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mabeldingeldine_gw

Kohler shower doors -- yea or nay?

mabeldingeldine_gw
11 years ago

We are considering replacing the shower curtain in our small primary tub/shower with bypass sliding doors, hoping the doors will make the bathroom feel bigger as well as show off the beautiful new tile. We are looking at the Kohler Fluence door. I'd love to hear your opinions if you are familiar with this door or another door in the $500 or less range.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kohler Fluence shower doors

Comments (12)

  • mabeldingeldine_gw
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Shamelessly bumping. Should we replace our shower curtain with these doors? Will it make the room look larger, feel larger?

  • millworkman
    11 years ago

    Our local Kohler dealer send people to the glass shop where I work if that tells you anything.

  • User
    11 years ago

    Spend the money and get something with better quality, we installed ours a couple of years ago and I've not been impressed. The glass had permanent marks from the get go that never would come off, the handles never stay tight and I'm sure we'll be replacing it sooner than later.

  • mabeldingeldine_gw
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks for the input. I'm trying to keep this reno under $4k so really need inexpensive doors. It is a modest house and we'll be putting it on the market in a year so I really don't want to invest more.

    I would appreciate suggestions for other brands of doors I can DIY install in the $500 or less range.

  • mabeldingeldine_gw
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    We went to Portlnd Glass, the only glass shop in my rural location, to look at shower doors yesterday. They had Century doors for shower/tub enclosure.

    We opened the doors. The were noisy, and did not move as smoothly as the Kohler doors in the nearby Lowes. The header looked almost identical to the Kohler. They do not offer true chrome, it is an anodized chrome "finish" on aluminum, again similar to the Kohler doors. Honestly, they did not look, work or feel any differently than the Kohler doors did, but the price including install was $865 plus tax.

    Holy cats! We asked about a price without install, but the saleswoman couldn't give us one, she asked for a phone number to call us with an "estimate." We declined and went down the street a bit to Lowes to look again.

    A very similar model with nicer-looking handles was $335, and Lowes would install for $285 for a total of $650. Seriously, I cannot imagine the Century door delivers over $200 of additional value over the Kohler doors.

    I like to support local business (all the plumbing except handshower for my job came from a local supply house), but this seems a big stretch. We are on the fence, we may stick with a shower curtain for now and poke around Overstock, or may try the Kohler. Thanks for the feedback all.

    Edit:
    I should add that both doors were 1/4" frameless clear glass with a coating to enhance cleaning.

    This post was edited by mabeldingeldine on Fri, Feb 1, 13 at 8:13

  • User
    11 years ago

    I HAVE those doors, they are nice in the store but cheap once installed. The glass is poor quality and does not have a good coating on it. Ours had spots that came with the doors from manufacturing and have NEVER come off no matter what I used. The glass also etches very easily if you have hard water. The handles continuously need to be tighten and leak when they are loose. Would like me to go on??? Believe me, you get what you pay for and I know at some point I will be replacing those flimsy A** doors.

  • marleycat25
    11 years ago

    Definite nay! That so called coating they put on the glass is worthless ..my less than one year old door is completely fogged over..when I called kohler, they told me I ruined it by using glass cleaner...evidently you are only supposed to clean with water...don't know about you but water does not clean enough for me...try dreamline doors..just got a great price on overstock for another bath..so far they r great

  • raehelen
    11 years ago

    Not sure what you have done. And I have no experience with the Kohler doors. But, at Costco in Canada, they have a beautiful Artika Atlantis shower enclosure with 12mm glass AND a 60 X 32 shower pan for $599. I'm not sure if I'm going to use the shower pan, may buy a wider one, but the glass alone is way cheaper than ANYTHING I can find locally.

    Just realized you are putting these on a tub, so not sure if it would work, or if you have the height. But, perhaps your Costco online would have a tub enclosure set.

  • mabeldingeldine_gw
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I am in rural Maine with no Costco within 200 miles. I wish!

    We've decided to skip the doors for now and go with a shower curtain. Thanks for all the comments.

  • sewdub
    10 years ago

    I have Kohler Fluence bypass shower doors with coating on glass. Installed May 2012. Smooth glide. Track is fairly easy to clean. Love them.

    It all depends on your cleaning habits. My maintenance routine to keep them beautiful is to squeegee glass after each use, and swipe the track with towel after drying body.
    Once a month I use a dampened dryer fabric softer sheet & swipe the glass, then buff dry. This really helps against water spots, keeps your glass crystal clear.

  • joygreenwald
    8 years ago

    Old thread. Marleycat25, in case you still get alerts, did those Dreamline doors hold up? I could have written this thread (except for the rural Maine part.). Visited the glass store. Liked the Lowes ones better but am scared. Found this thread with a search for Dreamline thinking it might be a happy medium! Just can't justify the high cost at the glass door for what I'm seeing, but maybe it makes more sense than I know.

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