Master Bath, door swings into shower

12 years ago

Hi Everyone,

While this is only my second or so post, I have found gardenweb to be an invaluable resource as almost every question I had was already answered in these forums, so thank you very much.

We are currently in the process of renovating our master bathroom. The layout we had designed by the same person that designed the cabinets is attached. As you can see if the door swings in and to the right it will go right into the shower door. Things are actually a bit worse then it looks in the design since the door in reality is even closer to the shower than in the design. The master bath is already framed/drywalled and the plumbing is in so changes to the design are not possible

I know we can take the drywall down and put in a pocket door, but that is money I'd rather not spend right now. The other option I can think of is to make the door swing out, but I am not sure if that would be strange as all bathroom doors I can think of swing in.

Are there any other creative solutions that anyone possibly has? I know if I don't solve this issue now I am going to regret it when the project is complete.

Thanks,
Jeremy

Featured Answer

enduring

12 years ago

I have practically that same layout but my room is smaller. I had pocket doors installed, as I have another door on the left wall too. Both pocket. But I had my walls built 6" construction. Then on the shower side I door, that recessed behind the shower, I reenforced with 3/4" plywood so the wall would not flex at all because that wall was to be tiled. Pocket door framing isn't as rigid as standard framing, thats why I beefed it up. So, it might be too late for all that reenforcement that I found necessary. I would not want a standard pocket at my tiled shower without special treatment to prevent flexing. I have heard one person say he builds two standard stud walls with the pocket between them to get a very sturdy wall at about 8 or so inches. I didn't have the room to do that.

Is you shower door going to be swinging? or are you installing a bypass door?

I thing Jewel654 has an excellent idea with the french door opening into the room. I would be happy to have my door open into my bedroom instead of into the bathroom. I have commented on this before, but will again. My brother had a seizure in the bathroom and my mother couldn't get in to help because he had collapsed at the door, which opened inward. Precious minutes later the fire department was breaking down the door. I don't like doors that open into such a restricted area. I have always worked in hospitals and the one I have worked at for decades have bathroom doors that can swing either way, just for such emergencies.

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Comments (11)

jewelisfabulous
12 years ago
Perhaps widen the doorway and have French doors that open out into the bedroom (that's what we have).
User
12 years ago
Swing the door the other way. The framing doesn't care which side is hinged.
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Babka NorCal 9b
12 years ago
Install a $5 hinge pin door stop. ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Hinge Pin Door Stops
catbuilder
12 years ago
I have a bathroom with an out-swinging door. I really like it because I can leave the door open and not be blocking anything while inside. I wouldn't put double doors, just leave it a single door.
Dubo Dan
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you for all the suggestions. We were going to have an out swinging shower door. I just met with my shower door guy and he suggested having a hinge pin door stop and instead of having the shower door hinged to the wall to have an 18 inch panel and have the shower door hinged to the panel.

I think we are going to start with that and hopefully we can live with it. If not I think the next best solution would be to install a barn door which I love anyway, but would rather not spend the extra money on that.

Thanks for your help!
canuckplayer
12 years ago
I agree with live_wire, just swing the door the other way, so it swings left instead of right. Having it open to the right, you are still taking a chance with that glass and the handle of the door. If necessary, move the entry further left. I understand the drywall is already done, but moving the door to the left is a lot cheaper than a barn door.
kas4
12 years ago
Our master layout is almost identical to yours. We used babka's solution of the hinge pin door stop. We've lived here 8+ years with no problems. When we remodeled last fall and put in a frameless enclosure, one of the contractors recommended using stops on two of the hinges in case one of them failed (backup). I adjusted them so that even if the door is swung open hard, it won't hit the glass shower door.

If you swing the door the other way, so it is against the vanity, you could have a conflict when someone is using the sink nearest the door.

I admit we have a conflict when entering or exiting the shower but it's only for a minute each morning. I much prefer this to the alternative since the sink is used much more often and for longer periods.
Babka NorCal 9b
12 years ago
We have a self centering shower door (frameless) that swings both in or out. I like it because after a shower I can open the door inwards and sneak my hand out to the thru-the-glass hook that holds my towel so I can dry off inside the warm shower and not drip any water on the floor by opening the door outward. By the time I am dried off, I open the door outward and step out, and there are very few drips on the bathmat. ;-)

-Babka
hunzi
12 years ago
I'd reverse the swing of the bathroom door. Yes, it opens into the vanity that way (ask yourself how many times someone will open the door while someone is in there - in my house, DH and I will share a bathroom sometimes, but no one else), but it's better than possibly hitting the glass. And still put a hinge pin stop on it.
Dubo Dan
Original Author
12 years ago
Swinging the door in the other direction won't work as the electrical switch is already installed on that side and i it would actually in any case it would probably interfere more on a day to day basis as the door would hit me if I am using the sink and my wife walks in.

Anyway thanks for all your help, I am thinking we may just install a pocket door, if we don't we are likely to regret it for some time..