Hello all

Just finished a 32" wide by 33" deep shower. Three sides tiled floor to ceiling. Shower (with a tub spout 16" above the floor) on the left wall and grab bar on the side facing the opening. Low tiled curb. Other than the curb, nothing sticks out on the open side of the shower.

(A well known tilesetter, who at the moment shall remain anonymous, did the work.)

I want to install a frameless glass door on this shower. The shower door guy gave us two options.

Option one: Single pane door hinged on the right side. Problem is, the door will hit the grab bar on the far wall of the shower. No solution here other than to hope the door never hits the grab bar.

Option two: A 6" fixed glass panel on the right side. Door is then hinged to the fixed glass panel. The fixed glass panel will be attached to the side wall with a U-channel screwed to the wall and a U-channel screwed (one screw) to the curb . Problem is that both the tilesetter and I are very uncomfortable with putting a screw thru the tile on the top surface of the curb.

The curb is two 2x3 laid horizontally, cement board, kerdi and then tiled. Shower pan is mortar bed, kerdi, and then tiled. Shower floor is epoxy grouted, curb is cement grouted. Joints are silicon caulked.

Should I worry about shattering the door when (if) it hits the grab bar, or should I worry about the moisture creeping into the one hole on the kerdi on the curb? I know that the glass door will be installed with gobs of caulk but I still worry about the moisture that normally works its way past the tiles and grout.

In the collective wisdom of this board, what's the lesser of these two evils?

Many thanks.

Lara

Your shower door should be tempered glass and shatterproof. Not that it couldn't crack if it hit the bar hard enough, but it shouldn't shatter. I agree that the silicone should protect the one hole in the dam, but even the best silicone can peel away and let in a small leak. I would be concerned about putting a hole through the Kerdi. Maybe one of the experts has experience with that and can offer you a more definitive answer.

Apparently, tempered glass is very fragile at its edges. How fragile? I don't know. And I prefer not to find out. If it is hit just right along the edge, it will shatter into millions of pieces. Tempered glass won't crack or break into big pieces.

Lara

Lara, you are correct,custom shower glass doors and panels are similar to the glass in your car.It's strong enough to take some bumps and will be in a million pcs if it gets broken. The glass is also very susceptible to scratching so be carefull what you use to clean it with. (no metal glass type scrappers)

Even with the grab bar, will the door swing 90 degrees?
I agree with your tile setter that no holes should be drilled into the curb.

The company that does shower glass for me only uses silicone for all the panel installations. Its very stong when done.

If the door will open far enough with the grab bar in the way, then you could put some sort of rubber bumper on it to protect the glass where it hits. Something clear would be best of course, such as the pads used on cabinet doors. Even a bead of clear silicone just in the right location would possibly work. Just a thought.

Problem solved!

The glass people will put a "bumper" on the handle side of the glass door so that the door won't swing in. The bumper is a rubber disk the size of a dime screwed into the wall. Since it will only hit the flat surface of the door (rather then the edge), it won't stress the glass too much. It will be placed high on the wall, and since it is screwed into the vertical surface, it is less of a concern, moisture -wise. (No more of a concern then the screws into the opposite wall holding up the hinges.)

Weird that the glass people didn't think of this immediately.

Me happy, tile setter should be happy. Happy happy!

Lara

Ps. Anybody think this is not a good idea?