SHOWER ENCLOSURES BY CALIFORNIA FRAMELESS

Frameless Shower Door/Enclosure:



Frameless means just what it sounds like. This is a type of shower enclosure also referred to as heavy glass shower doors/enclosures because they are made from 3/8” or 1/2” thick tempered glass. There are many different ways to assemble a frameless shower enclosure. The most popular styles are assembled using clips, corner brackets, hinges, handles, and towel bars that are attached through the glass by fabricating holes, notches, and hinge cut-outs in the glass panels before the glass is tempered. There are other methods where instead of clips there are aluminum “U”-channels attached to the walls and curb that support the fixed panels. Still other methods of assembly require a support header around the top of the entire enclosure that ties together all of the fixed panels and supports the door. The main theme of a frameless shower is that the door itself is attached by heavy duty through glass hinges with no framework of any kind on the door itself.

Support Header:

A support header is used for different reasons. Contrary to what some people think, a shower enclosure with a support header is still a frameless shower enclosure. There are several reasons to use a support header. The main reason you may need a header is when the shower enclosure was installed without adding the additional wood backing that is required to support the weight of an 80 to 110 lb door. In this situation a header across the top will screw into the tile on both the left and right sides of the shower and transfer that support to the door that will hinge directly from the header using top and bottom pivot hinges. The second reason to use a support header is when you need to connect several glass panels together and make the whole enclosure stronger.

This will help to maintain the shape of the shower when the 100 lb door opens and closes. Sometimes clips and brackets aren’t enough and the only safe way to install the frameless shower enclosure is to use a header. The third reason is that with the support header you can hinge the doors from where ever you want, because it hinges from the header directly. The fourth reason is that all of the glass panels connected by the header are not dependent on each other for support. With the clip system if the panel supporting the door breaks, the door falls down and breaks as well because the door was dependent on the fixed glass panel it was hinging from. The fifth reason is cost. With several styles of shower enclosure using the support header in place of the clips and brackets with all of the added expense of the glass fabrication that is needed and the additional installation labor you can save 35% to 45% off the total price.

Pivot Hinges:

A Pivot hinge is a type of hinge that attached to the top and bottom of the door. With the pivot hinges there can never be more then 2 hinges, therefor the pivot hinges carry the most weight per 2 hinges then almost any other hinge in their class. There are many benefits that come with using pivot hinges. Because the hinge cut-outs are on the top and bottom of the door, the hinge can be locked in place with setting blocks placed in between the hinge and the glass cut-out to prevent the door from slipping. The weight of the door is carried by the glass sitting on a rubber block on the bottom hinge, so it does not hang on the wall. Unlike the wall mounted hinges, if the tile wall that the door hinges from is not flat the pivot hinges will still function perfectly because the hinge pins will always line up with the hinge cut-outs in the glass. They are not dependent on how flat the walls are.

One of my favorite things about the pivot hinges and the other clips and brackets is that all of the hardware is at the extreme top and bottom of the glass enclosure. This helps to keep the center open and unobstructed to show off that beautiful tile work.

Neo-Angle Shower Enclosure:



This type of shower enclosure is normally done in the corner of the bathroom. There is a fixed panel on the right and left sides at a 90º angle to the tile walls and also at a 90º angle to each other. The fixed panels are spaced apart from each other creating a door opening in the center at a 45º angle to the 2 fixed panels. The centered door can hinge from the right or left side depending on the layout of the bathroom. Frameless Neo-Angle showers are strongest when a top support header is used. The header helps to hold the Neo-Angle shape of the shower at the top and prevents the glass panels from flexing and hitting together at the top corners. There are some situations where a Neo-Angle shower can be done with out the top header support. It depends on where the door is attached. If the door is not in the center but hinged directly to the right or left wall it can be done with out a header.

If the fixed panel connected to the wall on the right or left side is narrow enough to support the door hinging from it while hanging at a 45º angle you could potentially install it with out the top support header. But if the fixed panel the door is hinging from is to wide, the weight of the door hanging at a 45º angle will bend or flex the oversized fixed panel causing the top of the door to hit the other fixed panel on the opposite side causing damage. One thing to keep in mind is that with the Neo Angle shape the top support header system is the strongest and least expensive way to install this type of shower enclosure. Depending on how many fixed panels you have and how they will need to connect together with the different clips and clamps, a Neo-Angle with out the top header support system can cost 35% to 40% more because of all the additional glass fabrication that needs to be done for each clip that is needed. Not to mention that it is not as stable.

Frameless Single Sliding Door & Fixed Panel:

This type of enclosure is most commonly made using 3/8” tempered glass. There are some manufacturers that can make limited sizes using 1/2” tempered glass. This style of sliding shower door is classified as a frameless enclosure because it has no perimeter frame work. There is a thick heavy roller bar that extends from wall to wall. The roller bar is supported in the center by attaching the bar directly to the fixed glass. The fixed panel is attached at the bottom with thru-glass clips. Because the fixed panel is needed to help support the weight of the sliding door there can only be one door and not two. The door slides smoothly across the bar using large exposed rollers kind of an exposed barn door style of hardware.

By-Pass Doors:

This type of door can be done as a “Framed By-Pass” (having an aluminum frame around each sliding door) or as a “Semi Frameless By-Pass” where the doors are made from 3/16” x 1/4”, or 3/8” tempered glass with polished edges hanging from roller brackets attached directly to the top of the glass. It is most commonly used on a tub or shower stall where there are three tile walls with the glass enclosure across the front side only. There is normally a perimeter frame consisting of a right and left wall jamb, a header track on top for the doors to slide on, and a sill piece on the bottom to act as a water dam. In most cases there are two doors that hang from roller brackets sliding on the inside of the top track. The doors slide back and forth past each other giving it the name “BY-Pass Doors”. If there are only two tile walls with a bottom “L” shaped curb for a shower or a tub with a finished front and one finished end, this type of shower can also be done as a 90º configuration with an additional fixed return panel enclosing one end of the enclosure. This allows for a more open feeling making the bathroom appear brighter and larger.

Framed Shower or Tub Enclosure:

This would be the less expensive type of enclosure. It generally has 1/8” to 3/16” thick glass in clear or Rain glass. Each piece of glass including the door has an aluminum frame the encompasses the glass on all sides. The framework comes in many different colors to match your bathrooms, faucets, fixtures, towel bars, etc..
You can get framed enclosures with a hinging door and fixed panels or as a By-Pass door with 2 sliding doors and fixed panels if needed.

Semi-Frameless Shower or Tub Enclosure:



This would be the next level up from the framed showers enclosures as far as cost. It generally has 1/8” to 3/16” thick glass in clear or Rain glass for the fixed panels. Each piece of fixed glass has an aluminum frame the encompasses the glass on all sides. The door in most cases is made from 3/16 or 1/4” thick glass in clear or Rain glass and has NO frame work on the top or handle side of the door. There is even an option for a through glass 6” handle to give it a more expensive look. The framework comes in many different colors to match your bathrooms, faucets, fixtures, towel bars, etc.. You can get framed enclosures with a hinging door and fixed panels or as a By-Pass door with 2 sliding doors and fixed panels if needed.

Custom Shower Enclosure:

A custom shower enclosure is any odd shape that does not fit into any of the named shower enclosure types above. They can have multiple angles and panels. They can be zig-zag shapes. They can be combinations of more than one of the other types of shower enclosure mixed together such as a multi-paneled Neo-Angle connected to a 90º at one end. I have had 90º inside corners with 90º outside corners on the same shower enclosure. The biggest problem with Custom Shower enclosures is that there are rules that need to be followed in order to use the frameless shower door hardware that is on the market.

There have been situations where a customer has asked for a Custom frameless shower door to be done after the tile was completed. They never bothered to find out what the rules are, based on the shape of their design. I have had cases where it was impossible to install the type of enclosure the customer was hoping for because the hardware that would be needed to safely support the glass did not exist. Always get input from your frameless shower installer before you attempt something that is out of the ordinary. There may be subtle changes to your design that would make it compatible with frameless shower door hardware that is currently on the market.

Side Mounted Hinges:



This type of hinge attaches to the side of the glass door. Most frameless doors will use 2 hinges. Using 2 hinges you can support a 3/8” or 1/2” tempered glass door between 80 and 110 lbs. With the side mounted hinges you can use as many as 3 hinges and handle door weight from 120 to 140 lbs on average depending on the hinge you choose. There are some hinges on the market that can handle more weight, but they are more for specialty situations and they can get very expensive. There are draw backs to using side mounted hinges. The tile wall that the door hinges from needs to be perfectly flat from top to bottom. If the tile that the top hinge attaches to is tilted up and the tile that the bottom hinge attaches to is tilted down, the hinge pins will not be in alignment with each other. It’s even worse if the wall is not flat and you need to use 3 hinges. One of three things can happen because of the stress to the hinge pins not lining up: The tile will crack, the hinge can break apart, or least likely the glass could break.

Another problem with side mounted hinges is that over time the weight of the door hanging from the wall causes the glass to slide out of the hinge. In most cases it will not fall completely out, but it can sag down far enough to cause problems with the door opening and closing. I actually had this happen at a place I worked at many, many years ago. We had a customer that had a different shower door company install one of there shower doors. They used a poor quality side mounted hinge and once a year almost like clock work, they would call to have the door re-adjusted because the door would sag down on to the curb, trapping them inside the shower.