Glass shower doors are a great benefit to any bathroom. The best benefit is that they are easy to clean. Glass is the easiest surface to clean. There are preventive measures you can take to help prevent soap scum build up on glass shower doors. When they are installed properly and kept clean, they make your bathroom appear bigger as they don’t act as a wall between the shower and the rest of the bathroom. When cleaned well, they have a sleek appearance and keep your bathroom feeling classy.
There are framed and frameless glass shower doors. Frameless glass shower doors are often more stylish but they require thicker glass and more expensive hardware. There is also less room for error in the fabrication. Typically, framed glass shower doors can take more abuse than frameless in addition to costing less and being lighter. Hanging framed glass shower doors are fairly simple compared to frameless and can usually be done in a few hours of work by the average homeowner. Frameless glass shower doors are quite a bit more challenging to install.
The first step to installing glass shower doors is to measure the threshold of the shower. You’ll need the aluminum base track to fit tightly between the walls of the shower stall so you’ll want to use a hacksaw to cut the track to the same length of the shower threshold. Use a metal file to smooth the cut end of the track. Be sure to vacuum up any metal filings so that they don’t damage the floor or shower by scratching. Place the track on the threshold and center it by using a tape measure. Mark the edge of the track near each end with a pencil so that you know where it goes. The track may tend to slide around while you install the shower jambs.
On the door side of the shower opening, hold one of the jamb pieces against the wall while fitting the lower end into the base track. Use a four foot level to adjust the jamb so that its plumb but be sure not to move the base track during this process. Use your pencil to mark the wall where the screw holes are. Next, use a hammer and nail or an automatic punch to make small divots for each screw hole. The glaze on shower tiles tends to make a drill bit slide so these divots will help prevent the drill bit from wandering while you’re screwing the jamb to the wall. Drill holes into the wall and tap plastic wall anchors into each hole. Hold the shower jamb in place while you screw it to the wall. Now that the frame for your glass shower doors is in place, it’s time to get the door itself.
Position the door to swing out and slide the hinge rail into the wall jamb. While holding the door in place, check the strike side edge with your level making sure it’s plumb. Next, fasten the hinge rail to the mounted jamb. Now you can install the other side jamb to the wall. Install any door handles or drip rails that came with it. You always want glass shower doors to trap water inside the shower, so be sure to apply mold resistant silicone along both edges of the base track to keep water inside the shower. Do the same on the side jambs. The final step is simply cleaning up your mess and enjoying your sleek new glass shower doors.