Take a look at the link below. Look at the images of the frameless enclosures with operable transom -- those are the ones for a steam shower.

Here is a link that might be useful: frameless shower enclosures

I have a steam shower with a frameless enclosure, no transom. The glass goes up to the ceiling on 2 sides, and the other 2 sides are tiled. There's a slight leak along the hinges, but otherwise the seal is fine.

This is one I did for a member here that goes by the name salbwil. I'll give her a shout and see if she can post finished pics of hers with the frameless glass:

Thanks for the feedback.

I talked to the people at Artistcraft and they thought it would be feasible to do a fixed panel on the left side with a 6" high transom that was hinged to the top of the frame. The door would be hinged on the right wall and seal against the fixed panel and transom.

Talked to the local shop and they said they would not do this because of safety liability reasons, even though they were quoting me on a framed enclosure that would have a steam tight seal.

Is this really a good idea? I asked them if there wouldn't be a bigger safety issue with an airtight room. That's when they got snotty. I was hoping to use them since I live in mid-Michigan and would like to steer business locally. In the end, I think we'll do something similar to what annkathryn suggests. I'm not that thrilled dealing with the rude people at the shop, but they seem to be the only game in town.

Beautiful work as usual, Bill.

Here is a kind of crappy photo of our project.

Thanks again, mrs517

Okay. I heard back from salbwil. She sent pics along with the following text:

I too could not convince the installers to do a totally frameless glass , but the header and side pieces are fairly unobtrusive

mrs517

Your plan sounds almost exactly like what I did (minus the 2nd glass wall). The door hinges are on the right wall. There's a fixed panel above the door, not a transom. My GC advised against a transom and I'm glad we didn't put one in, as there's been no problem with the steam clearing out right away.

Sorry your local people aren't customer-oriented. I got bids on the glass from 2 local dealers and had no problem at all with my layout.

dssxxxx:
I've decided against the transom. The inline exhaust sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately every bit of our tile is in and grouted. Wish I'd asked more questions earlier instead of lurking.

Bill and salbwil:
Thanks for the info and the pics. That is a great compromise between framed and frameless. The first glass contractor wanted a metal frame on every edge, including between the door and fixed panel. Didn't do the rest of it justice, imho.

annkathryn:
I tried everything I could to duplicate what you had done, but by the time I fitted in a whirlpool for DW, I ended up with tile on three sides. Still, not too disappointed. Ten years with just a single bathtub between four people makes almost anything look good.

Found another glass shop with a good local rec, so I'm hoping to give our business to someone who actually might need it.

mrs517

@annkathryn We have a 9ft ceiling in our master bath (its a 6ftx3ft.shower space). It's covered 3 sides and ceiling with porcelain tile. We are in the process of getting frameless glass doors and one company came and gave us a quote without a transom (which I read is ok). But worried about a movable 3'x9' glass door everyday!

My question is what is your ceiling height? door height and the height of the fixed panel above the door?

We have an exhaust outside the shower space in the main bathroom area. So after a normal shower or a steam shower the plan is to keep the door open so the water vapor is sucked out. Thanks

I'm sorry for the delay, I thought I'd responded. I no longer own the home but the ceiling hight was probably about 9'.

I put a steam shower in my current home. Difficult to take photos of the entire door, but you can get the idea. The door is probably 2.5' wide, with fixed panels on either side.

mrs517,

Twelve years later, I am in the same dilemma as you. Frameless versus framed glass wall wall for my shower/ steam shower. Frameless looks better and is ADA accessible if that should ever become an issue. Framed is a true steam experience. What did you wind up going with? What is your experience and perspective 12 years later?

ms320