosures. When the glass installers put the glass panels in place, they drilled and secured clips on the floor to hold the glass. When they installed the clips they penetrated the shower pan and now the showers BOTH leak to the basement. They have agreed to repair this but we have a question for you. There are other issues as well – this was a total redo so everything is new, including the walls and as such one of the baths walls is not plumb so they are on the third glass panel trying to make it work. We are six months into a three month project, but do believe the contractors are trying their best and are willing to see this through with them.
I see on your website and others that people everywhere install glass clips in barrier-less showers and surely they do not have water leaking into the floor beneath. The least of our worries is water coming out from under the glass into the bathroom… in fact we do not want sealant because it is unsightly. What has our contractor overlooked? They are willing to fix this problem… unfortunately I do not know enough whether to require them to take out all of the tile and replace the shower pan or use silicone in the screw holes as they are suggesting. They are slathering silicone everywhere and destroying our “look”.
Thank you for any input or suggestions. – Do you travel for installations? OR consultation?
Best,
Rollins
Hi Rollins,
First of all, I am sorry to hear about the issues you are having with your shower doors. I am glad to hear that your contractor is working with you to solve the problem. Anyone can make a mistake… the key is being willing to stick with it to the end.
Putting silicone in the screw holes is the solution to the leaking problem. We will usually apply the silicone to the screw and then run it into the hole. This is an effective way to seal the screw hole. There is no need to slather silicone all over the place, though.
Be sure to document everything, and have an environmental inspector come in after a few months to make sure that you don’t have any mold issues. I do work as a consultant, and do travel when an out-of-area customer feels that it is worth their while to pay my expenses. Let me know if there is an additional service I can provide.
Best regards,
Chris Phillips – Owner
Showcase Shower Door – CCL #957120
1970 17th Avenue #C – Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Phone: (831) 464-3899 – FAX: (831) 477-0760
http://www.ShowcaseShowerDoor.com
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.
Blog Post: January 28, 2013
Chris,
I’ve read a lot of your replies and it really seems like you really know what you’re doing. I have to replace my concrete shower basin and was curious if I’d be able to reuse the frameless glass doors I have now. They are in great condition but will need to be removed in order to replace shower basin. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If you need pics I can send.
One other question, do you know any reputable contractors in the Chicago area that you’d recommend using to replace concrete shower basin?
Thank you very much for your help!
Sincerely,
Joe
Glass Ceilings; Sometimes They’re a Good Thing.
Hi Chris,
We are looking to install a frameless shower in our bathroom that has very high ceilings. I was hoping to put a glass ceiling on it to get more of a steam room effect.
Is it possible to do this?
Brad
Hi Brad,
Yes, we did a project just like that in Carmel, California a few years back. The bathroom had open rafters, and the homeowner wanted to contain the steam with a glass ceiling. The “lid” needed to slope a little in order to allow condensation to run-off into one corner. That posed a couple of other challenges as well. We accomplished this by having a custom unit made that was comprised of two 1/4″ pieces of clear tempered glass laminated together.
The result was a single unit that was 64-1/2″ X 43-1/4″ and 9/16″ thick. Having the glass both tempered and lamented insured that if it was ever to break due to an earthquake, the glass would not fall into the shower. The panel fit perfectly, and the result was more incredible than we had imagined. The house we were working in was just beautiful, and the homeowners were so nice. It was a great experience.
Thanks for your question, Brad… It has brought back some really nice memories.
-Chris
Weep Holes Allow Water to Drain Out of the Shower Frame and Into the Shower.
Hello!
I saw you through Google and hoped you may be able to answer my question. I am re-caulking my shower enclosure and I noticed that there are some slots along the bottom of the inside of my shower enclosure. Before removing the caulk, these slots were harboring mildew and mold and spewing it out in gobs. the caulk ran right under these slots and it too became black and ruined. My question is whether these should be caulked over or not. Since water seems to be getting in there and it never dries out, I assume that it is getting in there primarily from the front. But, if there is some other reason why these need to be open, such as draining water that gets in there from elsewhere, then obviously I wouldn’t want to caulk over them. What do you think? Thanks!
Daniel Wells
Hi Daniel,
Yes, those are what we call “weep holes.” They are necessary, as you guessed, to allow the water to drain out of the frame and into the shower. I would suggest spraying a bleach solution into the holes from time-to-time to try to inhibit the mold growth in the framework. If the base of the shower itself (shower pan or tile curb) doesn’t slope into the shower properly, the water will never completely drain out of the aluminum channel at the bottom. There will always be some standing water in there, and that is going to create mold.
There are a few ways to get the water out manually. One is to use a shop-vac or some other vacuum that is approved for wet situations. You could also use a blow drier to force the water out of one hole by directing the flow of hot air into another hole. One other low-tech method of drawing water out is by using a cotton wick. This is simply a piece of string (yarn?) that draws the water out of the channel… you simply work one end of the string into the weep hole, and let the other end hang down into the shower pan. The capillary action of the water being absorbed will actually siphon the water out of the channel and down the drain.
Best wishes,
-Chris
Is it Possible to Reuse the Glass in My Exisiting Shower Enclosure?
Chris,
I was told by a friend that I could use the current glass I have in my shower to create a seamless or frameless shower. Can that be done? I have a gold frame now, but want it frameless.
Thanks,
Terry
Hi Terry,
It may be possible to reuse glass from your framed shower enclosure to create a frameless one, but I have never heard of anyone doing it. There are a lot of reasons why used glass from a manufactured enclosure wouldn’t work well in a frameless one. Here are a few things to consider:
1) The glass in a framed enclosure is (or should be) tempered safety glass. Tempered glass is impossible to cut, drill, or otherwise fabricate. You will be stuck using the glass exactly as it is in terms of its size and shape.
2) The glass in a framed enclosure is thin. Normally 3/16” to 1/4”. Much too thin to be practical in a frameless shower enclosure.
3) Once you get the glass out of the frame, you are likely to find that the edges are much different in appearance than the rest of the panel. Since the part of the glass that has been hidden from view has also been spared from exposure to the elements, there is going to be a visible difference.
4) Consider the hazards. Even though tempered glass is safer than regular plate-glass, it can still cut you. I have an employee who had to get a few stitches from a broken piece of tempered glass. Reusing glass in a shower enclosure would be a lot of work for even an experienced glazier, and would yield results the probably wouldn’t be all that impressive.
In my opinion, it just isn’t worth the effort that it would take to take on this kind of a challenge. You may get it to work, but you aren’t going to end up with the beautiful frameless glass enclosure that you really want.
Thanks!
-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
Showcase Shower Door 