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enduring

What Kind of Shower Doors?

enduring
11 years ago

What kind of shower doors are best with the Kohler 3x4 cast iron shower pan? I would like to have something that is durable, not necessarily the most beautiful.

I plan to begin working on my second bath in the next 6 months and I need to start somewhere so thought the shower door would be a good place to start. I will be posting other questions over the next few weeks, trying to narrow down my ideas and product types/names.

In a shower door I need ease of use, stability, longevity, and if available beauty. I am thinking a framed door would be more stable but I could be wrong. Any and all ideas are welcome. As with my nearly finished bathroom, I am remodeling for the next generation as well as for DH and me, as we age in place. This is a family farm house, and we are the 3rd generation to inhabit it. We hope our son will live here in the future. I always consult him on my ideas too ;)

Comments (26)

  • cat_mom
    11 years ago

    We used a 3/8" glass frameless shower door/enclosure with our Kohler cast iron shower receptor/pan. It feels very sturdy and looks great. We used starphire glass, and a taller height, but kept the cost down somewhat by using the 3/8" glass instead of 1/2" glass. We also added ClearShield to help keep the glass clear.

    HTH!

  • enduring
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks Cat for your input. Which direction did you put the door? At the spray end or the other end. Also I was thinking of having sliding doors. Which do you prefer and why, sliding or pivot? Thanks. I saw that you posted on another thread about curtain vs door. Would you see a curtain working with the shower pan?

    I saw this door at Lowes but didn't catch a brand. Then I found it on Quality Bath. Don't know if it is the same brand but I like the functional looks of this.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Vigo shower sliding door 44-48

  • cat_mom
    11 years ago

    I love the look of the sliding door you posted! I know nothing about the various brands so can't offer anything helpful there. :)

    I will post a pic of ours. We were limited as to door direction/position because of the size/shape/etc. etc. of the bathroom (long, narrow room). Our door is closer to the non-spray wall.

    In our narrow bathroom, the sliding door set-up such as the one you linked, would have worked well I think.

    I prefer glass on shower stalls vs curtains, and vice-versa for tubs. Just my personal preference.

    Because the guest bathroom was going to be the only one with a shower stall, and shower glass, we splurged on the starphire glass, and the taller height (at the lower height, the brackets would have been screwed into our border tile otherwise, plus DH felt the taller glass would do a better job of containing water spray).

    Here's our shower stall:

    Here's the link to downstairs (guest) bathroom. The link box below won't accept the URL???

    http://s141.beta.photobucket.com/user/cat_mom/library/Bathrooms/Downstairs%20Bathroom

  • enduring
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks Catmom, very nice casually sophisticated bathroom. Your shower looks great. It has a nice size to it. I might get a frosted glass door because of a busy household. I will look at taller doors too as my DS is over 6'3".

    It sure is fun to start the planning:)

  • cat_mom
    11 years ago

    Thanks! :)

    It certainly is fun to start the planning! If only one could jump from that stage to finished without all the in-between stuff! LOL

  • enduring
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Ok, I am now at the stage where I need to decide on the door in the next month. I have bumped up my shower to a 3x5' cast iron Salient model Kohler shower pan. I went to a local glass shop and they sell Cardinal I believe. I could get a bypass door, or a swinging door. I want easy cleaning capability. Because of my fixtures, the glass man was thinking frameless and a swinging door. I told him I didn't want to cut into the cast iron curb to mount the hardware. He said when I get to the point of the door to contact them and they will consult. I am probably about 4-6 weeks away from that point.

    Here is an earlier rendition to my wall where the shower will go. Shower head and top of door are at about 84" above the finished floor. I have some tall family members.

  • lotteryticket
    10 years ago

    I don't know too much about mounting to the cast iron pan but I am about at them same point as you. I have looked at a barn style sliding door. But you have to esentially have the stationary piece the same size as the door for it to slide fully. They do solve any problems with the door swinging into the room and conflicting with other fixtures.

    You could also have it so that the door can swing both in and out.

    Cleaning glass is another story. I think it will always be more work than a shower curtain.

  • lotteryticket
    10 years ago

    Oops. I missed the link to the Vigo door. That is exactly the kind I meant!

  • enduring
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I called Kohler today and talked with customer support. She said that the bypass doors they have don't need to have holes into the curb. She said for the 3x5' shower pan that I have they recommend the swinging door because the bypass has a smaller opening. Uhm.

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    10 years ago

    I really like the doors that swing both ways. Also a patterned glass will give you privacy AND you can use a no-rinse shower spray product to keep the minerals, and soap scum from messing it up. I had very old-fashioned obscure glass before my bamboo glass, and it never needed cleaning in 10 years, as long as the last guy out of the shower sprayed it all around. (we have hard water and use bar soap). I know I sound like I'm selling the stuff, (I'm not, just a convinced user) but I cannot imagine why people keep squeegee-ing.

    -Babka

    Here is a link that might be useful: Here is how it works!

  • enduring
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Babka, here is my thread and you're in it!

    So what if I did a french style door system where there were 2 doors, both attached only to the sides, swinging both ways, and maybe with a frame up top? Any issues or concerns that can be brought to my attention?

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    10 years ago

    I love it! What would a frame do? IF the doors are hung on the wall you don't need a frame. Put an exhaust fan with a light in there and you are golden! Get a beautiful grab bar to put against that far wall. DH is just 6', I'm shorter (and shrinking!) but our glass goes up to 12" below the 8' ceiling. Looks good, and keeps the warmth in the shower. Assuming your shower head(s) are at one end, you shouldn't have much water-bounce off your bods to go thru the crack required for 3/8" doors to swing. Be sure to spec a hook thru the glass door on the non shower head end of the glass to hang a towel. Just a 1/2" hole and there are a whole bunch of decorative hooks to choose from. You will barely see it when nothing is hanging from it. That way you can crack a door open, grab the towel and dry off in the warmth of the shower. OR you can do 18" horizontal handles on each door. Hang more towels... ;-)

    -Babka

  • gabbythecat
    10 years ago

    Is it large enough that you could go w/o a shower door? Also, add a bench and grab bars if you want to really make it work for when you are elderly (or break a leg when you are younger). My sports medicine doc speaks very positively about doing things like that before you need them - he says it makes aging in place so much easier and safer. There are really cool grab bars that don't shriek "hospital".

    I second the idea about obscured glass and the coating for the glass. We are doing both for our new shower..

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    10 years ago

    It is an easy thing to do to put the backing (wood bracing) between the studs for a grab bar. We have a small 12" one now, but the backing (2x6) behind that wall extends the length of the shower wall which would allow for a longer one if/when we need it. We are already pretty old! I find I hold on to ours when I wash my hair and close my eyes and need it for balance.

    OBTW- There is frosted glass and etched glass. One is very difficult to clean. (I forgot which) There are some FANTASTIC etched designs available. Of course the frost/etching would be on the outside anyway, so probably not a big deal.

    -Babka

  • enduring
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks to both of you. Babka, I just might have to look into a shower hook. So, as you say a top bar wouldn't be needed would it, um. I could happily do with or without. If I haven't said so already I like the frosted glass idea. My only hesitation is that I wont see my very pretty fake marble porcelain that I have in a 12x24 format. And thanks for the tip about the spray cleaner. I saw on a shower sight that it was a recommended cleaner. My plan is to have a 7' door with my 8' ceilings.

    Gladys, The shower pan is 36x60" and I think water will spray out if I use a screen. I thought about the option though. With regards to grab bars, I will get something very simple to go with the contemporary design I have. I have always worked in hospitals so I think of hospital bars as being cool, lol. But I hear what you're saying, it is so nice to see that the concept has been taken seriously by the design community and that many lovely options are available.

    I will have a fan with light in the shower. Outside the door will be a heat lamp like we had in the old BR (DH voted that back in). I have the wall blocked to put a long grab bar on the far wall below a long niche that will be framed in. I may put another horizontal bar at the front end but it might not work with the controls. I want to put a vertical to the left of the controls were one would enter the shower.

    I like the idea of the french doors for simplicity and width of opening. I had thought about using long horizontal bars for handles on the doors, but I don't think I will now after thinking about it. I may just use knobs. One shower door company recommended to not have the horizontal door handles inside the shower for safety reasons, as they might get grabbed and the door would break.

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    10 years ago

    We had planned to put a another grab bar vertically next to our controls too, (inside the hinge edge of our door) but we cancelled that after the shower doors were put in. It would be awkward and unecessary for us. You don't open the door a whole 90 degrees to turn on the shower, or to get inside either.

    BUT...As long as the blocking is there you can put them in wherever you choose. I still have the bar in case we want to put it next to the toilet. If you dry off inside the shower you don't need the heating lamp, but that is, of course your option.

    -Babka

  • enduring
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Babka, the heat lamp feels sooooo good on cold winter mornings. The floor heating doesn't provide the same warmth I've noticed. I sort of missed the lamp when we started using the other bathroom for our main bath with this remodel. In the winter we keep the house rather cool. Like around 62-64 degrees over night. We will be using electric radiant floor heat in this bathroom too. That feels really nice on the toes.

    I'll have to look at what Cardinal offers in the way of textured obscuring glass. I looked on the Roda site and they only have a few, but that is the place I found the french door layout.

  • lotteryticket
    10 years ago

    I never thought about a heat lamp. We live in northern Massachusetts and it would be lovely to have that warmth. Another thing to put on the wish list!

  • enduring
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Back to the drawing board. I have decided I would be best serviced using a bipass door. This is so there is no swinging panels for DH to bang into and break. He is sort of like a bull in a china shop. He tries to be careful, but he is around large farm equipment and livestock all day. When he comes into the house there can't be too much of a transition in his environment or he malfunctions :) If any of you have ever worked with cattle you know what I mean.

    SO, I am thinking of a bypass door. It will help access the controls the best. It will allow for safe keeping of the door panels. I can install a handle that can serve as a towel bar too. The bypass will permit the installation of some hooks on the side wall for towels, now that I don't have to worry about a panel banging into the wall and cracking on a protruding hook. Win Win Win I say.

    I have a cast iron pan and don't want anybody drillin' holes in it to mount a shower door system. I don't want a bunch of gunky metal to clean. Is there a door that will work for me?

    Are the barn door style shower panels working for people? I had talked about these doors last winter to one shop in town, but I got a cool impression from him.

  • millworkman
    10 years ago

    Take a look at this, it is a nice unit we are using regularly now.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Cardinal Skyline

  • enduring
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks Millworkman, that is the line I had talked to a local Cardinal dealer about.

    I will have the shower controls on the left side of the alcove. I plan to have the door open from the left side.

    A couple of questions:

    1. Do the panels need to be mounted to the curb? In my case the curb is a Kohler 3x5' Salient cast iron shower pan.

    2. Does that "dam strip" work to keep the water in the shower - which will run off the door and splash from the bather?

    3. I believe Kohler also makes a similar door to this setup. Can you say what is the better and more durable mechanism? Or are they both by CR Lawrance?

    4. The site states that the setup can be modified to have the moving panel on the outside of the system. In my case the water would be spraying from that left side and possibly "into" the space between the slider and the stationary panel. It sounds like a bad setup for my shower. But I would prefer the look I think. Is that reverse setup more appropriate for a dry situation?

  • millworkman
    10 years ago

    Just saw this this morning I will look into it a little more later today. The dam strip does work well, I do believe you can have either panel set up to be the slider panel (we have customized the units as a three panels as well). CRL does make one similar but more $ than the Cardinal from what I recall. CRL makes only there own, Cardinal definitely makes there's and I do not know who makes Kohlers (but the local Kohler dealers will not sell their shower doors and sends people to us so not exactly a ringing endorsement)

  • enduring
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Millworkman, any thoughts on the questions above? Specifically to questions 1 & 4. I noted your comments regarding 2&3. Interesting Kohler dealer referrals to your company. Good to know, for sure.

    Oh, another question, can both panels move? Instead of one stationary.

  • millworkman
    10 years ago

    Answer to question #1: There is only a bottom guide that the panels slide in to keep them aligned and I do not see why that cannot be done with VHB tape as opposed to screwed to the pan. Question #4: Yes the panels are reversible so as to which is on the outside vs the inside.

    And the last question is I do not believe so as the roller would then need to pass one another and that cannot be made to happen on this setup.

  • enduring
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks so much Millworkman. This is helpful information.

  • flyingkite
    10 years ago

    cat_mom,

    Old post but I couldn't pass by the link to your nicely decorated bathroom. I like your splash mosaic tile in your vanity and horizontal mosaic stripe in the shower.