Designing a Shower Enclosure
Frameless shower glass is the least forgiving work in a glass shop. Walls are never plumb, every hardware system needs its own gaps, a door over a certain height needs a third hinge, and every hinge needs a cutout in the right place. Work it out by hand on the back of an estimate and, sooner or later, a $600 panel comes back 3/16" too wide.
The Shower designer does the arithmetic. Give it the layout, the wall-to-wall widths and the height, and it works out every piece from your hardware system's gaps, adds the edgework and cutouts, and puts the hardware kit on the estimate.
Before your first shower: your hardware systems
The designer is only as right as the hardware system behind it. In Workflows → Flat Glass Settings, open the Shower systems tab. Two common frameless systems come set up:
- Frameless: wall hinges, clamps
- Frameless: hinges, panels in U-channel
Each system holds:
- Gaps (inches): hinge side, strike side, glass to glass, panel to wall (a minus number when the panel sits in a channel), bottom (for the sweep), corner, neo-angle joint, and above the door for steam showers.
- Doors: the narrowest and widest door the hardware allows (22" to 32" as set up), hinges per door (2), and the height above which a door gets more hinges (3 over 78").
- Clamps per fixed panel: 2 for clamped panels, 0 when panels sit in a channel.
- Edgework on every piece, and the fabrication on each piece: for example one hinge cutout per hinge and two holes for the handle on each door.
- Hardware kit: the items that go on the estimate, counted Per door, Per fixed panel, Per hinge, Per clamp or Once per shower.
The values that come set up are common frameless ones, not any manufacturer's instructions. Check them against the hardware you actually install before you quote your first shower, and fix the gaps to match. If you use two hinge brands, Duplicate a system and adjust the copy.
If you create the starter catalog before changing the systems, it gives both of them a kit made from its hardware items (hinge, pull handle, sweep, seal and glass clamp). Price those items in your price list, or swap in your own.
Measuring for the designer
The designer needs three widths for a reason:
- Measure wall to wall at the top, the middle and the bottom. The glass is sized from the narrowest. If they differ by more than 1/4", the designer warns you: the walls are out of plumb, and you should think about U-channel or a template.
- The height is where you want the top of the glass, usually 72" or more from the curb. The bottom gap comes off the doors and panels for you.
- The door width you want, for layouts with a door.
- For a 90 degree corner, the return depth, from the back wall to the front glass.
- For a neo-angle, each of the three faces.
- For a steam shower, the height from the floor (or curb) to the ceiling, so there's room for a transom over the door.
Using the designer
On a job's Openings step, press Shower designer (on an empty job, Design a shower). Then:
- Layout: Door only, Door and panel, Panel, door, panel, 90 degree corner, Neo-angle, Tub screen, or Steam, with transom.
- Hardware system and Glass. The glass list shows your safety glass. Choose Choose later if the customer hasn't decided between clear and low-iron yet.
- The measurements for that layout.
- Where, such as "Primary bath".
- Tick These are measured sizes if you measured on site. Leave it unticked for a customer's numbers or a rough guess: the pieces go on as rough sizes, and nothing is ordered until someone measures.
The right side redraws as you type: a front view, every piece's size, the number of hinges, the hardware kit, and any warnings. When it's right, press Add to the job.
A worked example
A door and fixed panel with the Frameless: wall hinges, clamps system as it comes set up, in 3/8" clear tempered:
- Widths: top 60 3/8, middle 60 1/8, bottom 60
- Height 72, door 28
The designer gives:
| Piece | Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed panel | 31 1/2 x 71 5/8 | flat polish all edges |
| Door | 28 x 71 5/8 | 2 hinges: 2 hinge cutouts, 2 handle holes, flat polish all edges |
With a warning: "The opening is 3/8" wider at one end. Sizes use the narrowest width; check the walls for plumb or make a template."
Where the numbers come from: the narrowest width is 60. Take off 1/8" at the wall, 3/16" between the panel and the door, the 28" door, and 3/16" on the strike side, and the panel is 31 1/2". The 3/8" bottom gap takes the 72" height down to 71 5/8" of glass. At 72" the door is under the 78" line, so it gets 2 hinges, not 3.
The hardware kit adds 2 hinges, a handle, a sweep and a seal for the door, plus 2 clamps for the panel.
On the estimate, the panel bills as 32 x 72 = 16.00 sq ft and the door as 28 x 72 = 14.00 sq ft, with their edgework charged on the real edges. At roughly 76 lb and 68 lb, both are flagged as a two-person lift.
What lands on the job
- One opening per piece (S1, S2 …), grouped together under the shower's name, each with its size, edgework and cutouts.
- The safety glass question in a tub or shower is answered for every piece, so a non-safety glass choice is flagged.
- Each piece priced, if you chose the glass, with its labor.
- The hardware kit, attached to the door.
Every piece is an ordinary opening from here on. Open one in the piece builder to add a notch for a tile ledge, change the glass, or mark the sizes measured after a site visit.
Common mistakes
Measuring one width. A shower measured only at the top is a shower whose bottom gap you'll find out about at the install. Three widths, every time.
Trusting the standard system without checking it. The gaps that come set up are typical, not yours. Five minutes with your hinge maker's spec sheet saves a remade door.
Ticking "These are measured sizes" for the customer's numbers. Measured means someone from your shop measured it. Customer numbers stay rough until you measure, so the glass can't be ordered on them.
Ignoring the door-width warning. "The door is 34" wide; this system expects 22" to 32"" means the hinges aren't rated for it. Change the layout (add a panel) rather than the warning.
Designing the same shower twice. Running the designer again adds a second shower to the job. If you're redesigning, remove the old pieces first.