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.

Applied Frames for Existing Mirrors

One issue that is common to bathroom mirrors is the pealing of silvering around the edges of the glass. This phenomenon is known as “black-edge,” and is especially a problem near the coast. It is a type of oxidation that happens (like rust)… I won’t bore you with all of the technical mumbo-jumbo.

There are couple of ways to address this problem before it happens. One is to treat the edges of the mirror with an industrial sealer. This prevents moisture from compromising the reflective layers of the mirror and prevents black-edge. The other method, which we prefer, is to provide copper-free mirrors that are very resistant to the contamination that causes this problem.

  

But what if your mirror is already showing signs of the hideous mirror disease? Is there any way to fix it? Sadly, no… There are really only two options. One is to remove and replace the mirror with a new one. The other is to use an applied frame. These mirror frames are made to be installed on existing frameless mirrors, and come in a wide variety of styles and colors. I had my doubts about them, and haven’t really suggested them much in the past… The cost of having them installed is about 25% less than just replacing the mirror with a new one, in most cases. I didn’t really see the point…

 

Then we actually installed some of them on a job in Aptos, California last week. I was really impressed with the high quality of the product, and the way the frames looked after installation. Having had first hand experience with these applied mirror frames, I really like them, and would recommend them to anyone. Even though the cost savings isn’t that significant, the experience for the customer is very low-impact, which is important when it comes to renovation. There is virtually no mess of any type, no dirt, no noise, and the work can be accomplished in a very short amount of time. Best of all, the result is a beautiful framed mirror instead of the old mirror with bad edges.

For more information, give me a call at (831) 464-3899.

-Chris

Gap Spacing in Frameless Shower Doors

Hi Chris

We’ve had our bathroom remodeled and I have a question about the frameless shower door. The glass was custom measured but when the door was installed the gap between the door and the adjacent glass isn’t uniform. It is 1/8″ at the top and 3/8″ at the bottom. I’ve asked the contractor to replace it. This doesn’t seem unreasonable. Also they put a plastic sweep along the edge. I think they did this to try and mask the gap. Is a sweep needed and normal?  Most pictures I’ve seen don’t have them.

You will also see in the picture silicone along the base of the shower glass we had the tile laid at a slight angle to allow Water to flow into the shower so I didn’t think this silicone is needed.  Your experience?

Thanks,

Brad

      

Hi Brad,

Sorry to hear about the issues you are having with your recent shower enclosure installation. I think it is reasonable to reject the 1/4″ difference in size of the gap between the door and fixed panel. The industry standard is 1/16″ – but I think even that is pushing it. The edge seal along that edge is probably there to hide the condition you are describing. I never use a plastic seal there unless it is requested by the homeowner.

I also try to avoid using silicone whenever possible… Again, unless the homeowner requests it, I won’t. A frameless shower enclosure is not intended to be completely water-tight. They are to be used in showers where a small amount of water escaping is acceptable. These are issues that I am careful to discuss with my customer at the time of the sale. I explain the options and always try to dissuade my customers from making me caulk the shower. In some spots it is unavoidable, but I will let them make that call. It is way easier to add silicone later, if it is needed, than it is to remove it after it has been applied.

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