Can we assume the glass will be on the 1/2 wall AS WELL AS the door itself? That means you need 2 glass panels not one. Glass is expensive. It would have been cheaper to keep the full wall and cover it in tile rather than leave it exposed and cover it with glass.

"...estimates from custom glass door folksand they range from $3500 to $5000".

I'm going to assume the custom glass will be for BOTH items....the door to the shower AND the glass covering the half wall. Am I correct in that assumption?

$3,500 to $5,000 seams reasonable depending on final material selections. You should be able to stay toward the lower side.

"It just seems like such a silly expense when Home Depot carries pretty decent shower doors in stock for so much less."

I will agree with all the above and in my area (Long Island) the pricing would be similar if not a bit towards the middle higher end of your figures. And as far as the HD statement, the quality is absolutely nowhere near the same. With a box store you are getting adjustable sidelites and not custom made to fit. Your quote should be for 1/2" fixed panels and door, possibly 3/8" on the door alone.

That seems like a fair price. Let me tell you why. I had a shower put in similar to yours. At first, they put in a "big box store" door. There were gaps between the shower door and the tiled walls. On all sides. Because my house is old and it was out of plumb and a non standard size. I could have left it that way and have to be careful of splashing. I could have taken it out and used a curtain, which would have hidden the just put in beautiful tile work that was just done. But what I did instead was to bite the bullet and pay for the custom glass pivot door and panel, which was measured on site and took a week to be made in installed. Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY. Fits without any gaps and shows off the beautiful shower tile. Get the custom.

Well, yeah. That’s a standard cost range for custom glass. Use it without the glass until you’re ready. Hope your contractor installed blocking at the right spots! Glass is heavy.

We have a Basco shower door/enclosure on our 30"x60" shower, and IIRC it was about $3,500, including installation and a few upgrades we selected (thicker glass, special coating, etc.). It was custom ordered, but not really a custom enclosure, since they offer this model to cover any approximately 60" wide shower stall. Due to the design requirements of your shower, I think the prices you were quoted were reasonable.

Bruce

I have nothing useful to add other than to say your vanity sinks are cool-can you add more pictures? Are the counter and sinks one material?

The price sounds reasonable. I have the exact same setup and it cost me about CDN $5000.

So you need one fixed panel for the half wall, and a glass shower door? will the door be hinged on the tile/wall or will you have a small fixed glass panel?

(5000 seems way too high. I would have estimated in the 2500 range)

have you called out a shower door company on your own and gotten estimates? If you're letting the contractor do it, of course he's going to take his cut, so your estimate will be higher than if you did it on your own. You pay for that convenience.

which combo?

Wow! These pics are amazingly helpful. Thank you. I will use them to show glass guys as I get estimates for various glass options—should give me some variety in pricing, I hope. PS. My contractor having me just get my own estimates and I will pay glass people directly. Thanks!

Height & glass thickness make a difference. As it gets taller & heavier, more bodies are needed to install.

HD has low end standard enclosures not including installation. I will use one for an upcoming flip in the $300k range, otherwise we pay plenty. Its a myth that they are cheap when they bid apples to apples.

I’m in New Jersey and I paid extra for the low iron glass, thicker glass, and the protective boating and it cost $2,700.

Happy to take any recommended glass/shower door contacts. I’m in central NJ :)

A large beautiful shower requires a large thick glass enclosure. It can only be done custom. Get three estimates.

Your bathroom is beautiful but what is the white square on the side of the tub? Does that serve a purpose?

The choice of hardware is also a factor in pricing.

Since you’re in central NJ, I’d recommend Glass Castle in Neshanic Station. They do all of our installs and are great to work with.

Thanks, all! And that white square is a panel to access the mixing valve (I think that’s what it’s called??). Definitely not attractive but contractor said he will fabricate something prettier out of the eood-look tile.

$5000 seems way too expensive for that. Get a few more quotes. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples though. Ask if they are using low iron glass or not. Low iron is much more expensive. Ask if hardware is included in the price as well.

Where in central NJ? Showerman in Freehold does nice work.

Not far from Freehold. I’ll give them a call. Thx!

HI-I got 1/2 inch low iron with shower guard custom shower glass with beveled edges installed for $5391.32 as a reference. As you can see it is a 4 panel shower with a 28 inch door with polished nickel hardware.

Gorgeous! Thank you for the pic and the reference point! What is Shower Guard? And what does beveled edge look like vs. standard edge? Thx!

Thanks!!
ShowerGuard is a permanent coating that is applied to the glass as it is being manufactured. Itcreates a barrierbetween the glass and the minerals in water, soaps, and cleaning supplies. It is a proprietary product of Guardian Industries.
Rather than overlap the edges of the glass at the corners the edges are beveled at a 45 degree angle which gives a cleaner look.

All glass with polished edges (like shower doors, etc) have what is called and arris (slight bevel). It is not done to give the glass a bevel as a look but as a safety feature so you don't slide yourself on the edge. You cannot order tempered heavy glass with a polished edge without it.

Your comparing in stock standard size products to a custom made piece. First off HD prices dont include assembly and installation. Glass is ALL custom cut they dont have pieces stocked for sections like you think.

Dont cheap out on the door it will make or break your entire shower both in looks and functionality. Prices dont seam out of line especially since you haven't posted up EXACTLY what they are doing and giving you for that price so how anyone is giving estimates or quotes is beyond me.

Millworkman- sorry I must have not explained myself well. I had the choice to have the corners be butted up to each other at 90 degree angles or the be mitred together at 45 degree angles. Mine are mitred at 45 degree angles. That is what my installer referred to as beveled corners. Hope that clarified what I was trying to describe.

Got ya PM, yes mitered corners are nice, but a personal choice as they really do not add anything to the functionality of the glass.