chair rail and frameless shower door

15 years ago

Our bathroom will have a chair rail piece running all the way around the room, including into the shower. It will be 44" high and just paint above it on the other walls, but will have tile above it to and on the ceiling in the shower. My question is this: what to do about the chair rail where the glass panels for the door meet the wall? I understand it will be very expensive for the glass people to custom-scribe the glass to go around the chair rail. Should it end with a return on both sides of a gap left for the glass? Any advice or pictures would be appreciated.

Featured Answer

bill_vincent

15 years ago

You could end it on either side, or what you could do is just have the glass guy cut a notch in the chair rail where the glass will go, and have them put a stationary panel against the wall (even if it's only 4-6"), so you don't have to worry about the swing of the door

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Comments (6)

thetews
15 years ago
I've done exactly what Bill said - actually he's the one who gave me the advise when I asked some number of months ago. I've got my shower tiled now and am beginning to work my way around the rest of the room. It's looking goooood and I'm really glad I went with this design
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codnuggets
15 years ago
You could do this...

Sorry, I don't have a closeup of the returns after the glass install, but you get the idea. There is a metal channel along that wall the glass is sitting in. You could also have the glass notched, but it will likely cost a little more and require a precision install to get it exactly right. I had planned to have my glass notched but I ended up having to do the returns due to a communication mixup. I think I like this better anyway, and after watching how much fudging they did with the install, I'm not sure how well the notching would have worked out.

Joe
kdmmr
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you for your help. Codnuggets - that shower is just beautiful; such amazingly precise work.
sayde
15 years ago
We're in the same situation -- frameless 3/8 inch glass and chair rail all around. The shower guy marked the exact place to notch the chair rail. He marked the opening 5/8 inch allowing 1/8 inch leeway on each side of the glass for the silicone. The tile guy made the notch. The shower guy suggested putting white paint inside the notch, but the tiles are white through and through so that won't be necessary.
mimi78
13 years ago
I also have a question about this that I'm hoping maybe Bill can answer. Our GC is working with the company for our framless shower doors, and this is the email I received from him this morning regarding the placement of the doors in relation to the chair rail that goes all the way around the room, including through the shower.

"If the door is hinged on the wall as we discussed, we will need to bevel out the chair rail because it is 1/8" of an inch too big. The bevel would then be filled with grout. This will allow the door to swing without it binding on the chair rail."

Does this seem like a good idea? I'm a little hesitant since I have no idea how it will look, and I don't seem to be able to find any images online. Our experience with the contractor has been fantastic but at this point I am slightly annoyed that we weren't advised how the chair rail would affect the glass placement. The glass is already costing us more than expected, and adding another stationary panel will add even more to the total, but that said, we don't want to make the wrong decision in the long run. Advice?