Glass shower screens are both functional and aesthetic bathroom upgrades that do not necessarily have to be expensive. If you don’t have one yet, the change can be quite refreshing. In case you do have a shower screen already, you might want to consider refreshing the look a bit by replacing your existing screen with something new in your bathroom remodeling project. As to what your options are in either situation, we will discuss that part next.
Sliding Door Shower Screens
The main advantage of sliding door shower screens is that they are ideal for incredibly small bathrooms, unlike the usual shower enclosures that have doors that open inwards/outwards. These slide to open or close, saving the space that would otherwise be necessary to accommodate an open door. This neat little feature makes sliding door showers quite a perfect fit for small bathrooms.
Bi-Fold Shower Screens
Although the sliding doors are unbeatable when it comes to saving space, the bi-fold screen is a more attractive and stylish option. It takes up significantly less space than the classic pivotal door showers, though, which adds at least some space-efficiency to the design. Small to medium-sized bathrooms should find bi-fold shower screens to be particularly useful and stylish.
Quadrant Shower Screens
A quadrant shower is the most budget-friendly option that can fit inside virtually any bathroom space. Not only does it use sliding doors for saving the maximum amount of space possible, but the shower screen itself is a quadrant structure with an edgeless design that finds itself at home in any available corner of the bathroom. They can add style and functionality to even bathrooms inside compact apartments.
Despite the quadrant screen being chiefly intended for small bathrooms with little to no spare space in them, the edgeless design has allowed for creating some very creative and aesthetic glass showers in recent years.
Fully Framed Shower Screens
The fully framed shower screen is essentially an enclosed glass box with a door and an opening up top. Aluminum is the usual frame material used in these due to its high resistance to water-induced corrosion. Fully framed glass screens look beautiful, do not cost much, and can be customized best to fit any bathroom’s specific measurements and needs.
Frameless Shower Screens
An even more elegant and aesthetically pleasing choice that fits all décor and budgets is the frameless glass screen. However, due to the minimum use of supporting materials that provide these shower screens with their popular frameless look, these must be installed by experienced and properly trained professionals only.
Whether you are on a budget, or you want a premium frameless design that’s customized for your bathroom, check out these glass shower screens.
Semi-Frameless Shower Screens
Consider it a marketing term for framed shower screens with thinner frames compared to those seen on the standard fully framed shower screens. These do not look as good as the frameless showers, nor can they be considered sturdy as fully framed glass screens. However, they offer a bit of both, which makes semi-frameless glass screens a good option for someone who has plans for a large and complicated shower design that could benefit from having a metallic frame’s added support.
Fixed Panel Shower Screens
Finally, we have the most premium option, and if you are considering getting one of these installed in your bathroom, you need to make sure that the space necessary for that is available first. There are some specific requirements that we will discuss further below.
So, what is so premium about the fixed panel showers that make them one of the costliest options on this list? They are the most spacious shower screens that one can install in a bathroom, and they boast a minimalist décor at the same time. The theme here is that you get more space while using less glass and metal. Unfortunately, unless the following criteria can be met, fixed panel glass screens are not ideal:
- The bathroom must be large enough for the screen to be installed properly and look aesthetically pleasing
- The screen will need to be accompanied by a drying area as well
It is worth mentioning that whichever style you choose to go with, makes sure that it is installed with proper, professional care. A poorly installed shower screen that doesn’t even meet the basic standards set by the Australian government can become a health hazard in no time for obvious reasons. Any structure made from glass and metal will always cause concern when manufactured and installed poorly by inexperienced/untrained workers.
