With your bath oom layout, I would think a swinging door wouldn't be the easiest to do. Which way do you think it would hinge? Is it going to swing back against the toilet or to the wall? Are there towel rods on that wall? A slider would allow you to step into the shower without maneuvering around a door. I feel that when you see the doors that swing there is nothing else around the shower (walls).

Do not be surprised if the grumpies show up and get on you for not just adding this question onto your other thread instead of starting a new one.

Oh, I thought it was more appropriate to start a new thread for a different question. I think the other question has run its course and this one is about a lot more.

Thanks--if we got a swinging one, I think it could possibly be in the middle-ish and swing open and avoid the toilet? Not sure. I'm also now reading about code and how you actually have to be able to reach the knobs from ouside the shower. One website showed a little door just they add on the faucet side just big enough to stick your arm in just to reach the controls.

https://www.dtglassinc.com/code-requirements-blog

44x59 is a large shower. If you plan to keep the valves on the same wall access is the question.

Consider visiting a shop that specializes in shower doors for some expert & experienced advice.

A double slider will allow "dry" access to the shower valve for warm up as the least cost.

Hinging a door in the middle will need some structural support.

Talk to the experts.

@marilynmontano I'm bad at housekeeping beyond the basics, but yeah.

They’re pricey but there are newer sliders that have a rail at the top rather than track at the bottom. https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChsSEwiYn-KGv5SWAxWMd38AHRtJCEUYACICCAEQHRoCb2E&co=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwyuDTBhB-EiwANCQhLA4aTMHu7o_TzCOoyrbcnPnB62aQXtUJpIW8IwgLTFoMFg-7MCeCURoCnNQQAvD_BwE&sph=&cid=CAAS9QHkaKjUnBVUszupNAA98TK4NOj7xIzddj1fI5E37HSzme5wEX0ryDpUoybqobk1QFjJggw5bT6cK8ww7UNSKryXWJJCFf-vIDFCDsdoF_2Not0bcJFOSvCUhYv6-zaSEUS2VxUnfDLzqbfulrerxfd3BIq3cTOfBhctXvmxdlId8MLS0Qv5iX8Zk7Tceo7RnHmdtnbJL17_ZS8C2f1Y3kfuUeebXn7nnNHzFdswJIdat6OeAmCjK_ObcS6xP0oZvQ8s7Z7KjTlrMj6x6dDgBVH_idYA9zFIksOfOIcVJtcPjPXuR8oPBKa9wazBnIWFAmYuLf7qBQ&cce=1&sig=AOD64_2vkadaIlenTNZeacZpkwGZ_eDpXQ&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwjkoNuGv5SWAxWxmmoFHScMENwQwg8oAHoECAoQGQ&adurl=

https://s3.img-b.com/image/private/t_base,c_lpad,f_auto,dpr_auto,w_70,h_70/product/vigo/vigo-vg6041mgcl6074-7756769.jpg

Welp, links aren’t working but here’s a pic.

I'm confused about "I think it could possibly be in the middle-ish and swing open and avoid the toilet". Are there limiters or stops on glass swinging doors to stop it from hitting the toilet?

How deep will the shower be, are you using all of the space where the tub is? That changes things on a swinging door and also makes a slider accessible from both sides. We have a slider and I get in one side and my DH uses the other. (Not at the same time!!)

@marilynmontano the one I saw at a store had the bar on top and a bit of a track on the bottom. Maybe it depends on how the bottom of the shower is contstructed. There's another showroom I'm going to check out--hopefully they'll have more variety to see.

@RNmomof2 zone 5 what I meant is that if the door is in the middle (more toward th window, but not all the way on the end) and it's small enough (24" vs 36") I think there would be clearance, and we could probably reach the controls if it was closer to the middle. But someone said it would need more structural support, so that doesn't seem good.

Just sharing two similar setups to yours. The first is a friend’s, so pretty.

The second is mine, the previous owners did it. I really like it, how the wall by the vanity somewhat hides the toilet from the doorway, and holds a medicine cabinet. and allows for a closed cabinet above. In the shower, the controls are on that short side wall, just reach around to turn them on before stepping in. I wish I had a ledge there to put products on, out of sight. The door is hinged (we could probably replace with frameless). I’ve had sliding doors and really didn’t like them. If the wall were shorter, there could be more glass.

@bpath thanks for the photos. In the first one, it looks like the shower controls are on the opposite wall from the toilet, so the door allows access to the knobs, but it also looks like the door is big so you can step in without being directly under the spray. In the photo of your bathroom, does the shower go all the way to the other wall, like the knobs are on the same wall as the toilet plumbing? It's not too far away to reach them? What didn't you like about having a sliding door previously? (I'm not a big fan because I feel like at some point they'll stop rolling smoothly, but I'm thinking maybe I'd actually like it better--no water dripping on the floor when you open the door. Maybe newer ones are better than the old kind.

@Overland Remodeling & Builders I really appreciate the thought and effort, but the doorway is on the wall with the vanity, not the short wall. The shower wall opposite the toilet side is an outside wall. Moving the plumbing would be expensive and expose pipes to freezing. Where the controls are located now, we have access above the stairway--we've had to access that before to get to the back side of the pipes. This one looks like the same layout as ours--did they just leave it open and not have a door at all? https://overlandremodeling.com/bathrooms-gallery/modern-bathroom-remodel-beverly-hills-ca

I am thinking that maybe the shower doesn't have to be as wide as the tub is--44". When you're IN the tub, you have about 33" of space. The rest is taken up by the rim of the tub and a a tile ledge on the outside of the tub. So if we made the shower 33" or 36" wide instead of 44", that would give more clearance for a hinged door.

Claire, our shower controls are on the other side of that drywall wall you see next to the toilet, on the same side as the shower door. It is not far at all, I don’t even have to stick my head in to turn the water on. The showerheads (regular and adjustable handheld) are on the same wall as the toilet and sink plumbing.

As to the slider, I just don’t find the lateral movement to be easy. Kind of like with pocket doors, which I like but they are best with doors that aren’t frequently opened and closed. I also dislike bypass sliding closet doors, and my house is full of them.

A shower curtain or sliders would work, and would likely be your least expensive option.

Avoid placing the mixing control valve on an exterior wall -- not only because of the risk of pipes freezing but also to provide interior access to the control valves behind the shower, in case of future maintenance needs.

Another option is a neoangle shower. A 48 x 48 inch neoangle shower would allow for a door width of about 26 inches. Two sides can be pony walls (for more privacy and less glass), and the control valves can be placed on the inside of one of the pony walls for easier reach from outside the shower.

Rough 3D conceptual drawing attached.

@coastal_vibe Thanks--I'll definitely consider something like that. It would leave a weird 10" between the shower and the wall, but maybe something a little smaller or differently shaped with an angle would work.

The weird 10" would be a perfect space for a towel hook

In my photo, there is a hook on the short wall of the shower. Normally it holds the rug mat, and when I shower my towel hangs there waiting.

Your suggested plan is simple, classic and workable. I'd definitely use this as a starting place. A couple thoughts:

- With 5', I'd definitely go with one single well-done sink /flanked by a set of drawers for each spouse. 5' isn't really enough space for duplicate sinks -- you'll give up all your countertop to sinks. And you don't have any other storage in this bathroom, so you need those drawers.

- Definitely run the shower the width of the room. Yes, it'll be larger than you need, but it won't be out-of-control super-duper-huge.

- Definitely place the shower head on the same wall as the toilet /the shower controls on the other end so you can turn on the water without subjecting your body to the initial cold onslaught of water.

- All this discussion of a shower door. Most of these problem details disappear if you just go with a lovely shower curtain: I'm not talking about a 72x72 curtain from a shelf at Target. Choose a great fabric /have it made and have it made floor-to-ceiling. Hang it from a ceiling-mounted tract. A shower curtain'll add color, pattern and softness to the bathroom, and you can throw the liner into the washing machine with a couple towels, whereas (in real life) glass doors always look kinda icky. And if your shower isn't pristine every day, the curtain will hide that.

- Put in more shower storage than you think you need -- more than a little 12x12" niche. With this shower, you can afford the space for a shower-long ledge.

- Where are you hanging shower towels?

- Your vanity doesn't have a wall at either end -- where are your hand towels?

- Is your trash can going between the vanity and the toilet?

- Are you putting a hamper somewhere?

On the extra ten inches, could you also cheat out enough more to do a full length linen closet there? That would add a ton of storage for towels, extra supplies, TP, etc and you could reserve the vanity storage for daily use items. And definitely plan for towel hook or bars within reach of the shower!

@marilynmontano I've thought about that--trying to figure out how a closet or shelving that's 15 or even 20" wide, but 48" deep would work unless it has a false back and then there's wasted space.

@Mrs Pete Our current 5' vanity has 2 sinks and I want to keep having 2. My husband and I are often at the sinks at the same time before bed. We have enough space. We don't keep much on the countertop at all.

We can't/won't place controls on the opposite wall because that's an outside wall. It would solve the reach problem, but not going to do it on an outside wall like that. Someone mentioned a pony wall next to the toilet for controls to go there, which I might consider, so they'd be easier to reach.

I don't like shower curtains, especially on a walk in shower. It would solve all the problems (except the problem of having a shower curtain lol.) We'll definitely do a door of some kind.

Hand towels and my bath towel are on the wall opposite the vanity. Husband's bath towel is on a bar over toilet. Rignt now I hang my towel over the shower curtain rod when I shower and put it back on the bar when I'm done. I need to think about towel bar placement and if there's a better way.

Agree with making sure there's enough storage inside the shower. A ledge all along would be nice, but I think I want some kind of shower panel, not tile, so we'll see what's possible. Lots to think about. I think I'm going to go to a showroom this weekend and then start calling contractors.

Trash can is currently between the toilet and that wall next to the vanity and hamper is opposite the door (doorway is next to vanity, but I guess I drew the picture in a confusing way and people think it's on the short wall, but it's not.)

I'm the OP but I have 2 accounts. Sticking to this one.... We're going to go with a bypass door--open on both sides. I'm doing research--reading that rollers should be stainless steel (or brass), not aluminum or something else. I guess the cheaper ones can start to get harder to slide after a few years. Any advice on what else think about as I shop? Why do almost all the bypass doors have towel bars for handles on both doors? I don't like the look of that and it would look even worse with a towel hanging on it. I've only found a couple with vertical handles or a knob. And some look like you can't even open them from both sides--I want to get in and out using the door furthest from the shower head.

Hi Claire. Sorry for my tardy response! In the project you pointed out, we only used a fixed glass panel with no door.

Our doors open from each end and we both use different ends to get in. I thinnk the bars are probably more user friendly, easier to grab and that is why you see them? The small pull tab on our door is dificult to grab with your nails. I could see someone with poor hand mobility haveing problems. Ama**** sells suction handles that look nice. My DD needed to buy one for her newer doors as there wasn't a handle on the inside.

Thanks @RNmomof2 zone 5. Yeah it seems crazy not to have handles on both inside and outside. I saw one somewhere with a little recessed handle and a place I emailed said they have a "puck" handle, which might be a solid puck-like handle or maybe it's dug out like the sort of recessed one I saw. I know those might be harder, but I don't really like towel bars on both doors and then it also depends on what's on the other side of the towelbar--is there anything to grab from the other side of the door. Can you open yours from the opposite side of the handle?