Requirements to Install a Frameless Shower Enclosure

Sealer

• Leaks are common with frameless showers due to their design. Attaching the panels with a sealer can prevent serious leaks. The seams of a frameless shower are connected with a bead of silicone. This both glues the panels of the shower together and helps to keep water from seeping out of the shower. Gaskets to seal the bottom and seams of the shower break the illusion of a frameless shower, but they provide a tighter seal against water.

Tempered Glass

• Glass shower enclosures must be made of safety glass. This glass cannot be cut after it is manufactured because it will shatter. When installing tempered glass doors or panels for a frameless shower, use extreme caution because a small chip in the glass can cause it to shatter.

Hinges

• Frameless showers are designed to be swinging doors with hinges or sliding doors on tracks. The hardware for these is as small and unobtrusive as possible. When the door is installed next to a wall, you will need wall-mount hinges. Glass-mount hinges are used to attach the door to a glass panel of the enclosure. If choosing hinges, the glass must be drilled before purchasing. Be sure the hinges are rated for the size of your shower door. Frameless shower doors are up to 1/2 inch thick and the panels are between 1/4 and 3/8 inches thick.

Sliding Track

• Sliding doors require a track at the top and bottom. This can ruin the look of a frameless shower. Look for the thinnest sliding track possible for your shower door to avoid it becoming an eyesore on your frameless shower.

Panel Mounting

• The panels need to be mounted to the walls of your bathroom on two sides. Clamps hold the panels in three spots along the length, but like door hinges, the glass must be ordered with holes drilled into it before it is tempered because drilling into tempered glass will break it. Aluminum channels give the illusion of a frame between the shower panel and the wall, but you will not need to have holes in your panels. The most unobtrusive mounting option for glass panels is the dado mount. These have a narrow channel cut into the wall and do not need additional hardware, but this mounting method is the hardest to waterproof.