FRAMELESS (Heavy Glass):
The Frameless shower market is booming right now. These types of showers have become common and are growing in popularity. “Heavy glass” is extremely sturdy and comes in two sizes – 3/8” and 1/2”. The thickness of the glass is eye-catching, often with texture and/or design, and gives you a centerpiece in the bathroom. Be sure to see our photo gallery of ideas! Frameless units can be designed to fit into any shower opening with a variety of configurations, which include – a single door, double-door, door and panel, door and dogleg-panel, panel-door-panel, spray-panel, and neo-angle, steam shower. For frameless doors we typically use Surrounds by Sigco (Westbrook, ME), Cardinal Shower (Woburn, MA) and Woonsocket Glass and Mirror (Woonsocket, RI). All three of these companies have fast and dependable service and high quality products.
The look of a frameless “Heavy Glass” surround is truly exquisite! These showers have a very clean look with great site lines. We use minimal amounts of hardware, while still delivering a safe and secure enclosure. This keeps bulky metal out the bathroom, allowing the glass to speak for itself. Being frameless allows the shower the capability to open both inward and outward. There are hundreds of different hinges/clips and multiple finishes for hardware/channel keeping these showers fully customizable for you! These types of enclosures range in price but lend themselves to a high-end look
SEMI-FRAMELESS:
Frameless (Heavy Glass) surrounds, unfortunately do not work in all bathrooms, but luckily there are other options! If you are looking to upgrade and add a door to a fiberglass surround (shower stall or a tub) a Semi-Frameless surround is the perfect solution.
For framed and semi frameless units, we are dealers for both Century Bathworks and Cardinal Shower Door lines. We have displays for both of these top quality products in our showroom.
Semi-frameless is so named because the hinges are mounted to a metal channel that spans the wall that the door is hanging on. These products can be designed in a few combinations – Single Door, Door and Panel, Double Door. Also semi-frameless shower doors come in many different metal finishes!
I have been selling and installing Century Bathworks products since I started in the glass business in the late 1970’s. Century offers superior quality and attention to detail. They are designed and manufactured to exacting standards, for those who only want the best!
We partnered with Cardinal Shower a few years ago, and are glad we did! Cardinal started out as an aluminum extruder (Hoskin and Muir), making the parts and pieces that other shower door manufacturers used to assemble their enclosures. They made a smart decision, and got into fabricating their own line of shower enclosures. The results have been outstanding, and they are now one of the premier full line dealers. They make an excellent product, and pass on the savings of making their own, from raw extrusions – to finished units, to you.
You can find out more about Century Bathworks products by following this link: http://www.centurybathworks.com/
Both Cardinal and Century offer an excellent selection of glass alternatives. Cardinal will even go as far as to make custom cast glass to your design.
Cardinal Shower TruFit: The TruFit enclosure brings flexibility to consumers who have fiberglass or tiled surrounds (new or existing). This model allows for 3/8” glass doors to be mounted safely to a fiberglass surround, by evenly distributing the weight of the door down the wall of your shower. Most fiberglass surrounds can’t hold the weight of a 3/8” door using traditional heavy glass hinges.
They consider this semi-frameless because the hinges are mounted to a metal channel that spans the wall that the door is hanging on. These Products can be designed in a few combinations – Single Door, Door and Panel, Double Door. Also semi-frameless shower doors come in many different metal finishes! Clear glass is standard, but Cardinal offers many other glass possibilities.
You can find out more about the TruFit Series by following this link: http://www.cardinalshower.com/enclosures/swing-door/trufit-series
The “UpTown”, and “UpTown Grand” series are exciting new options from Cardinal Shower. These can be mounted in either fiberglass or tiled showers. The UpTown Grand offers a 3/8” stationary panel, with a ¼” thick door, for an upscale look. Best of all, NO header is required to tie the door and panel together, resulting in a cleaner look, and nothing to have to duck under, or bang your head on, before you have had your first cup of coffee!
You can choose from four different through the glass handles, all at the same price, with the UpTown Series!
You can find out more about the UpTown Series by following this link: http://www.cardinalshower.com/enclosures/swing-door/uptown-series
FRAMED:
Made to fit both tiled and fiberglass shower/tub openings, a framed shower, simply put, is an enclosure that is a combination of glass and metal. The glass is enclosed in metal on all sides (“framed”). Most if not all of these showers close to a magnetic strike which keeps the door securely closed. These showers are very watertight. Like the others, there are multiple options for metal colors and finishes with a few choices for standard handles. Combinations of framed showers include- Single door, door and panel, door dogleg panel, neo-angle.
STEAM SHOWER:
A framed shower is a great option if you are looking to finish off your steam shower. Being tight to the wall with the metal frame makes it easy to seal and creates a completely enclosed area.
Styles
For framed and semi frameless units, we are dealers for both Century Bathworks and Cardinal Shower Door lines. We have displays for both of these top quality products in our showroom.
For frameless doors we typically use Surrounds by Sigco (Westbrook, ME) and Cardinal Shower (Woburn, MA). Both of these companies have fast and dependable service and high quality products. Both offer clear, ultra clear “starphire”, acid etched (frosted), rain, and bubble glass in 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2. Cardinal also offers an extensive and unique line of “cast” glass and custom handles.