Frameless Sliding Shower Doors – Why They Are a Thing These Days

If you are getting ready to give your house a new look, don’t forget to make your bathroom more attractive by adding a frameless sliding shower doors. At a restaurant, it does not matter how good the food is because if their bathrooms look dirty, you aren’t comfortable coming back there again. This same rule applies when you are remodeling your house. No matter how beautifully you have decorated your bedroom and living room, the looks won’t be complete without a good-looking bathroom. When redesigning your bathroom, you need to consider several components.

Beautifying Your Bathroom

When you are done giving your bathroom an overall theme, it comes down to your shower enclosure. Your choice of shower enclosure and materials can make your bathroom a fail or pass. With shower enclosures, you have a bunch of options to choose from. You can choose square, rectangular, circular, semi-circular, or at times door-less enclosures. Once you have decided the enclosure type, you have to decide the type of door that will go on it. For glass shower doors, you can choose from sliding, bi-fold, hinged/swing, pivoting, quadrant, corner doors etc. Without any doubts, custom shower doors have become the most popular these days.

 

Frameless Sliding Shower Doors

Frameless sliding shower doors have become quite a thing in the recent days because of the way they look. You could safely say that they are the best fit for any modern looking bathroom décor. With the old framed doors, you always had to compromise on the beauty of your shower enclosure. The oddly colored frame distracts the eyes and takes away your attention from the beauty of the glass. Not to mention, the metal starts to get dirty with time making things look worse with time. The best solution to all those problems is the frameless sliding shower doors.

The Many Types of Glass Shower Doors

One of the most amazing things about sliding glass shower doors is that they are available in many different glass types. These different glasses are there to match and complement the theme in your bathroom. Here are some of the most common types of glass materials available for sliding shower doors:

Clear Glass

This is one of the most common types of glass materials used in glass shower enclosures. As the name suggests, this type of glass is simple and is just any regular glass that you already know. The main purpose of installing this particular glass material is keeping simplicity in the décor. If your bathroom tiles are something you really want to flaunt, clear sliding glass shower doors are the perfect choice for you. They are also the top choice for you if you don’t have any privacy concerns in your bathroom.

Main Advantages

The biggest advantage for homeowners looking for clear sliding glass doors is the cost. Being the simplest of the bunch, these glass doors can be quite inexpensive. As mentioned above, they are also great choice where privacy is not the main concern. If your bathroom décor takes advantage of natural lighting, this clear glass door will let in ample light – this could save you a few bucks on energy bills.

Rain Glass

These frameless sliding shower doors have raindrop pattern on them. When you look at the glass, it seems as though there are thousands of raindrops resting on the glass surface. This glass is made with functionality in mind so only the outer side of the glass is patterned whereas the inner side is left untreated – this is for hygienic purposes.

Main Advantages

The main reason for buying rain patterned shower doors is the decorative element they add to your bathroom. They look really beautiful and provide some level of privacy as the objects on the other side of the glass cannot be seen clearly. It is a perfect choice for bathrooms where strong sunlight makes its way in. The glass only lets some soft part of the rays to be inside the enclosure. Stains and water marks are also camouflaged really well with the rain pattern.

 

Frosted Glass

This is one of the most favourite for most people looking for a stylish sliding glass door for their modern bathrooms. The technique used for making regular glass look frosted is called acid etching. Just like the rain pattern, this pattern is also only on one side of the glass to let some soft light into the enclosure. The design is really smooth and offers some level of privacy for those who are not strict on privacy rules.

Main Advantages

While the choice of the pattern depends on what you like more, the uniformity in frosted glass design is often more appealing for most customers. It lets only some part of the light to pass through it but for hygienic purposes, only the outside of the glass is given he frost effect. While it does not provide full privacy, you could easily give it 5 out of 10 for it.

Tinted Glass

As the name suggests, this particular glass type has been given a particular tint. It is up to you to decide the colors and strength of the tint based on the theme you have followed in your bathroom’s decoration. It can and can’t offer privacy depending on how well-lit the inside of the shower is. If you don’t have any lights in the shower enclosure, it will offer a good amount of privacy.

Main Advantages

Frameless sliding shower doors with tinted glass are mainly suitable for decorative purposes. These glass doors are a perfect choice for bathrooms where you want to create a contrast because the main decoration and tile colors are a bit dull and boring. In addition to making your bathroom look more beautiful, this type of glass will also become a shield against strong artificial or sun light.

Check our articles about shower doors – examples of our projects, prices, and more useful information.

How to Clean Glass Shower Doors

Clear glass shower enclosures are the easiest to clean since they are just normal glass. However, sliding glass shower doors with frost effect or other patterns can be a little tricky to clean. Do not be intimidated as there is no rocket science involved in that too. They can be cleaned just like clear glass but with a few additional adjustments. First, make sure you are wearing gloves, not only to protect your hands but to avoid putting fingerprints on the glass again. Spray the cleaner on your glass and use paper towels for cleaning. Moving your hands in a circle as you clean the glass is highly recommended.

The additional step in cleaning frosted glass is to use the abrasive sponge. Once again, you need to move your hand in circle shape gently to clean the glass surface. Scratches that come from metal can be removed using emery paper. Using circular hand motion, scrub the damaged surface until the spot looks clean. Always make sure to pick emery paper that has the right roughness for your glass.

Custom Glass Shower Doors

After making your choice about the type of door you want for your enclosure, you have to choose whether you want a ready-made glass door or a custom-made option. Experts will always advise you to go for the custom glass door for many benefits they offer. By offering benefits, it means these custom doors solve many problems that are common with ready-made glass shower doors. Here are a few of the problems that custom glass shower doors can solve for you:

Space Availability

One of the biggest concerns for homeowners whether you are going for sliding glass shower doors or some other type of door is managing the space available in the bathroom. There are many different types of doors available to make your enclosure fit within the space. You could choose from sliding doors, pivot doors, corner doors, bi-fold doors, quadrant doors and many more. If you have always liked the look of swinging doors, a pivoting door is a good choice to save space. However, frameless sliding shower doors are the best because not only they save space but they provide you enough room to enter the enclosure too. With a custom door, you can have a door designed perfectly to fit into the available space.

Unconventional Ceilings

Unconventional ceilings pose a great problem for ready-made frameless sliding shower doors and other types. If your ceiling is low, sloping, triangular etc. a ready-made option will not fit into the space. This could keep you from making your bathroom look like your imaginations. Instead of compromising, it is best that you go for custom glass doors. These doors are prepared after taking proper measurements of the space that you have dedicated for shower enclosure. It also becomes easier to choose the type of door once you know the amount of space available to you.

Uncompromised Modern Looks

Frameless sliding shower doors have become a necessity for modern looking bathrooms. However, these doors and others can only look good in a bathroom when they are a perfect fit within the available space. Your modern looking bathroom will end up being a failure if the door opens oddly and does not give you enough space to step into the enclosure. With a custom glass door, they will not only work on functionality of the door but also make sure that your enclosure is a perfect reflection of your modern bathroom décor.

Glass Strength

When you want a glass shower door, you will have to be mindful of the glass choice too. The first thing you will have to decide is the thickness of the glass. Generally, the ideal option when deciding on the thickness of the glass is 3/8”. This ensures the door is thick enough to provide privacy while at the same time thin enough to enhance the appearance of the bathroom.

Keep in mind that frameless sliding shower doors have no frame around them to give them any support. What this means is that the glass has to be strong per se. A standard glass thickness used with framed doors will not work for a frameless glass entry.

 

Should You Install Frameless Sliding Shower Doors Yourself?

The competition among companies that sell and install glass doors is quite tough. As a wise consumer, you will always want to research your options and then make a decision. However, after getting a few quotes from here and there you might be urged to do the project on your own. Of course, you can find some helpful online videos and tutorials to help you install sliding glass shower doors, but this is not a job you should take in your hands.

The first reason for not doing it on your own is security.

You don’t want to play with glass because it can hurt you badly. Even a slight slip of hand can end up in a horrible accident. Nothing is more costly than your health and life.

Another big disadvantage of installing things DIY is increased costs when you end up breaking something as a result of an accident. If you drop the entire glass door, you will have to buy a new one and you will end up spending double the amount you would have paid to a professional. In simple words, installing the shower door in your bathroom is much more complex and difficult than it seems. Since the job is pretty complex in nature, it could delay the installation process if you do it yourself.

Delayed process means it would be a big hassle for you and your family whenever they want to take a shower. Even the smallest chip and break during the installation process can ruin the looks of your glass doors and the bathroom as a whole. Things can be even more difficult if you have decided to go with sliding glass shower doors with clear or HD clear glass materials.

Based on the information given above, you are always highly recommended to pick a professional to install the glass shower door in your bathroom.