Sliding shower doors: an elegant way to save space

Today's bathroom designs feature open space and a streamlined, modern look. Sliding shower doors help save space (often at a premium in the bathroom) while delivering a dramatic look that can provide a focal point for your bathroom's design. Frameless sliding shower doors can be even more striking with their clean lines and understated appearance.

This article discusses the major types of sliding shower doors and some questions you should ask yourself before making your final selection.

Sliding shower doors: the original space-saving innovation

For decades, all shower doors opened on a hinge or pivot -- just like the front door of your house. This is problematic for several reasons. A swinging door requires a lot of space to open freely. Hinge glass doors can be quite heavy, requiring heavy-duty hardware to secure them to your tile. Finally, the simple act of opening a 40-plus-pound of glass can create fairly obvious hazards.

The development of the sliding glass shower door solved many of these problems. In order to work properly, the door must be suspended from an overhead track -- which prevents chipping and breakage at the bottom, where the entire weight of the door would otherwise be concentrated. A gutter or track guides the doors at the bottom, keeping the doors as nearly vertical as possible.

Sliding doors save a huge amount of space. Because all weight is born by the top rail, fairly heavy and elaborate glass panels can be used as well.

The downside of sliding glass doors, alas, is the very hardware that makes them possible: the tracks and rails required to properly install them. No matter how elegant the glass you choose, it will still be framed with metal. Many homeowners just don't find that look particularly appealing. One solution, transparent or translucent plastics used in lieu of metal, simply weren't able to tolerate the weight as well as the wear and tear of normal use.

The biggest revolution in bathroom design in the last fifty years has been the invention of a practical, attractive, and affordable frameless sliding door (discussed below).

Bypass sliding shower doors: enter either way!

The bypass style of sliding shower doors gives you the option of entering the shower from either left or right. You'll save a lot of space compared to pivot or hinge doors. This feature may not be necessary, depending on the floor plan of your bathroom. (For some reason, we often see bypass doors installed despite the fact that a toilet obstructs one of the entrances...)

If, however, you have a more open floor plan, then a bypass door may be the right choice for you. Note you can't use BOTH entrances at the same time -- the open door blocks the opposite side -- so if you're in search of a synchronized tandem showering solution, you'd better look elsewhere.

Frameless glass shower doors: clean, fuss-free lines

Frameless doors are by far the most popular upgrade we see during bathroom renovations. The clean lines and lack of distracting rails give the doors greater presence, so you can achieve a minimalist design aesthetic, or choose elaborately textured glass for a more emphatic statement. With the vast array of finishes, sizes, and glass options to choose from, your frameless door options are limited only by your imagination.

Frameless glass shower doors offer several advantages beyond the aesthetic. These include:

• Easier maintenance (no metal track to collect debris and corrosion)
• Extended tile life -- less wear and tear on the tile
• Stronger and more rigid when properly installed
• Enhanced property value -- prospective buyers are much more popular and desirable to today's homebuyers

Installing a frameless shower door isn't recommended as a DIY project. Because of the extremely small tolerances involved, it's far too easy to end up with messy caulking, leaky gaskets, or -- the worst-case scenario -- a huge pile of shattered safety glass to clean up. Regardless of your handyman chops you're going to want to involve a professional in this project.

Whatever look appeals most to you, DK Hardware has you covered. We offer an extensive supply of shower door kits by CR Laurence, an industry leader in glass and installation hardware. Not sure what you need? Give us a call at (877) 509-8040 and one of our specialists will talk you through your shower door options.