Today we are going to dive into the world of glass shower hardware. We’ll explore the various parts within a glass shower hardware kit from header and handles to the hinges. We’ll explain various materials and hardware finishes to ensure the best look for your glass shower. And piece together the perfect shower hardware kit for your project, budget, and needs.
Framed and Frameless Glass Showers
The first step to choosing a shower would be to determine if you want a frameless or framed glass shower. Frameless glass showers have a sleeker, cleaner look. Framed glass showers usually have a metal frame around the glass panels and/or around the the whole glass shower surround.
Frameless glass showers are the most in-demand shower style and often, cost more than framed glass showers. Framed glass showers have been around a long time and usually have more cost-efficient materials. Both get the job done well and look fantastic. Even though there is a cost difference, there is no difference in how the showers operate and their quality is top notch. Also, most handles and towel bars are compatible with both framed and frameless models.
Glass Shower Door Kit Parts:
- Header bar if sliding shower
- Mounts for for header
- Sliders for door
- Channels for fixed panel
- Handle bar & towel bar
- Glass Panels
- Metal surrounds for some models
- Glass panel guides
Glass Shower Parts Diagram
Shower Door Hinge and Slider Types
There are three main types of options to for opening your glass shower doors. They are hinges, pivots, and sliders.
All three are commonplace depending on your needs and what kind of space you have.
Sliding shower doors are perfect in smaller bathrooms or if you don’t have enough room for a swinging door. The sliding hardware is most commonly attached to the top of the door panel, many times requiring pre-drilled holes in the glass. The attached hardware then rolls along a support bar or inside a header bar to open and close the door. Sliding door shower enclosures come in both a single sliding door or two bypass sliding doors. The bypass door option allows more flexibility to enter the shower as well as turn on & adjust the water temperature prior to getting in.
Shower door hinges are very common because they are usually more cost efficient than sliding shower doors and the frameless models have a very low profile hardware presence beyond the channels and hinges. The hinges are attatched in usually two places along the top and bottom of the glass door panel with more if the door is oversized.
Pivots, much like hinges offer the same benefits, but attached at the floor and in a header, frame, wall, or ceiling if your space offers that. All three hinge and slider types can be found in both frameless and framed designs.
Shower Door Handles and Knobs
The range of glass shower handles, and knobs is extensive, to say the least. From absolute custom-made pieces to simple knobs, you’ll be sure to find any handle or knob you need to match your budget and design style.
Some of the most common hand and knob types for shower are the square pull, d-pull, and ladder pull. Various lengths are available for all of these handles, and they can be positioned vertically or horizontally depending on your needs. Another option is the finger pull and knob. The finger pull is a small, circular indention that allows you to pull the door open with a fingertip, while the knob is a simple metal extrusion that you pull to open the shower door.
Shower Towel Bars and Handle Towel Bar Combos
To make things more fun, there are also towel bars that are matched to your handle in style and finish but offering a longer size to allow you to hang towels from. You can also go fancy and get a handle towel bar combo which is the handle and towel bar all in one sleek metal piece. You can’t find handle towel bar combos in all styles, but they are convenient and very posh.
Shower Clamps and Channels
So, we’ve talked about the doors, let’s talk about the fixed glass panels. Glass showers are usually comprised of 2 or more glass panels. One is the door that slides along a track or swings open on a pivot or hinge. The other panel is the fixed panel. It is unmovable and is usually attached to a wall with either clips or a channel.
Channels usually run the length from top to bottom and width along the bottom and sometimes top of the glass panel if it goes to the ceiling.
Clips on the other hand are small, square metal pieces with a channel built in that the glass fits into. There is usually a gap between the wall this fixed panel.
Often, you’ll see channels used as they block water from getting out of the shower better and are a bit lower profile.
Both clips and channels are offered in various sizes and finishes to match your overall theme and style.
Glass Shower Hardware Finishes
Hardware finishes are a great finishing touch to bring your glass shower together. There are many different glass shower hardware finishes. Take note that hardware finishes vary from different suppliers, so it’s best to get all of your shower hardware from the same source. Also, not every glass shower hardware kit will be available in every finish, but you shouldn’t have a problem finding them in polished chrome, brushed nickel, copper, and satin bronze.
Download Our Glass Shower Lookbook
Introducing stylish glass showers that meets the demands of guests that frequent five star resorts and hotels around the world.
Download our lookbook and learn about our vast array of glass shower enclosures, decorative glass option , layouts, handles, and hardware finishes.
