Decisions That Go Into Choosing A Shower Door

If you have decided to look at glass shower enclosures for your bathroom remodel, you are already on a great track to a beautiful and functional remodel. But there are several choices that go into a glass shower enclosure, so here are some of the options to start researching. 

Type of Glass

The first thing to think about is the format of glass you want to use for your shower enclosure. Some people choose to go with glass blocks that are durable and provide a little more privacy because of their semi-translucent nature. But the option of using glass sheets for a shower enclosure saves on material costs and it also creates a sleeker look. 

Texture

Glass doesn't need to have a smooth surface. You can find many examples of glass surface texture on both blocks and sheets of glass, and this adds an additional style element to your glass shower enclosure. 

Transparency

Even if you have glass sheets in your enclosure, you could have them etched in order to provide a less transparent surface. Frosted glass is one of the more popular options for this reason. Just note that some of the benefits of shower enclosures are lost with this method; for instance, sunlight doesn't stream through frosted glass as easily, so it's not as good of a method if you are looking to brighten up your bathroom. But etching can be done on just part of the glass, to create a monogram or other custom design, instead of for frosting the entire panel. 

Tint

Tinting is a fun option for making your glass shower doors match the tint of other parts of your bathroom. It's a design choice that helps pull the entire room into a single color scheme. Tinting windows can also add a bit of privacy, much in the way that frosting or etching does. 

Supporting Materials

You must also think about how you are going to support glass. If you use glass panels, they can usually be installed using braces so that you don't have to have supporting materials. But this can be a fun decorative option. You might have a wooden base for your shower enclosure with glass at the top, for instance. 

Of course, your options for glass shower enclosures will somewhat depend on the materials and expertise that your shower door contractor has, so you could talk to them to get advice on what's possible for your design.