Hi,

I have a Basco frameless sliding shower doors in my master bath. When the man came to measure for installation, I was still undecided as to which sliding glass door to get (but still needed the shower measured regardless). Like you, I was concerned about the thickness of the glass.

The installer told me it really didn't make much of a difference regarding the thickness of the glass. Both are "tempered" for safety. In fact, he seemed to push me towards the thinner glass. Since I'm handicapped and have a problem with walking and my balance, I went for the thicker glass (only because I'm afraid I'll fall in the shower or into the glass doors).

Also, when I was shopping for walk in type showers, the salesman warned me against doors that swing out. He said that water tends to drip on the floor when the door is openned. Not only does that make the floor slippery, but it is water that needs to be cleanned up. This problem is eliminated if the door swings in but that makes it kind of awkward to get out of the shower. Hence, my decision for the frameless sliding shower doors.

Anyway, I hope all this helps you in some way with your decision.

Karen

Thank you, Karen, that's VERY helpful. I guess if you're handicapped, it might also be easier to slide a thinner door because it would be lighter. Glad to hear it's decent quality, though. Thanks!

Other opinions welcome...

It may be against code to have a door that only swings into the shower.

I just ordered a frameless sliding door for my shower-over-bath that's 3/8" clear glass. It's Century Bathworks, which both my contractor and the plumbing supply company recommended as very good quality. It was about $630.

charlikin, What is a frameless sliding door? Do you have a header? A track at the bottom? I looked at the Century website and saw a few "frameless" sliding systems, but it looked like they had at least headers.

I am getting bids now for a frameless fixed panel+swinging door - very expensive - and I'm wondering whether a sliding system might be better for me.

I guess it's really called semi-frameless. There is a header and a track on the bottom, but the vertical edges of the doors are frameless. I think most of the "frameless" sliders are made this way. Still looks very nice, and I look forward to the very simple flat track. My current (ancient) shower door has a grooved track that is *impossible* to clean.

This is a shower-over-tub arrangement, and I think those are usually done as sliders.

Charlikin, where are you ordering from? I got a quote on a 31 inch framed door by Century and it was $510, so your price for the frameless is great.

Just my local plumbing supply store. I think there's a big markup on these things, so it pays to shop around. (Fortunately, the tub sliders come in standard sizes, so it's easy to comparison-shop.)