Shower Enclosure Ideas

We're doing a light remodel on our bathroom, and need to get rid of the yellow brass on our shower enclosure without spending too much. Would love to hear any ideas.

What it should cost to have it replaced? Maybe re-use the glass and just a new frame... I have also considered taking it apart and having the parts powdercoated, but it's probably not worth the effort.

Glass blocks look kinda dated to me now. A regular shower curtain might not look bad, but would leave behind holes in the tile...

scuff sand, tape and paint.
Or use over cleaner to strip the anodizing then polish and clear coat.

Ideas yes... good ones? maybe not so much. In my defense you didn't specify good ideas.

All ideas are welcome.

Not sure on the shower enclosure, but the best addition to my home showers has been a Zoe Industries shower head. I installed the Captain's Quarters shower head and everyone loves it...



I like and have glass block at home though, something like this:


with the snail shower design:

^^Super nice but more than we want to spend. We're just looking to de-ugly it to put the house up for sale.

I'm not really opposed to glass blocks, but they're not cheap and a lot of work to install, and I don't think they will work with the basic design of the shower to keep the spray inside / off the floor.

Just put in the shower head and you will forget about the enclosure...

Well, not sure if you have the room to do this but i moved some stuff around in our master because i hate doors and curtains. The trick is to make it big enough that a door or curtain isn't even needed. Plus its nice to shower with company occasionally.
A few points of the design that I am really happy with.
1) The three heads are at 7', 6' and 3.5' The tall one is mine. I hate having to squat while washing my hair. Most shower stalls put the head at 5'. Unacceptable.
2) The controls are remote on an adjacent wall. They are all balanced flow and manifolded to 1 inch lines right through the water heater. Great if you can swing it and are running pipe anyway.
3) Notice the hose spigot under the shower controls. This is a stainless steel marine spigot i installed with a quick disconnect. There is a mating hose and spray attachment that makes washing the shower a breeze. Its more like washing a car now.
4)The frog stickers, Barbie bubble bath and alligators are optional.

can you matche the tile? What about a half wall of some type with an opening, remove the glass door all together?

^^ I really like the style of baitkiller's, and would do something very similar, but unfortunately don't have the room.

I can probably match the tile. I have thought of building a glass block wall all the way up on the shower head side, and leaving the opposite side open,
but I think it will spray out unless I did something like the below sketch. I'm just not sure if some people would have an issue stepping over a ~15" high wall to get in.

Originally Posted by trace

issue stepping over a ~15" high wall to get in.

I think that would be a big issue. I sometimes hate the 6-7" stepover mine has.

I would look into a 3/8 or 1/2 inch clear glass shower door. The 'heavy' glass in frame less or virtually frame less look is really popular right now. We sell Agalite brand shower enclosures at my work and most people with tile showers purchase the Estate series doors or door and panels. We have done some really cool enclosures, I can send you some pics when I get in the office tomorrow if you want.

quick and easy would be a curved shower rod. The holes left in tile can easilay be filled with grout and if matched up coler wise is not that notice-able. you can always know out the tile that has the holes and add 'accent tiles' of a differnt color

Thanks for all the feedback. I have a local glass company coming out to bid replacing just the frame with oil rubbed bronze. If that's more than about $3-400, I'll probably just put up a curved rod & shower curtain. A curtain might look better anyway - the interior of the shower isn't exactly something to be put on display, and curtains are easier to (not) clean.

$652 to replace the frame only with oil-rubbed bronze, or $806 with new glass. That's a little steep for something that won't look much better.

I am considering dismantling it, and sanding and painting the frame. Anyone had success doing this? Suggestions on paint type?

I'm fond of powdercoating and there are millions of colors and sheens. I wouldn't think that would be too expensive and you wouldn't have to spend all that time sanding it.,,,, and painting it. The biggest issue may be the fit afterwards. Sometimes pc'ing can be pretty thick.

Originally Posted by trace

$652 to replace the frame only with oil-rubbed bronze, or $806 with new glass. That's a little steep for something that won't look much better.

I am considering dismantling it, and sanding and painting the frame. Anyone had success doing this? Suggestions on paint type?

You will be suprised at how good a job you can with just a rattle can. My front porch was that nasty off black aluminum screen crap. I sanded, primed and painted it white with apliance paint. (that stuff is high gloss and tough) It looked great for about 6 years before the dog went through it for the last time and I tore the whole thing out.

Good luck.

Good post. I have a very similar setup but we have such bad water I need the glass replaced mostly. Funny because glass guy told me the opposite that the frame is dirt cheap (just like yours but aluminum), and the glass is expensive. My quote was $1500 for frosted glass or $1100 for the cheapest setup which is exactly what we have now. He said the frame is only like $100 of the total. I told him to go fly a kite as it's the cheap contractor grade door. they also priced the thick glass that is frameless for almost $3000 haha.

i would buy a smaller door, center it on that shower basin lip. then frame and tile in the rest(the right and left sides). that would also hid the interior of your shower. check in lowes for the returns area and dont hesitate to ask for a deeper discount if there is returned door you like. also you can can register for the lowes moving coupon and save a couple bucks. just put in a bs address but use your real email and the coupon will be sent to you via email. i think its for 10% of the entire purchase. im not a handy dude at all and ive redone 2 entire bathrooms, down to just 2x4's. framing this would be easy

Alan, I like that idea. I am just about to tear it down (like tonight), and will probably use your idea if the rattlecan doesn't work out.

Funny how the price is often independent of the actual work to be done. What I hear is basically, "I'm not coming out here and doing anything for less than about a grand."

Well, my old enclosure is in bad enough shape that I don't want to go to the trouble of refurbing it.
I'm thinking about doing glass blocks now, probably something like this:



Finished edge glass blocks are 4-5x the cost of the standard unfinished blocks.
Anyone seen standard blocks simply grouted with the unfinished edge showing, or maybe with wood trim?
This pic shows both elements, but isn't a very good pic.

Update... Haven't put on the end caps or grouted yet. Probably going to raise the notch by one more block before I do. This is the first time I've done glass blocks, but I've tiled a lot. It's definitely messier than tiling.

looks fantastic..

what is your cost into it so far?

Thanks. It ended up being ~$600 in materials + ~15 hrs of my time. About the same cost as replacing the metal frame, but looks a lot more "updated" IMO. I'm a DIYer and enjoy learning new trades, so the time is a wash to me.

Update - I just noticed in my photobucket stats that the pics in this thread are still getting like 90 hits per week. :-?

Anyway, this definitely helped move our house when it went up for sale. Got a ton of compliments on it, and we had a contract in just a few days. Here's the professional pic of the final product from the MLS listing.

wow! thats cool, turned out great!