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Frameless shower door on a non-plumb wall

PMone
9 years ago

See my situation in the attached image.

My wall is not plumb (about 3/8" narrower on the top). Do I still have a workable situation? Or do I really have to fix the wall?

Since the hinges will be mounted on the non-plumb wall, I worry about the hinges not lining up.

Please advise.

Comments (20)

  • enduring
    9 years ago

    I think what they do is put a fixed panel at the non-plumb wall and then hinge off of that. But, I am not for sure. I think that the panel would need to be channeled to the wall and the curb. But I am only kind of guessing. Millworksman is knowledgeable and very helpful. He might chime in.

  • kudzu9
    9 years ago

    3/8" could be a lot, especially since you also want to align with the fixed panel. Some hinges allow for our of plumb adjustments, and some don't. What does your installer say?

  • PMone
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I guess I will have to find an installer, but I want to do my own homework so that I know what I will be getting into before hand.

    My contractor who built the shower does not really want to deal with the glass door. I was planning to order the glass myself and get my contractor to install the glass door (which he said he would be willing to do but he does not want to be responsible of making sure the glass will fit). But once I measured the wall, I wonder if the door will swing OK if the hinges do not exactly lined up.

    I guess someone who has experience would be able to tell whether 3/8" off is OK or not.

  • kudzu9
    9 years ago

    You need a professional. If it can't be made plumb, you'll likely have leaks at the bottom of the door. Also, shower glass is tempered, which means you can easily shatter the whole panel b by bumping a corner during installation or by stressing it while trying to get the hinges on and adjusted.

  • Babka NorCal 9b
    9 years ago

    Yes, get a professional...someone who does this every day and knows all the tricks to make it turn out fine. As long as the spray from your shower head isn't aimed at the space around the door you won't leak.

    -Babka

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    9 years ago

    Unzip the drywall on each stud on either side of the door location. Plumb and block in a new stud where the hinges will land. Mud, tape, and paint and everything is good. It's not that big of a job.

  • PMone
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I already have tiles installed; and the tiles go all the way up. Redoing the wall would mean undoing a part of that wall.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    9 years ago

    PMone:

    Did you install blocking for the hinges?

  • MongoCT
    9 years ago

    Hmmm. I thought I posted last night. A possible option might be to use top and bottom pivot hinges. The top wall mounted, the bottom curb mounted.

    If the glass door was sized to mimic the wonky shape of the opening and if the top hinge was mounted on the wall and the bottom hinge offset on the curb 3/8" away from the wall, that would keep the pivot plane of the two hinges vertically aligned.

    It is a bit of a compromise.

  • PMone
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Yes. Using a pivot hinge can be an option.

    And I do have 4x4 studs on both sides. So, mounting hinges is not a problem.

  • millworkman
    9 years ago

    Best way would be a enduring mentioned, scribe a fixed panel to the wall and mount the door to the that fixed panel. Otherwise you will never get a good seal.

  • Sfoster1
    9 years ago

    I am a professional installer of these doors. Top and bottom pivot hinges are your best answer. 3/8 " taper is way too much for wall mount hinges.
    Keep in mind these are "frameless" doors. No door company or installer will gurantee it to be 100% water tight.

  • julie999
    9 years ago

    You have a workable situation very similar to one we encountered a couple of years ago when we had a frameless shower door installed in a renovated bathroom. I would HIGHLY recommend that you have a professional do the installation from the measurement, ordering, and final installation. Due to circumstances I won't go into, an installer who did not make the initial measurements tried to do the installation for our project. He was unable to make the shower door work. To make a long story short, it took several months to get it right. The good news was that we had worked with a reputable kitchen-bath showroom who stood behind their product so we didn't suffer any loss other than the inconvenience of the delay. Had we been the ones who had done the measurements, I'm afraid we would have had to absorb the financial loss of a quite expensive shower door.

  • Denise Gupta
    7 years ago

    Where can you get those pivot hinges, shown above? It is a sliding door with one side fixed... the sliding door is the one we need to assume add these pivot hinges... can't find them on Google...

  • kudzu9
    7 years ago

    Ten seconds Googling:

    Shower door pivot hinges

  • millworkman
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    "sliding door" do not use hinges. Sliding means to slide, not pivot nor hinge.

  • Karen Martell
    3 years ago

    Can't believe i have a simular problem.. we fit and dry fitted and leveled and plumbed everything.. multiple times.. we glued and screwed the delta 400 36x36 last night. And...top left side is about 3/4 in off .. can I still do pivot

  • HU-506659145
    2 years ago

    We had a frameless door installed but have noticed once the weather warms up the door shifts and bumps against the other glass, causing us to not be able to close the door fully. It worries me it will be stressed and break. The glass door is attached to a wall that’s interior, but that wall is attached to a exterior wall. Anyone know if this is common or dangerous?

  • kudzu9
    2 years ago

    The warmth is not causing the door to expand, but what it is attached to -- the wood framing -- may be having seasonal movement. You should see if a professional can adjust the hinges and/or the brackets so that this doesn't happen at any time of year.