Glass shower enclosures should be designed and installed to suit their purpose. They should provide a stylish and practical showering solution that will freshen up your space and increase relaxation.
With so many options available in the market today, choosing the right shower enclosure is not that easy. Like any other decisions you make involving investments for your home improvement, careful planning and research must be done so you end up with the best solution that will give you the most benefits.
There are many factors you should consider such as your renovation budget, types of shower glass, and finish. The cost of your glass shower will depend a great deal on the style, size, and shape of the enclosure. A custom design tub-and-shower combo and walk-in shower will be more costly than a small en suite. The quality of the glass for showers, the complexity of the shower design, and the cost of installation can impact your budget significantly.
Guide to Choosing the Perfect Glass Shower for Your Bathroom
There are six important factors to consider when choosing the perfect shower enclosure suited for your bathroom.
1. Renovation Budget
The first major consideration in any remodeling or renovation in your home is your budget. No matter what your style preferences are and how grand your plan is, you will be limited by your budget. Align your plan to your budget. This means you need to choose from among the types of shower glass with the price range that suits the amount you are willing to spend. Many glass shower styles fit in your current space. Selecting one of them is cost-effective. You need to consider in your plans not just the cost of the glass shower but also installation, which can depend on the complexity of the job and your location.
You can opt to spend a little more if your shower glass upgrade can bring dramatic transformation to your bathroom and can add value. You can consider glass with a unique texture or pattern or a custom design.
2. Bathroom Space
It is best to maintain a static footprint in your bathroom especially if you are satisfied with your bathroom configuration. You can determine the type of shower enclosure to use in your upgrade by deciding to follow your existing bathroom layout and footprint. You avoid spending more on a different shower enclosure configuration, relocating other fixtures, and extra project completion time.
Depending on your budget, you can renovate to convert your tub-and-shower combo into a walk-in glass enclosure while maintaining the existing footprint. With an added cost, you can improve your home’s value.
3. Shower Glass
There is a lot of variety to choose from when it comes to types of shower glass for your bathroom. Safety glazing should be the foremost consideration when choosing glass for showers, especially for doors. Tempered glass, the most common shower glass used in bathrooms, shatters into small pellets rather than shards when it breaks, avoiding significant injury to people.
Though not common in door glass for showers, laminated glass is a much stronger glass. It is made from at least two pieces of glass and one plastic interlayer forming a glass sandwich. The interlayer material holds the glass in place when it breaks, keeping it from falling out. The disadvantage with a glass shower that utilizes laminated glass is it is prone to lamination over time when exposed to moisture. This makes tempered glass the most preferred choice.
4. Your Decorating Style
You can have your style preference show in your choice of the perfect enclosure. You can adopt different shapes such as boxy rectangles and curved semicircles for your enclosures to highlight your bathroom’s design scheme and your aesthetic taste. If you want to bring moiré light to your bathroom, an upgrade of your existing shower by adding a glass shower enclosure can help you with your objective.
Among the options you can have include sliding, hinged, and pivot doors, bypass shower doors, and framed door options with glass thickness, typically 3/16 or ¼ inch. The common frame material is aluminum that can be painted, coated, or finished in a range of different colours. Frameless doors do not have supporting frames and are therefore made thicker like 3/8 or ½ inch, making them among the most expensive types of shower glass.
5. Shower Hardware
It is best to match hardware for your showers such as cabinet handles, towel bars, and faucets to your shower door for a more inviting space.
6. Your Bathroom’s Functionality and the Foot Traffic
If it is frequently used by many people, your shower must be designed in a way that it can withstand everyday knocks, bangs, and slams. The materials used should be able to resist wear and tear. The shower should also be easily accessible by its intended users, including older people and children.
How to Maintain Your New Glass Shower
Taking care of your glass shower helps retain its beauty and effectiveness for years. Clean the shower regularly to stop substances such as soap scum, water spots, and mold from accumulating. Choose mild cleaners and substances that will not harm the glass or seals. After every shower, use a squeegee to remove excess water from the glass to minimize the appearance of spots. Check the seals and hardware regularly to ensure they are intact and working well. Proper care and upkeep will ensure your glass shower lasts longer and stays in excellent condition.
Frameless vs. Framed Glass Showers: Which Is Right for You?
Take your personal preferences, available resources, and available space into account before deciding between frameless and framed glass showers. Frameless showers lend a clean, modern appearance and allow you to see everything, making them an excellent choice for contemporary bathrooms. You’ll usually spend more because the glass is thicker and specific hardware is needed for proper installation. Framed showers are more stable, less expensive, and feature a classic design. A framed glass shower is best for those looking to save money or achieve a more traditional look. A frameless shower is an excellent choice to achieve a clean, uncluttered look in your bathroom.
How to Incorporate Glass Shower Design Into Smaller Bathrooms
A glass shower in a small bathroom can make the space appear larger by letting light move through freely and replacing a cumbersome enclosure. A frameless glass shower with a simple, streamlined design and few components is the best choice for a smaller bathroom. Opt for clear or lightly frosted glass to preserve the sense of a light, open bathroom design. Mirrors are arranged thoughtfully, and a neatly designed shower can open up the room without sacrificing the look or functionality of the space. Select floor plans that make the most of existing corners and produce a functional design with a stylish finish.
Glass Project Solutions is the expert that can help you toward a selection of the perfect glass shower enclosure for your style and budget. Call us for a free consultation.
