Do any research into remodeling bathrooms, and you'll quickly see that glass showers are becoming more and more popular for their amazing beauty and modern style. Glass showers, however, also have glass shower doors, and they come in sliding and pivoting. If you are thinking about remodeling your bathroom or redoing your shower, you should consider getting a glass shower with glass doors. Before you start shopping, however, determine if frameless or framed is the right choice for you. 

Frameless Doors Are More Stylish

Frameless shower doors are usually what you see when you look at modern, elegant showers. They are commonly used on large, decorative glass showers. Framed shower doors have a metal frame around them. In most cases, if you have a frameless door, it will be a pivoting door, and if you have a framed door, it will be a sliding door.

Glass showers can be customized for added style or privacy. While many people prefer a completely clear glass, others want some privacy. You can achieve this with glass shower doors by choosing tinted glass or glass with etching or beveling. This allows you to completely customize your shower, making it unique to your home while still complementing the bathroom.

Frameless Doors Are Easier to Clean

If you currently use a shower liner, you may clean it occasionally, but if it gets too bad, you can simply toss it and replace it with a new one. Unfortunately, with glass doors, that isn't financially feasible. Therefore, you'll need to be able to keep your glass shower doors clean by removing soap scum, water spots, calcium deposits, etc.

Typically, frameless doors are easier to clean. For one reason, you don't have to worry about cleaning the frame. However, more importantly, because most frameless doors are pivoting doors, you don't have to worry about cleaning a track. With framed doors that slide, you'll need to also clean soap scum and debris from the track on which the doors slide. Failing to keep the track clean can make it difficult or impossible to open your doors.  

Framed Glass Doors Are Less Expensive to Install

Framed glass doors have one big advantage over frameless doors: the cost. A set of two framed sliding doors will cost you about $100 to $300, but that doesn't include professional installation. However, sliding glass doors are easier to install, so you may be able to do it yourself. Hiring a professional to install them will increase the price by about $300 to $600.

Frameless glass doors, however, are closer to $300 to $2,500 for the doors. The installation process may be more complicated, so you may not want to try installing frameless doors yourself. In addition, if you are installing a frameless pivoting door, you may also need to install a completely new shower. Sliding doors, however, can often be installed in your existing shower. Having your frameless doors installed professionally could cost between $600 and $4,000.

Framed Glass Doors Fit in Small Bathrooms

Framed sliding glass doors are great for small bathrooms because they don't take any extra space. They can be installed along the edge of an existing shower or shower/bath combo, so they work much like a shower liner. When you open the door, it simply slides along the track, again much like you slide open the shower liner to step inside.

On the other hand, a frameless pivoting door does take up some room because it needs to swing open. If you have a large bathroom, this isn't an issue. However, if you have a small bathroom, a swinging door can make the bathroom feel even more cramped. You may not even be able to open the door fully without causing damage. Plus, when it comes time to resell, it may actually negatively affect the resale value.

If you want to redo your shower and install a glass shower door, you need to decide if you want a pivoting frameless door or a sliding framed door first. If you would like more information regarding shower installation or to get a quote for glass shower doors, contact a shower glass contractor in your area today.