When building the opening for your frameless shower enclosure, one of the most important things you can do is make sure all walls are plumb, level, and square. Heavy glass custom frameless showers are not very forgiving of a poorly constructed opening.
There are a number of considerations regarding the “squareness” of the opening and the tolerance of the shower door. The following are the basics of measuring out of square and detecting out of plumb. Off-plumb refers to the orientation of walls, steps, or buttresses along the vertical plane.
outside the square
For standard in-line configurations (such as a fixed swing door and stationary panel), measure the width of the opening at the bottom along the sill and along the approximate top of the unit, not the top of the door. opening, unless your shower extends to the ceiling. . It is important to measure to within 1/16″ and measure from tile to tile. You cannot perform the measurement step until the opening has been completely tiled.
If the top and bottom width measurements differ by at least 1/4″, you have an out-of-square condition and the glass may need an edge cut to ensure a proper fit. Once you have determined that the opening is out of square, the next step is to determine which wall is causing the out of square condition. To do this, keep a level on each wall.
It may be the case that only one wall is not plumb. For example, suppose the right wall of the opening slopes inward at least 1/4″ more at the top than at the bottom. This scenario definitely requires an out-of-square edge cut for the glass to fit properly. .
In the event that none of the walls are plumb, the interruption of each wall must be considered separately. If, for example, both walls are out of square by only 1/8″ (and the total cut is 1/4″), then there will be enough play on both sides of the opening that an out-of-square cut can be avoided.
arched walls
Arched walls present an especially difficult challenge. If you have a wall that bows somewhere other than at the top or bottom of the opening, you may have a problem. Technically, if the bow is less than 1/8″ and not on the hinge side of the door, you should be able to bend the channel into place and the glass should have plenty of room to maneuver. Anything larger than 1/ 8″ though, and you’ll need to modify your aperture.
It is also possible that your wall is bending. If your opening is for a single door, there is no problem. However, if your opening is for a door and panel and the bow is not on the hinge side of the door and the bow is less than 1/8″, you may need to apply some additional silicone to close the space behind the channel. If the gap is greater than 1/8″, you may need to modify your opening.
If your wall slopes in or out on the hinge side of your door, consider the following. If the wall slopes inward (away from the door), then the only real concern is that you’ll have a slightly larger gap than normal. Since most shower heads are located near where the door hinge is (and spray in the opposite direction), there should be no concern about water leaks.
If the wall slopes toward the door and the bow is greater than 1/8″, you may need to modify your opening. The most important thing is that the hinges are aligned so that the door swings correctly. If the wall bows in the middle, you may end up touching the glass. The space between a plumb wall and the glass where the door hinges is 3/16″.
out of level
Being off level is very similar to being off plumb. As mentioned above, being out of level by 1/4″ or more requires the glass to be cut at an angle. The same principle applies if your opening is not level at the bottom. If it is out of level by less than a quarter of an inch, there must be enough play to secure the glass or you won’t notice the problem.
Suppose your sill is not level 1/8″ below your door. You may be having problems with the door sweep providing too much friction on one side and not enough coverage on the other end. You can easily modify the sweep to fit snugly to the outside of the opening level but cutting the vinyl at an angle with a razor blade.
what it all means
Hopefully you now recognize the importance of building an opening that is plumb, level, and square. While framed doors have higher tolerances for out-of-square conditions, frameless showers are custom fit products. To ensure that the glass fits into your opening with minimal gaps, additional cuts in the glass are required to compensate for any angles in the opening. These additional cuts equal additional costs.
It is equally important that you accurately measure the opening when ordering a frameless shower door. It is essential that you provide information on the verticality, the degree of levelness and the degree of inclination of the walls that make up the opening. If your measurements are wrong, the manufactured glass will not fit correctly.