With regard to renovations in 2025, glass shower enclosures are much more popular than curtains for bathroom makeovers and remodels. Once you’ve decided to upgrade to glass, you’ll still need to pick from among frameless, semi-frameless, and framed designs. We’ll give you an overview of each type as well as their pros and cons. And if questions remain about glass shower hardware needs and options, please give our Manassas Park, VA team a call at (571)707-7760.

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Frameless Glass Shower Enclosure Design

A frameless glass shower enclosure is built from unframed sheets of tempered glass, which can be clear, ultra-clear, acid-etched, patterned, or tinted. Thick glass is needed to maintain the stability and rigidity of the stall in the absence of aluminum frames. If there’s no framing, how are the glass panels kept in place?

Fixed panels are attached to adjoining glass or tiled walls with small clamps and caulk joints.

For some configurations, a header stretches across the top of the enclosure and provides stability as well as a surface to which other hardware can be attached.

Swinging door panels operate on either pivot hinges or side mounted hinges that attach to the wall or to a glass panel.

Alternatively, you can choose a frameless sliding shower door system. These feature one or two door panels that roll along a header bar. There are also frameless splash guard and walk-in enclosure options, but, the defining feature of unframed glass is always present.

Frameless glass shower pros include:

On trend aesthetic

Good for showing off shower tile

Easier to clean, especially designs with minimal metal

The main con of frameless construction is that it is more expensive due to the need for thicker glass.

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Semi-Frameless Glass Shower Enclosure Design

Semi-frameless glass showers are not as stylish as frameless, but they do bring together some of the appealing traits of both frameless and framed design. They are characterized by:

Slightly thinner glass than frameless enclosures

Lower price than comparable frameless designs

Framing around at least the perimeter of the enclosure

Frameless glass for at least the door panel(s)

A less high-end look than frameless units

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Framed Glass Shower Enclosure Design

A framed shower enclosure is fully comprised of glass framed in aluminum, which allows for still thinner glass to be safely used. The main pro of framed design is its lower price tag, and the framing does protect the glass edges to some degree. On the other hand, it is notably less fasionable than frameless design and cleaning can be more involved.

However, there is a “framed” look that is very popular today. It involves surrounding the glass with matte black U-channel and putting black grids on its surface by means of ceramic frit printing. This evokes a look reminiscent of old-fashioned steel-framed windows and is being used in many parts of the home.

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Glass Simple is your convenient online source for glass shower handles, hinges, clamps, U-channels, and more. We ship to the 48 contiguous US states and also offer pickup options for local customers. Browse our site or give us a call today!