A custom glass shower enclosure can be a beautiful addition to a home’s bathroom while making everyday life in a home more convenient. It’s also a significant investment that needs to be constructed according to carefully made plans to prevent costly and cumbersome design flaws.
The following are seven mistakes that need to be avoided in glass shower enclosure design to take full advantage of the functionality and convenience of this valuable bathroom feature.
1. Lack of Studs Behind Supporting Walls
Glass shower doors and walls that make up enclosures tend to be very heavy. As such, they need to be supported by fasteners that go into wall studs and not only into drywall. If they are not supported by a stud, then a glass shower enclosure could pull out of the drywall and ruin the entire installation.
If metal studs were used in the construction of your bathroom walls, then wood blocking may need to be put in place to ensure that glass shower enclosure fixtures are adequately supported.
2. Glass Tile Mount
It’s never a good idea to mount shower enclosure components directly into glass tiles. Hardware components such as glass clips and door hinges should be mounted into wall studs on drywall or sheetrock rather than being mounted right into fragile tiles.
3. Interfering Overhangs or Tiles
Careful planning needs to be carried out to ensure that overhangs, tiles, or other components of the shower area will not interfere with the movement of a shower door.
In addition, the shower glass enclosure should be designed so that the components do not interfere with the user’s ability to get in and out or move around within the shower.
4. Uneven Soffits
When it comes to glass shower design, the soffits are considered to be the eaves that go along the very top of the shower.
Care needs to be taken during design and installation to ensure that these soffits are equidistant from the curb at the bottom of the shower. This way, an even look will be achieved in the shower and all the angles and lines of the shower will line up properly.
5. Poor Drainage
Drainage is one of the most important considerations in the design of glass shower enclosures.
First of all, the floor of the shower needs to slope slightly downwards into the drain. It’s also important to note that the curb of the shower should slope slightly down into the shower so that leaks are prevented.
Curb tops constructed from solid materials such as granite or marble are ideal for shower design. Curb tops designed from tile can be more difficult to keep clean, more likely to develop mold growth, and more likely to leak.
6. Neglect of the Needs of Household Members
It’s important to consider the needs of current household members as well as newcomers to a household when a shower enclosure is designed and installed.
Special considerations need to be made for shower enclosures that will be used by elderly household members or children. If elderly household members will be using the shower, it may be a good idea to choose a design with a shower seat that will make bathing easier for those with mobility issues.
7. Improper Shower Head Placement
The shower head should be placed so that it does not spray above the soffit. If the shower head can reach the drywall outside the shower enclosure itself, then water damage could result.
If you’re interested in having a glass shower enclosure designed for your home, then you can consult with our experts at Martin Glass Co. to design the perfect custom shower enclosure in St. Louis for your home and household.