A bathroom remodel is not complete without an upgrade to the shower area. This Glass Simple guide will help you with every aspect of the project, from clarifying your goals to navigating the finer points of selecting hardware and glass. The right glass enclosure will not only improve the shower area itself, but can transform the entire space.

1. Is a custom frameless shower better than a glass shower kit? 

A one-size-fits-all glass shower kit is cheaper than a custom installation. However, it cannot be personalized to your practical needs and aesthetic preferences the way that a custom frameless enclosure can. When you’re taking the time and spending the money on a bathroom renovation, it’s nice to include your dream shower rather than one that is just okay. Opportunities for personalizing a custom glass shower include: 

• Overall layout and configuration 

• Angles and number of glass panels 

• Type and style of glass 

• Door type 

• Hardware style 

• Hardware finish

2. What types of glass can be used for a frameless shower enclosure?

In the past, shower enclosure were built from standard annealed glass. However, this is no longer permitted due to safety risks. The vast majority of glass showers are constructed from tempered glass. During manufacturing, tempered glass is brought to a high temperature and then quickly cooled down, a process that makes it over three times sturdier than annealed glass. Another safety feature is that broken tempered glass falls into chunks that are not as sharp as regular glass shards. If there is a particular concern about breakage, consider: 

• Laminated Glass – Two layers of glass around a vinyl interlayer that keeps the panel in place if it gets damaged. 

• Laminated Tempered Glass – Two layers of tempered glass attached to a vinyl interlayer.

In general, though, tempered glass offers the durability needed for a frameless glass shower installation.

3. Is tempered glass available in different styles?

Definitely! Clear and ultra clear tempered glass are the most popular choices for frameless glass showers. These choices don’t hide the shower tile, so it can be a focal point of your design. They have the added benefit of giving the overall space and the shower stall a roomier ambiance. A panel of normal clear glass does have greenish coloration around its perimeter, but ultra clear glass has a lower iron content, which lessens this effect.

While transparent glass is the style favorite, obscure glass offers some benefits. These include:

• A more private shower area, which is desirable in certain settings, such as when a family shares a single bathroom.

• No need to keep the inside of the shower display-worthy at all times.

• The opportunity to make the shower design more distinctive through glass with a pattern.

Acid-etched glass, sometimes referred to as “frosted,” is a popular choice for privacy glass. Satin glass is etched across its entire surface, so it matches many décor schemes and won’t clash with motifs elsewhere in the space. Other glass options may have an etched pattern, making their look more distinctive.

Patterned glass has a dimensional design on its surface. This can range from a subtle texture to a floral pattern so this type of glass opens up even more design possibilities. Tinted glass is used less frequently, but it does give you a little more privacy than clear glass and is nice for some bathroom designs. Gray and bronze tinting are probably the most common hues. Cast glass is created by pouring molten glass into a mold that yields a dramatically textured piece of glass.

4. What are my design options for a frameless stall?

Frameless glass shower doors and enclosures take various forms. On a single stall shower or a larger shower room with a small entryway, you may see just one swinging door panel on wall mounted hinges. A wider shower stall or a tub/shower combo often has an in-line door and panel setup. These types of showers can also be enclosed by swinging French doors or by frameless sliding doors.

A corner shower is another popular design, and these generally take one of two forms:

• Neo-Angle – On this type of stall, two glass panels extend from the bathroom corner perpendicular to the adjoining wall. The enclosure is finished off with a swinging door on glass to glass hinges that joins the fixed panels at 135 degree angles.

• Right Angle (also known as 90 Degree) – These enclosures have a square or rectangular footprint. Two walls are made of glass, with one of these including or consisting of the door panel. The other two walls are the tiled walls of a bathroom corner. All walls are perpendicular to each other.

In an especially large bathroom, it’s also possible to create a shower with every wall and the door itself made of glass. Other custom designs, with various angles and numbers of glass panels, can be constructed as well.

Last but not least we have the frameless glass shower screen, also known as a splash guard. A shower screen is one piece of glass, either fixed or hinged. A hinged shower screen can swing on wall mount or pivot hinges, while a fixed screen is attached with clamps and/or U-channels. Since a splash guard does not fully enclose the shower area, other precautions are needed to avoid puddles or water damage.

• Proper slope of shower floor toward drain

• Correct positioning of shower head

• Extra waterproofing in the bathroom

5. What choices do I have for the door or entrance?

A frameless shower door entrance can be left open or outfitted with a swinging or sliding door. Shower screens always leave the entrance open, but sometimes larger stalls will also have an open doorway, and these are known as walk-in showers. This design may be chosen for aesthetic reasons, but it can also be combined with a curbless entrance to the shower. An enclosure with no door to push open and no curb as a possible trip hazard is more accessible than its counterparts. As in the case of shower screens, be intentional about floor slope, drain placement, shower spray location, and waterproofing. In summary, a walk-in shower offers:

• an open look and feel

• enhanced accessibility

Now that we covered the “no door” option, let’s get answers to some FAQs about swinging and sliding shower doors.

Q: What are the advantages to swinging shower doors?

A: Swinging shower doors can give your restroom an upscale vibe. They harmonize with many different decorating styles, ranging from modern to classic to vintage. Swinging doors can typically be outfitted with the knob, pull handle, or towel bar of your choice, which will give them character and a defined style.

Q: Are there situations in which swinging doors are not recommended?

A: Yes. A swinging door needs clearance for convenient operation and so that it doesn’t hit another bathroom fixture or piece of furniture. If there is not enough room around your shower entrance to accommodate a swinging door, you will want to consider a shower screen or a sliding shower door system – click here to see some examples.

Q: What are the advantages to sliding glass shower doors?

A: As alluded to above, sliding shower doors are more space friendly that swinging doors. They require even less space than a shower curtain to operate. In the past, all sliding shower doors were framed or semi-frameless. However, you can now order frameless sliding doors that are suspended from and roll along a header spanning the width of the enclosure.

Q: Are there any disadvantages to a sliding shower door?

A: The rollers, header, and other hardware make these enclosure more time consuming to clean than a simple swinging door setup. They also have a more modern look, so they might not be the best choice for a period home or a bathroom with a formal, antique style. Labeled slideshow of swinging door, sliding door, and open entry on frameless shower enclosures.

6. What hardware is needed to install frameless shower glass?

On framed showers of the past, aluminum framing encased each piece of glass and played a key role in the shower’s structure. On a frameless shower, glass is front and center, while metal components tend to be more minimal. In the absence of framing, glass panels are usually affixed with:

• clamps

• hinges

• caulk joints

Clamps and hinges can be either wall-mounted or glass-to-glass. Wall mounted clamps and hinges are used to attach a piece of glass to an adjoining bathroom wall, while glass-to-glass components connect two sections of glass. Some frameless showers also include a header that extends across the top of the enclosure. Including a header can reduce the price of the project by allowing for the use of slightly thinner glass. A header might also be needed as the upper surface to which a pivot hinge is attached. One of our Glass Simple hinge videos.

7. How can my choice of hardware further personalize my shower design?

While glass does a lot to define the frameless glass shower’s style, it’s the hardware that really clarifies it. This is especially true when it comes to the door handle you choose. Knobs, pull handles, finger pulls, and towel bars are all options. In a formal bathroom, you might want an ornate shower pull – see example, but in a modern space your shower door might be best adorned with a simple knob or finger pull.

Even the small, utilitarian pieces of hardware such as clamps and hinges have subtle stylistic differences. They will either have a square profile like this or a beveled profile like this. The square edge products are more contemporary in appearance, so keep this in mind as well as the fact that you should use the same profile on each piece of hardware on your shower enclosure.

Frameless glass shower hardware is usually offered in various metallic finishes. Glass Simple, for instance, offers many products in your choice of:

• Oil Rubbed Bronze

• Brushed Bronze

• Brushed Nickel

• Polished Chrome

• Matte Black

• Polished Nickel

• Satin Brass

Some of the most popular hardware finishes today are polished chrome, brushed nickel, matte black, satin brass, and brushed bronze. The finish is another element that deeply impacts the shower’s finished look. Hardware in the silver family, like nickel and chrome, lowers the color temperature of the room. Use these to create a calm, cool vibe. Black hardware is neutral. You can pair it with either silver or gold tones, and matte black helps bring a room in line with 2024 trends. Warmer metals in the gold family, like brass and bronze, raise the room’s color temperature and bring a sense of elegance and luxury.

8. What are some tips for coordinating the shower enclosure with the rest of the space?

Whether you’re totally renovating the bathroom, doing a new build, or just updating the shower area, these tips can help you maintain a cohesive look throughout the space.

• One option is to use the same finish on the shower hardware and all the other metal in the bathroom.

• Mixed metals are also a hot look, though. If you go this route, try to have both of your chosen metals in and around the shower area. For example, you might want polished nickel inside the shower since it camouflages water spots but a matte black handle on the outside of the door.

• Match the details. You can also take note of the finer points on the bathroom’s other hardware. For instance, do the hinges on your vanity cabinet doors have square or beveled edges? Then choose frameless glass shower hardware with similar features.

• Accessorize your shower in the same theme as the rest of the bathroom. For example, add a shower plant if the room has a biophilic design or a bamboo bathmat if you’re going for a spa feel.

9. How can I create a glass shower that is easy to take care of?

When it comes to the shower enclosure’s overall design, keep these points in mind:

• Simplicity of design tends to yield simplicity of cleaning. The more moving parts and complex apparatus a shower door has, the more involved cleaning it will be.

• Pay attention to the proximity of your frameless glass shower to other bathroom fixtures. If it’s too close to another installation, you’ll end up with a gap where dust and moisture will build up because it’s too difficult to clean.

Here are some considerations for the hardware:

• Polished finishes and dark finishes like matte black and oil rubbed bronze will show water spots and soap scum more than satin or brushed finishes.

• Balance aesthetics with ease of care. For instance, a smooth, sleek pull handle like this will be easier to clean than an ornate one.

Points to bear in mind as you choose the glass include:

• Smooth glass – clear, ultra clear, and tinted – is easier to wipe clean because it does not have grooves or texturing that invites buildup.

• On the other hand, satin glass can camouflage water spots.

• You may wish to order permanently sealed/coated glass that will resist water spots and corrosion.

• If you don’t upgrade to this type of glass, consider regularly applying a spray-on glass protectant.

10. What are some cleaning tips for a frameless glass shower?

Keeping them dry is one of the most important things you can do for both the glass and the metal components on your glass shower enclosure. After each shower, squeegee the glass and towel dry the hardware. If you remove water droplets right away, this minimizes the risk of water spots, corrosion, mineral buildup, and soap scum issues.

Form a regular cleaning schedule based on:

• How heavily the shower is used.

• The quality and hardness or softness of your tap water.

• How much the shower hardware shows water spots.

Once you’ve established the interval at which you will clean the bathroom, try it for a while, see how it works, and lengthen or shorten the interval if needed. Be sure to use an approved cleaning agent on the glass and a mild soap and water blend on the metal. Never subject the glass or the metal to anything harsh or abrasive, and always rinse and dry thoroughly after cleaning.

We invite you to check out our Glass Simple website where everything is in stock and ready for shipment to your location or local pickup. Glass Simple takes the hassle out of sourcing the hardware needed for a frameless glass enclosure. Call our team at (571)770-7760 and don’t forget to ask about our discounted prices for business accounts.