Completely Frameless Heavy Glass Shower Enclosures

Good morning Chris,

We are installing a few frameless unit in my house in Hollywood. In all cases, with no doors……just a fixed panel. I am experienced with construction, but certainly no expert with glass showers.

We are confident our hot mop was properly installed and will be effective.

We are floating the floors and the walls.

I will install a fixed panel with a carrera marble floor……and a 4 X 4 X 3/16″ glass walls.

I would like to eliminate the “clips” that hold the glass and simply “inset” the glass in the floor and wall.

SO I would have most of the floor and wall tile installed but leave an uninstalled space to install the glass.

I will secure the glass with a top quality silicone and bond to the concrete dry mud pack substrate and to the lathed and floated wall then the tile installer comes back and installs the tiles around the glass.

Do you have any recommendations to ensure success on this project?

Thanks,
Great Blog!
Rudy d
Hollywood Hills

Hi Rudy,

Whenever I do an installation of the type you are describing, I will “hide” a channel in the substrate. I would use the process that you described in your email, but would add the step of including a “U” channel for the glass to actually sit in. You can then float the tile to be just a tad bit higher than the channel, thus hiding it completely. Using dark channel (oil rubbed bronze or black) will make it hide even better.

The reason I suggest this is because the aluminum channel allows me to control the waterproofing process completely. I can fill the corners and joints of the channel with silicone to insure a good seal. Otherwise, I am never really at ease about whether I have successfully sealed the enclosure at the base. The end result is a really clean look that people love.

Thanks for writing!

-Chris