What Defines a Shower Door as Custom?
Custom shower doors are tailor-made for your home by a glass expert. While prefabricated shower doors are available online or through many home improvement stores, they only come in standard sizes, and your design options will be extremely limited. Some of these limitations are due to market considerations, but when it comes to certain styles of glass showers — like frameless styles — a perfect fit is especially important…and almost impossible to achieve with a prefab door.
You get almost limitless design and style options when you work directly with a custom glass company, which is why more homeowners prefer to work with a specialist — either through a builder or a designer or directly.
How to Determine If Custom Shower Doors Are the Right Fit for Your Bathroom
If you’re trying to decide between a custom shower door and a prefabricated option, here are some pros and cons to consider.
Prefabricated Glass Shower Doors: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Prefabricated glass shower doors can sometimes be cheaper than custom shower doors, but not always. And, like most things in life, you tend to get what you pay for. Be wary of kits that use thin, ⅛” glass; they typically look flimsy and can be wobbly, even when installed correctly.
- If you already have a prefabricated glass shower, you can typically get a prefabricated replacement for it, should it break.
- If you’re handy, you might be able to install your glass shower yourself.
Cons
- You’ll have fewer choices when it comes to the shape and style of your shower if you choose a prefabricated solution.
- Prefabricated options are only available in a narrow range of shower sizes and often can’t accommodate even the smallest imperfections. We find that approximately 80% of the homes our experts visit have walls that aren’t plumb and shower curbs (also called thresholds) that are not perfectly level.
- While some manufacturers of prefabricated solutions opt for high-quality glass, these kits are typically made overseas and don’t include high-quality hardware that is designed to last.
- Glass showers are made of tempered glass, which can’t be resized or cut down after the fact.
- If a prefabricated kit isn’t a perfect fit, and you’ve already tried to install it, you might not be able to return it to the store.
Custom Glass Shower Doors: Pros and Cons
Pros
- You can choose a frameless or framed shower door without worrying about fit or leaks.
- Your hardware, design, and style options are almost limitless if you work with a glass expert.
- A custom glass shop can use frosted or pattern glass to add privacy.
- Custom glass showers can be created to fit almost any space, including very small bathrooms, and non-standard showers.
- Custom glass shops like ours have invested quite a bit of time researching which hardware suppliers offer the best quality and value, and will only stock products that will live up to their promises.
- A glass expert can replace prefabricated or custom doors should they break.
- Measuring and installation will be done by experienced pros with specialized tools. For example, at our shop, we use a laser device to make sure our measurements are accurate, walls are plumb, and curbs are level prior to installation.
Cons
- Custom glass showers are sometimes more expensive than prefabricated options, but it depends on the style and hardware you choose.
- Lead times might be longer because your glass shower is being custom-made.
Purchasing Flowchart
Just to keep things simple, we’ve put together a glass shower purchasing flowchart. For all of the reasons listed above, you’ll notice that a custom shower is typically the best solution for most homes. But every home, and every homeowner, is different.
If you’re just starting your search and you’re not sure which style would suit you best, our gallery contains options for framed and frameless showers, options for small spaces, and styles that work with modern or traditional décor.
Additional Privacy and Thickness Options
One of the best parts about working with a custom glass expert is that you have almost an unlimited number of options when it comes to the look of your shower.
Frosted or Pattern Glass
You can use frosted or pattern glass anywhere traditional glass is used, including shower enclosures and doors. At East Side Glass, we stock a wide variety of glass options, and we are also happy to track down anything currently available on the market. If you’re curious about what a glass shower could do for your bathroom, but you’re concerned about maintaining some privacy in a shared space, let your glass provider know.
Upkeep
Pattern glass has the added bonus of hiding water spots better than standard or clear glass, but it still requires some upkeep and cleaning. It’s also important to understand that frosted glass can stain fairly easily. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a good option — we always recommend having the exterior frosted surface sealed.
At East Side Glass, we recommend Invisible Shield or ShowerGuard to keep your glass shower looking great between cleanings and free from stains. Either one comes with a limited warranty and can be applied to your shower door before installation.
