X-post re Bathroom showers

10 years ago

The MBA in our beachhouse is tiny and the shower leaks. We are going to make it into just a water closet, and take over another bedroom to expand the MBA.

So, we have a blank slate. I'd like to do something different, because I always do, and because we finished our CT house only three years ago and I don't want to do what we just did there in those bathrooms (frameless shower doors, wetrooms, pedestal tubs with "telephones", you know).

Isn't it funny, that now a built-in tub seems new and exciting. LOL. Or I may get a clawfoot and paint it a fun color.

As for the shower, we will probably put a 4' square in a corner. Looking for something different and something that sort of felt 1906-y, i priced something like this, in white:

So, I knew it wouldn't be easy or cheap, but hey, I am game. It took me three weeks to get a quote. It will take 22 weeks lead time, and the cost is $15,520 (right angle, true divided light as per this rendering, 48" each side) . A normal frameless glass right angle would have cost $2400.

So I said to the guy, gee, I guess that is a little indulgent, isn't it! Then he told me that he was doing a job for someone where the shower door was $26,000 ... it had a frame all around it, in solid polished nickel. He was telling me that lately people don't want frameless anymore, since we all have it now, and they are looking for frames!

People (self included) are funny, huh? And this is in Maine, not NYC.

I actually want the shower to have wall, a real wall, and then a curtain on one side. DH thinks I am craz-zey!

Comments (8)

barthelemy
10 years ago
With a 48"x48" shower space, I think you do not need a full enclosure. One partition, perpendicular to the shower fixtures wall is enough, with an entrance on the opposite side. A single partition without a door would be way cheaper to build.
mtnrdredux_gw
Original Author
10 years ago
Barthelemy,

Yes, we could do that (we have that in one of our bathrooms here). But, we wanted to keep the heart pine hardwood floor that is already there. So in that case I am a little wary of one sided solutions, kwim? I guess If I wanted it bad enough I could tile the floor ... or, insert a tile "rug", kwim? ..... thinking ....
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jrueter
10 years ago
Yikes! Not sure which is more surprising the cost or the long timeframes for quotes and fabrication. I guess if they are busy...

It is a great look. If you didn't do a true divided light do you think it would be easier to do?
mtnrdredux_gw
Original Author
10 years ago
Jrueter,

I was willing to forgeo true divided light, which I am sure would lower the cost, but it really can't be done. If you just adhere a grid to the glass, you will see the wrong side and the glue when you are inthe shower. If you put a grid in the shower, you will have a big maintenance issue.
suero
10 years ago
Have you considered etching the grid pattern into the shower glass?
mtnrdredux_gw
Original Author
10 years ago
Hi Suero,

Yes, thanks, but I don't think that will give the look I want. I think it might look even more modern. It is a 1906 house and I wanted it to look like the windows do...
lascatx
10 years ago
Have you looked at architectural salvage for greehouse walls or doors? Or a new greenhouse wall? Or double glass with a grid in between?

Would DH be less opposed to the curtain idea if you built in a cubbie where it stayed hidden when dry?
Nancy in Mich
10 years ago
Wracking my brains here... a nautilus-shaped shower, perhaps with the entry curved area made with an interesting metal? No door needed and you could put a big window in a wall of the shower proper to let in light. Copper seems the perfect material for the era.

Looking at your inspiration photo, it occurred to me that perhaps you could try talking to a local wrought iron shop about manufacturing the frame and door. I wonder if their frame for the two walls would be less expensive. I know that I was pleasantly surprised at the cost of my porch railing some years ago. As for the glass, how could you keep the glass clean if it had divided lites inside the shower? Would it really be that horrible to have a solid wall of glass inside and the pattern made of metal or wood outside? With a clever installation, there would be no glue or other adhesives mucking up the back side of the grid, and the white metal or wood would be finished on the backside in order to have a clean appearance from inside the shower. You can do this by having the metal frame with divided lights be supported independently and hang the glass walls from the solid walls as you would for a frameless one. Just have the metal framework made so that it hides the glass supports.

I am also contemplating some kind of roller shade look outside your glass. I think all those divided lites are making me think of a porch. Or shutters. This is a cottage, right? Shutter doors on the open wall instead of the curtain your husband does not like?