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The Story

This shower is in a home that was built in 2017 near the Great Park neighborhood in Irvine. The existing shower door came with the home. As you can see, it was custom made for this larger space (over 8 feet long), but cheaper materials were used for this framed shower door system. This type of door is not unusual for builders to use as a cost-saving measure when constructing dozens and hundreds of similar homes.

However, a common issue with these framed doors is the small hinges that easily calcify, weaken, and even break in some instances. This particular door had begun to slip and the tenants had a difficult time opening and closing the door. Additionally, the thinner glass used for the large panel (on the left) meant there was significant flex or wobble every time the door was opened and closed.

In other words: the door looked and felt cheap. The homeowner wanted to upgrade, not only the performance of the door, but also the look and aesthetic appeal of the shower as a whole. We were able to accomplish both goals without a full remodel.

We carefully removed the framed unit and quickly found a common sight: water, dirt, grime, and several screw holes from a “less-than-perfect” installation. We were prepared with cleaning materials to remove all the old gross silicone and grime. We also brought white silicone to cover the old holes; this ended up working out really well, the white of the ceramic and the white of the silicone were almost a perfect match. When we lined up the beautiful new frameless glass, the old holes were nearly invisible and left the shower looking like new.

This completely frameless shower door system is referred to as a “Panel Door Panel.” To keep the minimalist theme going in this bathroom, heavy duty clamps were used on the support panel on the right with ½” thick glass to provide added rigidity (rather than a metal support header across the top of the glass), and sleek glass-to-glass hinges support the door.

An important detail that was recommended as part of our thorough on-site consultation was the size and thickness of the large panel that you see notched onto the pony wall on the left. This panel is around 4 feet wide; if normal 3/8” glass was used, there would still be significant flex or wobble every time the door is closed. To improve the quality of the door performance, we upgraded this glass to ½” thickness.

The result is a shower that emits that “Brand-new” feeling, without the price tag of a complete remodel. The homeowner saved valuable time and money, and even increased the value of their home with a gorgeous shower door from Affordable Frameless.

The Details

Date Ordered: 4.19.24

Date Installed: 5.3.24

Job Scope: Replace existing framed door with new custom frameless door

Shower Walls: Ceramic subway tile

Hardware Finish: Chrome

Glass Type: 3/8” and ½” standard/regular clear