Replacing or upgrading a shower door is an important decision. You need to know the dimensions of your shower, how much space there is between the shower and other features around, how much time you are willing to spend in cleaning, and your style and budget. Truth is, there are loads of shower door types available depending on style and price.
Before you walk in the store to buy a shower door, here are types of shower doors I want you to know about:
Types Of Shower Door
Framed Shower Doors
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These are the most affordable shower doors in the market today, but it is because the industry is moving towards the frameless shower doors, which I will talk about them later.
Despite being on the verge of being forgotten in the architectural field, framed shower doors are still eye-catching, just like the frameless doors. Framed doors can be chic and sturdy due to the heavy-duty aluminum material used as frames.
Sometimes framed shower doors may be framed with oil-rubbed bronze to give them a fancy, sleek look.
Frameless Doors
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The current trend in the interior design, frameless doors don’t have aluminum or oil-rubbed bronze finish as frames; instead, they use sturdy, annealed glass, which does not need any support around its outer edges.
These types of shower doors are typically clean-lined and modern-look without any visual obstructions.
Frameless doors are liked mostly because they reveal the interior decorations of the shower, which includes gorgeous stonework, striking tile design, or glossy hardware.
As you can imagine, these kinds of doors are insanely expensive, more so than the framed shower doors.
Semi-Frameless Shower Doors
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This door will give the experience of both framed and frameless doors. It is a perfect middle-man between the super expensive frameless but glossy door and the less costly and less eye-catching framed door.
Glass Tube Enclosures
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This arrangement ensures that you maintain a sleek look without portioning your tub with an unglamorous shower curtain. The tub will be enclosed with a sliding glass door, the only opening.
Sliding Shower Doors
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This depends on your style and preferences, as well as your bathroom layout. The most common sliding door used in showers is the sliding bypass glass door.
Pivoting Shower Doors
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This is the traditional hinge or swinging door that operates like a standard door. You will need to have an expert come and take the measurement of your shower space before installing this door.
The pivot shower doors will require a lot of space to swing, so make sure there is sufficient room.
Bi-Fold Shower Doors
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A bi-fold door is a perfect alternative for the swinging door if you don’t have enough space. They are typically frameless doors because you will be working with limited space.
Safest Shower Divider Materials
Shower divider materials depend on your preference, style, features, and price. There is a wide range of options for you to select from pocket-friendly to medium-priced and high cost. When choosing a divider material for your shower, consider the environment in your shower, aesthetic requirements, your budget, and the durability.
Below are some of the most common shower divider materials you can purchase.
Powder-Coated Or Baked Enamel
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These divider materials are affordable and long-lasting. The curved stile and door edges prevent the edge from chipping.
The powder-coated divider is made from a panel of honeycomb cardboard with a thick metal sheet completed with a powder layer of paint finishes. The powder is toughened by running the steel through an oven.
These materials are perfect for office, religious, and educational facilities. They are not suitable for high traffic areas such as public bathrooms.
Plastic Laminate
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Plastic laminates are also one of the less expensive, highly aesthetic shower dividers. They are versatile and will give your shower a modern look. The material is made using NEMA GP-50 high-pressure laminate as well as high-grade 45 lbs.
Density particleboard. The edges are bonded before the lamination process to enhance water runoff and preventing deterioration. The dividers can come in a variety of colors for you to choose from.
These shower dividers are corrosion-resistant and durable with low maintenance. When they accumulate scratches and other deformations, you can easily repair them with a laminate fill product.
Solid Phenolic
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One of the best shower divider materials you can have for your bathroom. It offers everything you can wish for a shower divider, including flexibility, durability, and strength, color, and finish selection.
You can use these materials even in high traffic buildings such as public building, institutional, and school facilities. They are also perfect for wet areas suitable for wet environments due to their strong core.
Solid phenolic shower dividers are scratch, graffiti, and dent resistant, water vapor impermeable, rust, corrosion, and chemical resistant as well as odor, mildew, and stain-resistant.
To boost your confidence in this material, it is fire rated UL Class B and comes with a 25 years warranty from the manufacturer.
Solid Plastic
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These shower divider materials use modern polymer resin technology, making it virtually maintenance-free. They are perfect in high humidity areas, high traffic locations, schools, parks, and recreational facilities.
Solid plastic shower dividers are graffiti, scratch, and dent resistant, non-absorbent, and do not need painting.
They are also low maintenance, have 15 years warranty from the manufacturer, and odor, mildew, and stain-resistant.
Stainless Steel
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These are some of the most excellent dividers you can get. They offer the ultimate shower solution with their strength and gleam appearance. These shower dividers are suitable for high humidity areas where corrosion and rust are a major concern.
The above are some of the safest shower dividers in the market. Regardless of your choice, you will get what meets your needs.
Tips When Choosing Shower Dividers
Here are a few tips for buying shower dividers:
Go With Your Style – Pivot, Tub, Or Shower
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Consider the space where the shower door will be installed. This will have a significant bearing on what type of partition you buy. If you have a narrow shower, a pivoting shower door will be a perfect choice.
But if you want the shower door to also cover the bathtub, go with a sliding tub door. And on the other hand, a sliding shower door will be suitable for a wider shower space.
Take The Correct Measurement
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Imagine the horror of buying a shower door only to reach home and find out it doesn’t fit. That is a disaster that can be averted with taking the right measurements.
Pick The Glass Style
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If you want privacy, a textured or patterned glass is perfect. Whereas if you’re going to add some elements of feng shui by letting in a lot of natural light from the window nearby, clear glass will never disappoint.
Glass Types – Do Not Accumulate Soap
Here are types of glasses that do not accumulate soap residue or watermarks over time.
Acid-Etched Glass
These types of glasses will come in handy if you want natural lights to enter your bathroom as well as a little privacy. They are translucent; meaning someone from outside can only see your silhouette when you are inside showering.
You can also customize these types of glasses to meet your style and preferences.
Textured Glass
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The textured glass will give your shower a decorative, sleek look. It is just a standard glass, but with impressed textured patterns on its surface.
Starphire Glass
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These are crystal-clear glasses without any color or decoration. It will complement perfectly with your marble or tiled floor of the shower.
Standard Clear Glass
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Standard clear glasses are transparent and sturdy, as well as a bit sophisticated. They are typically tempered to allow a lot of light to energize your shower space.
Sandblasted Glass
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These glasses are made through the process of sandblasting, which is basically blasting the glass surface to give it a frosted look.
How To Clean The Glass Door
Glass doors look aesthetic until they catch dirt. And things can get worse if you don’t know how to clean it. Many people don’t actually.
So, here are ways of cleaning a glass door correctly without leaving marks behind.
Clean From Top To Bottom
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This ay of cleaning will ensure your glass is streak-free – and, most importantly, spotless. Cleaning from top to bottom allows the cleaner to drip down into the areas you haven’t reached yet.
Use Cotton Swabs To Clean The Corners
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The corners of the glass will almost always accumulate residues, and the right tool for cleaning these areas is cotton swabs.
Use Newspapers
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This may be an old-school way of cleaning glass, but it is still effective even today.
Use A Squeegee
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This simple tool can do wonders on your glass surface. This tool is easy and simple to use, and some may come with long handles for convenience.
Try An Old T-Shirt
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Old t-shirts will clean your glass without leaving behind lint residue. They are also quite absorbent to polish your glass clean.
Avoid Woodwork
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If your glass door has wooden frames, try as much as you can to prevent the drips from coming into contact with the wood to avoid its damage.
