There are three basic designs that are used when laying out a shower door install. The simplest is the in-line configuration. This simply means the shower door proper is mounted next to, and sometimes hinged to, another pane of glass in the same plane as the shower door.

The second is a right angle configuration. Some shower enclosures are square and open on two sides, and some have a low “pony wall” for a third wall. A right-angle installation would either have a sheet of glass covering one whole side, with the door hinged off the edge (or a full sheet and a partial sheet mounted at right angles to the full sheet and the door hinged to that).

And the last is neo-angle. This is simply a door mounted to an enclosure where the shower pan has been “clipped” at the open corner to provide a fourth side, at forty-five degrees, to the two adjacent glass panels. This provides an entrance to the shower that makes a corner enclosure more practical and decorative.

Frameless shower doors are generally beneficial in small bathrooms because they make the rooms look larger and less crowded. However, not all frameless shower doors are created equally; some use frosting techniques to apply designs like leaves and flowers or to simply make the class look textured or glossy. Think twice before choosing this type of shower door for your small bathroom, as it could reduce the spaciousness created by a frameless shower door.

Next, consider the look of your bathroom. Is your bathroom currently more cozy or elegant, classy, and modern? To achieve a more cozy looking bathroom, select frameless shower doors that feature natural, soft designs, like floral patterns. Frameless shower doors made entirely of natural glass, however, look more modern.

If you want to change the atmosphere of your bathroom, then modify the look of your frameless shower doors. However, do keep in mind that a modern shower will look out of place in a cozy bathroom, and vice versa.

Glass used in the construction of frameless shower doors is tempered, which means that it has been chemically or thermally treated to make it stronger than regular glass. Tempered glass doors are safer than metal doors, since, unlike thin metal, tempered glass will not break from the impact of an unexpected slip or collision.

Frameless shower doors are also more secure than other types of doors, since they prevent water from escaping the shower completely. Despite their length and height, shower curtains often let a certain amount of water out of the shower, making them less effective.

Finally, frameless shower doors are more durable than doors with metal borders or curtains. Instead of curtain hooks that rip due to fabric stress or metal doors that get dented or corroded, glass doors last for years in pristine condition, requiring only light cleaning.

During the hunt for a safe and secure frameless shower door, strength, seal, and longevity are paramount. The strength of tempered shower door glass, as well as its ability to completely seal a shower, makes it an ideal choice.

The first design consideration is how and in what direction the frameless shower door will open. Frameless shower doors are heavy, and are typically mounted on the wall. The hinges need firm anchorage, so the framing should be doubled 2×4s at the point where they’ll be installed. The framer must use straight lumber for this, because frameless shower doors cannot be scribed to bowed walls, and the design esthetic for these doors dictates a minimal, even gap.

Likewise, the tile setter should take care to ensure that the float is dead flat at that point. In terms of the tile design, the tile setter needs to know to “box” any decorative moldings that protrude out from the surface of the shower enclosure to make sure the swinging frameless shower door is not interfered with. And because frameless shower doors do not seal tight to the bottom of their openings, the tile on the top of the curb must drain inward, toward the shower.

Shower curtains have many inherent downsides compared to frameless shower doors. They are difficult to clean, and wear out quickly. Additionally, most curtains tend to be hard for light to penetrate, resulting in a much darker shower experience than preferable. Shower curtains usually do not enhance a bathroom’s elegance, and often detract from its sense of sophistication. Shower curtains are also often inept at keeping large amounts of water from leaving the shower.

In direct contrast, frameless shower doors are easy to clean, and last for years. They let light in, allowing the shower to take place in a more desirable, well-lit environment. Frameless shower doors contribute to a bathroom’s sleek, tasteful style. Best of all, they are are built with waterproof seals, so that even a minimal amount of water is unable to escape.

Cleaning, durability, light, water retention, and style are all important factors when choosing between curtains and doors. In every significant area, frameless shower doors offer the advantage over curtains.

Frameless shower doors

When it comes to installation, careful planning and accurate measurements are key. Better yet, consider hiring a contracting company that specializes on custom glass fabrication to help you.

The first step in setting up the shower door is the installation of hinges. A drill with a masonry bit can be used to drill into the shower wall tiles. The masonry anchors are inserted onto the drilled holes and the glass is set in the shims’ opening. Door is inserted and screwed.

The shower door is installed either through a pre-drilled hole in the glass door and screwed into a mounting hardware or through a self-adhesive that is found on the door’s handle.

After the shower door has been installed, clean it using a glass cleaner. This gives it a protective coat when the shower is being used.

Using less metal in your bathroom can open the room and make your space appear larger. So if you have a bathroom that you think used to be a closet when the previous owner ruled the roost, don’t be discouraged. Frameless shower doors can really enhance your bathroom, even if it’s a small space. But frameless shower doors aren’t just for small bathrooms; in fact, some of the largest, most luxurious bathrooms featured on HGTV’s web site use–that’s right–frameless shower doors.

A mark of modernity and style, frameless shower doors can enhance your bathroom whether it’s large or small. And it’s a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to boost your bathroom back to the present.

In our follow up to our two part series on safety glass, we’ll be looking at laminated safety glass.

The origin of laminated safety glass, Edouard Benedictus’s accidental discovery:

“Benedictus climbed a ladder to fetch reagents from a shelf and inadvertently knocked a glass flask to the floor. He heard the glass shatter, but when he glanced down, to his astonishment the broken pieces of the flask still hung together, more or less in their original contour.

On questioning an assistant, Benedictus learned that the flask had recently held a solution of cellulose nitrate, a liquid plastic, which had evaporated, apparently depositing a thin coating of plastic on the flask’s interior. Because the flask appeared cleaned, the assistant, in haste, had not washed it but returned it directly to the shelf.” (Source)

Upon his accidental discovery in 1903, Edouard Benedictus thought it would be perfect for the recently popularized automobiles driving around Paris. It turned out being hard to convince automobile makers to use it in their cars, which caused it to see limited use until the outbreak of World War I, where is was used in gas masks. After its battlefield use proved its effectiveness, it was finally picked up by automotive manufactures where it has since been the standard in automotive windows.

The modern day process of creating laminated safety glass has changed from the coating of glass with a liquid plastic, to the stronger method of sandwiching a thin sheet of PVB between glass sheets. PVB also known as polyvinyl butyral is a clear, flexible plastic film that will hold the glass in its form upon breaking, severely lessening the chance of flying glass shards.  Due to the layer of PVB, laminated glass is also quite hard to penetrate, in fact bullet-proof glass essentially an extremely durable, highly layered piece of laminated safety glass. Besides being hard to physically break through, it holds the extra benefits of blocking most UV radiation and high frequency sound.  This added strength unfortunately makes laminated safety glass very difficult to cut, and nearly impossible if it is made using tempered glass.

So the next time you look through a piece of glass you might want to ask yourself just what went into it’s creation. There’s a good chance it’s not just super heated sand…

In this two part series looking at the main types of safety glass, we’ll go into the process as to how each type is made and how it came about. For our first part we’ll be looking into tempered glass.

Tempered glass is believed to be first patented by Austrian chemist Rudolph A. Seiden in the early 20^th century. Simply put tempered glass is a type of safety glass in which the glass is thermally or chemically treated to strengthen  and alter the way it breaks apart. Once treated the now tempered glass is much stronger than normal glass and if it is broken it will no longer shatter in long, sharp sheets characteristic of normal, untreated glass. Instead, upon breaking it shatters into small fragments that are less likely to cause harm or serious injury as a broken sheet of glass.

In order to enter this tempered state, the glass can be treated in one of two ways: thermally (heat) or chemically. To thermally treat the glass, it is heated to around 1,200 degrees F, then quickly cooled to 500 degrees F. It’s this quick cooling that creates the tempered properties in the glass. Alternatively it can be chemically tempered through the “immersion of the glass into a bath of molten potassium nitrate.”

Unfortunately, because of the change in properties after the tempering process the glass cannot be cut or pressed into shaped as this will cause it to shatter, so this must all be done ahead of time. Also if it is scratched, it has been known to splinter and later shatter, to help prevent this from occurring, lamination of the surface can be used. The use of lamination will bring us into part 2: Laminated Safety Glass.

It’ll take you ~ 2hrs from start to finish, maybe more depending on the amount and size of the sugar glass, so plan accordingly.

First off, here’s a list of things you’ll need:

-          Deep Sauce Pan

-          Mold for the glass (ie cookie sheet, but depends on what you want to make)

-          2 Cups of Water

-          1 Cup of  white corn syrup

-          3 ½ cups of sugar

-          ¼ tsp. cream of tartar

-          Candy thermometer

-          Oil or non-stick spray (and lots of it!)

1) Mix the water, syrup, sugar, and cream of tartar into your saucepan.  Stir the mixture as you slowly bring it up to a boil. Slowly heating the mixture is a key factor here, if you bring the mixture to a boil too quickly it’ll cause the sugar to caramelize and ruin any chances of making sugar glass.

2) Continue heating the mixture to 300 degrees F, this should take about an hour to reach, if not longer.  This is when you bring in your candy thermometer to gauge the temp, but make sure it doesn’t fall into your sauce pan.

- Note of Caution: This sugar glass mixture is very hot and sticky when you’re cooking it. It can burn you if it gets onto your skin, and that’s no fun at all, so be sure to avoid touching it until it has completely cooled.

3) With your oil or non-stick spray, cover your mold (cookie sheet) with a very generous amount  of oil/spray.  It’ll make it easier to remover later.

- Also, if you’re using a spray, make sure to allow the bubble/alcohol in it to evaporate so your Sugar Glass doesn’t get clouded with bubbles as it cools.

4) Carefully pour your heated mixture into the mold.  (Oven mitts/gloves are strongly recommended) Pour slowly if you wish to reduce the amount of bubbles created.

5) Putting the mold on an even surface let the mixture cool and harden for an hour.

6) Carefully remove sugar glass from the mold. To do this, heat a knife under hot water, trace the edge of the mold with the knife, separating the two.  Once this is done around the entire edge, carefully begin to pry the mold up, using the knife. Carefully lift the sugar glass out of the mold and voila! A sheet of sugar glass!

You now that you have your very own sheet of sugar glass you can have some fun, but a word of warning, if you’re thinking of eating some of it, it’s not going to be as tasty as you’d think.