Go Down This List, and Watch the Price on Your Frameless Shower Fall

We get a lot of people contacting us, here, at American Glass & Mirror, undertaking a bathroom remodel, who want the modish design of a frameless shower, but don’t want to invest an exorbitant amount of money in it. I offer these customers a few simple pieces of advice that can keep prices from ballooning.

First, go with clear glass. It’s drastically less expensive than pattern glass, but that’s just half the story. I can’t tell you how many customers have come to the sobering realization that they want to show off the brilliant tile they’ve lined the shower enclosure with, only AFTER they shelled out for obscure glass (and even after we warned them!) Pattern glass can create an amazing effect, but think long and hard about the end result it will produce in your bathroom.

Second, make sure walls, seats, and curbs are plumb. Costs can grow considerably when doors and panels need to account for imprecise framing. Square panels are simpler to manufacture, so the cost of labor is cheaper and you’ll see that on your end.

Third, keep fabrication to a minimum. Here again, the less labor intensive the job, the more you’re going to save. We can help you design your frameless shower to reduce the number of claps, hinges, etc. that require special notches to be cut in the glass and drive up cost.

Lastly, use 3/8” over ½” glass when possible. Customers are often curious whether there are benefits to one thickness over the other. Mostly, it is a matter of personal taste. Some people like the look of a thicker panel; others value a lighter door that requires less effort to swing open. One case, however, where ½” should be used over 3/8” glass, is when an enclosure contains large panels (45” to 60” wide), because thicker glass has reduced flexibility and is less susceptible to roller distortion (a wave-like aberration occasionally found in very large panels.) Special circumstances aside, if you want to save money on your frameless glass enclosure, 3/8” is the obvious choice at roughly 20 percent less the price of ½” glass per square foot.

You don’t need to pawn the toilet in order to afford your ideal shower enclosure. Keep these valuable tips in mind and you’ll have a unit that was reasonably priced but looks like a million bucks.