Shower glass · Hamilton
Frameless, framed and tub-front shower glass
Shower glass is house glass, cut for one opening in one washroom. A door that drips, drags or drifts often needs a hinge, a seal or a roller, not a whole new enclosure. We connect you with an independent local glass professional who does shower work. They measure, quote and do the job; we pass your request on and make sure it doesn't go quiet.
- Seals and hinges fixed before anything's replaced
- Measured to the walls you actually have
- Quotes from independent local pros
What's going wrong
Leaks, sagging doors, worn seals and broken hinges
The usual causes, simplest first:
Water on the floor
Usually a worn sweep or split seal, plastic strips that wear out long before the glass. Or the caulk has cracked.
A door that sags or drifts
Loose hinge screws or a softened wall let a frameless door drop and catch. It can often be reset or rehung.
A sliding door that grinds or jumps
Worn rollers grind; a loose header bar lets the door jump. Both are parts, not glass.
A chip or a crack
Chipped tempered glass can break later with little warning, so stop using the door. It can't be recut, so a broken panel means a new piece cut and tempered to size.
Fix or replace
Repair the hardware, or replace the enclosure?
If the glass is sound, keep it. Seals, a sweep, rehung hinges, new rollers or a proper recaulk fix most leaks and sags. A new enclosure makes sense when a framed unit has corroded, parts are gone, or you're gutting the bathroom anyway. The pro we match you with will say if a part is all it needs.
Redoing the washroom? The same pro can often cut a vanity mirror or niche shelves too.
Measuring
Measuring older bathrooms, where walls aren't square
A good share of Hamilton's houses predate the 1960s, and many Lower City washrooms have been redone more than once. Plaster bows, floors settle, old tubs sit off level. Tempered glass can't be trimmed once it's made, so all of that gets measured.
Tile first, glass second
Tile and grout change every gap the glass has to fill, so the measure waits until the tiler's done. Mid-renovation, the contractor running the job can book the glass pro for then.
Every wall, at several heights
The pro checks each wall top, middle and bottom for plumb, then plans a wider channel, a notched panel or a semi-frameless layout wherever it's out.
Order, then install
Panels are cut, drilled and tempered at a glass plant, so there's a wait before the install visit.
Choosing a build
Frameless, semi-frameless or fully framed: how they differ
It comes down to how much metal holds the glass, which changes the look and how true the walls need to be.
Frameless
Thick tempered glass on hinges and clamps. It shows off the tile but needs walls close to true, and water can find gaps a frame would cover.
Semi-frameless
Metal on some edges, with a frameless-style door. A common fit in older washrooms, since the channel absorbs some unevenness.
Framed and tub-front
Metal around every panel, often sliding. The most forgiving where walls are out of plumb, and the usual swap for a curtain along a tub.
The glass itself
Clear, low-iron or frosted: choosing the glass
Whatever you choose has to be safety glass. The Ontario Building Code has long required tempered or laminated glass for shower and tub enclosures, and the pro works to the current edition.
Clear
The standard, with a faint green edge. Easiest to match later.
Low-iron
Whiter, most noticeable on thick panels against pale tile.
Frosted
Privacy in a small or shared washroom, and it hides spots.
Coated
Helps water sheet off and slows film build-up.
What affects the quote
What sets the price of custom shower glass
What moves the number:
- Frameless, semi-frameless or framed, and how many panels
- Glass thickness, and clear, low-iron or frosted
- Hardware finish and how many pieces
- How far the walls and tub are out of square
- Removing an old enclosure
- Stairs and tight halls in older houses
Ask for glass, hardware and labour as separate lines, not one lump sum, and check whether HST is included.
Questions
Shower glass questions
Explore your options
Other glass jobs around the house
Local pros fit and repair shower glass across the city, including Downtown Hamilton, Durand, Westdale, Hamilton Mountain and Stoney Creek.
Send a photo and rough sizes
Include the width and height, and whether it's a tub or a walk-in. We'll pass it to a local pro who does shower glass, and they'll say if a new seal or hinge will do.