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!

Replacing that Old Shower Enclosure with a New One

Here are some before and after photos of a shower enclosure that we replaced this past week in Aptos. George and Jackie are a lovely couple of senior citizens who were referred to me by Josh McAuley of McAuley & Son Custom Tile (247-9856.) The couple had spoken to a few different companies about getting their rickety old shower door replaced, and ended up with more questions than answers. It’s not surprising that by the time I spoke with them, they were pretty much burned out on the whole process. They were also a bit suspicious of me, another contractor that, they figured, had come to sell them something that they really didn’t want, or couldn’t afford.

     

This is a 1/4″ glue-chip bypass enclosure with brushed nickel aluminum and hardware

As I told them about designs, glass types, and features available, Jackie interrupted “but the other company told me that…” I replied “Well, I’m here to tell you the truth!” I wish I had a photo of the look on their faces when I said that! George was also impressed to learn that I would be the “technician” who would install his enclosure personally. Anyway, needless to say, we made the sale, made two new friends, and they LOVE their new shower doors. Jackie got exactly the enclosure that she was looking for, and George can enjoy a peaceful existence now that his wife is completely satisfied. Sometimes people think that because we do so many fancy and luxurious frameless shower enclosures, that we are not interested in small, less expensive ones like the one you see here. The opposite is true. We are happy to replace your old existing shower door or enclosure with a brand-new Showcase shower door! Call us today!

Satisfied Customers Become Repeat Customers

This past week I had the pleasure of installing a shower enclosure for an existing customer. This was the second of three shower doors that we will be installing for her. The first shower door that we installed was in the master bathroom, which had been newly remodeled. We were able to install the second enclosure in the upstairs “guest” bathroom. It has also been recently remodeled, and the homeowner decided on a frameless bypass type enclosure with 1/4″ clear glass and brushed nickel aluminum and hardware. We also treated the inside of the glass with Diamond Seal, to prevent hard water stains.

     

We get the majority of our business from customer referrals. Doing business in a community like Santa Cruz County requires building, and maintaining lasting relationships. Over the years, we have had the chance to get to know a lot of the locals, and make friends with a number of local contractors as well. The result has been a great network of both customers and business professionals in the area. It’s great making new friends, and it’s nice to have such an excellent pool of resources to draw from.

Frameless Shower Enclosures – The New Standard

The frameless “Euro-style” heavy glass shower enclosures and doors have become really popular lately. When I first went into business for myself back in 2004, about one in five of the shower enclosures people bought were of the heavy glass variety. Today, the vast majority of people want frameless heavy glass enclosures… probably eight-out-of-ten. There are situations where the old standard manufactured shower door makes the most sense, and we still install quite a few of those as well. But there is no doubt that these frameless shower doors have become the new standard.

     

It became obvious that these types of shower enclosures were here to stay when I started noticing them more on American TV. When you see a  commercial for soap, shampoo, or some other bathroom product, you will notice that the shower doors are the frameless type. This is a sure indication that they have become part of the mainstream. Today, when people remodel their bathrooms, they are installing larger tiles, granite, porcelain, marble, and nice fixtures. They have discovered that you don’t have to be rich to have a luxurious bathroom… A nice 1/2″ frameless European frameless shower enclosure is the natural “finishing touch” that accents the whole project!

Working with General Contractors in Santa Cruz

Business is brisk here at Showcase Shower Door. This October marked five years in business in Santa Cruz County, and we are fortunate to have made quite a reputation for ourselves. One of the things that helps us to compete with the many glass shops in Santa Cruz are the relationships that we have with general contractors in the area. While the average homeowner will only purchase one or two shower doors or enclosures in their lifetime, contractors purchase shower doors all of the time. It seems that the more experience a contractor has with shower door installations, the more likely they are to be doing business with us. I have had building contractors who, after using our services, have tried other, less expensive glass shops to do their shower doors. They always seem to call us back after a while. It is really hard to find anyone who can match our high quality standards and exceptional service.

     

I also get a lot of calls from homeowners who have been referred by various contractors who have either hired us in the past, or have worked on the same jobs that we have, and have seen the work that we do. It means a lot to me to have established that kind of a rapport with the community, especially with master craftsmen who know the difference. I have had people tell me more than once that my bid was not the lowest one that they collected, but that they wanted me to do the work anyway. Pretty much any glass shop will do your shower enclosure for you. Showcase Shower Door is the one that you can count on to be knowledgeable, to respond quickly, to tell you the truth, and always deliver the absolute highest quality product.

…easy being “Green”

Being environmentally conscious almost goes without saying when you do the bulk of your work in Santa Cruz County. Our customers are also neighbors, and we all love the natural beauty and excellent climate Santa Cruz offers. We have the ocean, the redwoods, the mountains, the parks, the beach, and all of the great people to enjoy. We definitely want to do our part to keep it that way. We do a number of things to keep our operation here as green as possible. Glass is environmentally friendly in the sense that it is bio-degradable, and has no polluting effect on the environment. Still, we want to do everything that we can to limit the amount of broken glass that is going into Santa Cruz landfills.

We keep glass fabrication to a minimum by having much of the work done remotely. This limits the amount of scrap glass that we produce, not to mention the abrasives, sealants, and solvents needed for fabrication in the glass industry. As a result, these materials are not being released into the air that we breathe or the water we drink. We have no facility in Santa Cruz to speak of. Just a tiny commercial location suitable for receiving the glass and other materials we need to do the work we perform here. We also order our materials from companies that are close by. Our suppliers are located in Santa Clara, Fremont, Modesto, and Union City. This helps limit fuel consumption, while supporting California businesses. We also have an aggressive recycling program. We recycle aluminum, brass, cardboard, plastic, and as much glass as possible. These are just a few of the things Showcase Shower Door is doing to help protect our environment.

Artwork in Your Shower? Yes!

I have been really fortunate to have the opportunity to work on some great showers lately. I am having a great time, and really have to say “thank you” to all of my great customers out there, and the many nice things you say about Showcase Shower Door. It really is the reputation that you have given us, and word-of-mouth referrals that keep us so busy. It is an honor to be referred by you, and we are going to do all that we can to take excellent care of the friends, family, and associates you send our way.

These are some photos of one of the really incredible showers that we are working on right now. We are seeing more of these artistic shower stalls with interesting geometry and top-notch tile work. The shower you see here is located in the Live Oak area of Santa Cruz County. We are getting ready to do the glass installation later this week, so I’ll be sure to get some fresh photos to show you as the project progresses. The door itself is going to have some really cool artwork sand-blasted on it, so you are going to want to see this!

Just completed in Aptos, CA

August 11, 2010

This is job we just completed in Aptos, CA. It is a frameless inline shower enclosure with 1/2″ thick glass and chrome hardware. This particular shower stall has a bench in it. The fixed panel is notched to accommodate the shape of the bench exactly, and is secured using brackets, also called “glass clamps.”

Showers with benches are becoming more and more popular in the Santa Cruz area. Although 3/8″ clear tempered glass is still the most common thickness of glass used, more people are asking for the 1/2″ glass thickness for their shower enclosures. When it comes to 1/2″ glass shower doors, Showcase Shower Door Company offers competitive prices and superior service.