Custom frameless shower enclosures in Phoenix
We design, fabricate and install frameless, semi-frameless and framed shower and tub enclosures. Frameless is always custom, because the glass carries its own structure and every shower opening is slightly different.
Call (602) 777-3717, Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 5:00pm. Consultation and quote are free.
Which one are you looking at?
- Remodeling and you want the tile to show. Frameless. Nothing interrupts the view of the wall behind it.
- You want the frameless look without the frameless price. Semi-frameless. A slim frame on the fixed panels, clean edges on the door.
- Water is getting out and you want it to stop. Framed. Gaskets and seals all round, which frameless can’t fully match.
- A panel or door has broken. Tempered glass goes all at once by design. The replacement is cut to your opening.
- Replacing a shower curtain over a tub. A tub enclosure, framed or frameless depending on budget and look.
Frameless costs more for a structural reason
It isn’t a styling surcharge. A frameless panel has no frame to carry it, so the glass itself has to do the structural work, and that means thicker glass and heavier hardware.
We supply tempered glass from 3/16 to 1/2 inch. Framed designs can use the thin end of that range because the frame carries the load. Frameless needs the thick end, and a single frameless panel can weigh over a hundred pounds, which is why the fasteners into the wall are heavier and why the wall behind them matters.
Adding a frame lowers the glass cost by 25 to 50%, because it lets a thinner lite do the job. That’s the real trade-off, and it’s worth knowing before you decide on looks alone.
The gap problem, and why we measure carefully
This is the honest downside of frameless and the thing most suppliers don’t raise until afterwards.
Frameless panels meet each other and meet the wall without a gasket. If the glass isn’t cut precisely to the opening, you get gaps, and gaps are pathways for water and air. A frameless enclosure that leaks is almost always a measuring problem rather than a glass problem.
It matters more here than you’d expect. Older Phoenix homes and remodels frequently have shower walls that are out of plumb by enough to matter over a seven foot panel, and tile adds its own variation. We measure the actual opening at several heights rather than assuming it’s square, and the panels are cut to what’s there.
The other consequence: we’d rather be involved before the tile goes on. If we see the opening at rough-in we can tell your contractor what the glass needs, instead of working around what’s already built.
Glass and hardware
All shower glass is tempered. Building code treats glass in a shower or tub enclosure as a hazardous location, so safety glazing is required and there’s no exception for it.
Tempered glass is heated and rapidly quenched, which puts the surfaces into compression and makes it roughly four times stronger than annealed. When it does break it dices into small blunt pieces rather than long shards, which is the entire reason code requires it in a bathroom.
Glass options we supply:
- Clear. The default, and what most frameless designs use.
- Rain and obscure. Privacy without losing light.
- Colored and low-iron. Low-iron removes the green cast you see on the edge of thick clear glass, which shows most on a frameless panel.
Hardware is chosen alongside the glass: hinges, handles, mounting brackets, u-channel, header bars and clamps, in finishes that match the rest of the bathroom. On a frameless door the hinges are structural, not decorative, so they’re specified to the panel weight rather than picked from a catalogue on looks.
Why shower glass sometimes breaks on its own
It’s uncommon and it’s worth understanding rather than worrying about.
Fully tempered glass carries a small inherent risk of spontaneous breakage from a nickel sulfide inclusion, a microscopic particle that can expand years after the glass was made. It isn’t an installation fault and it isn’t something you did. The other cause is edge damage: a chip in the edge from installation or from the door swinging into a fitting becomes a failure point under the glass’s own internal tension.
Either way the panel is replaced rather than repaired. Tempered glass can’t be cut or edge-worked after heat treatment, so the replacement is fabricated to the measurement.
How the process runs
- Consultation. A technician comes to the property, looks at the shower, and talks through frameless, semi-frameless and framed against your budget.
- Measure. The opening is measured at several points for plumb and square rather than assumed.
- Written quote. Glass type, thickness, hardware and finish, all named. Nothing is owed before this.
- 50% deposit. Once you approve, the glass and hardware are ordered and fabricated to your measurements.
- Installation. Usually completed in one day.
The deposit exists because the glass is cut to your shower and can’t be resold. It doesn’t fit anyone else’s bathroom.
Our warranty
Shower glass and installation carry a lifetime limited warranty on our workmanship, for as long as you own the property.
Common questions
How much does a frameless shower enclosure cost?
It depends on the glass thickness, the size of the panels and the hardware. Adding a frame drops the glass cost by 25 to 50%, so a semi-frameless design is worth quoting alongside frameless if budget is a factor. The quote is free.
Do frameless shower doors leak?
They can, and when they do it’s nearly always a fit problem. Frameless panels have no gaskets, so the glass has to be cut to the real opening. Walls that are out of plumb are the usual cause, which is why we measure at several heights.
How thick does frameless shower glass need to be?
Thicker than framed, because the glass is the structure. We supply 3/16 to 1/2 inch; frameless uses the upper end and a single panel can weigh over a hundred pounds.
Does shower glass have to be tempered?
Yes. Code treats a shower or tub enclosure as a hazardous location and requires safety glazing, with no size exemption.
My shower door shattered and nothing hit it. Why?
Almost always a nickel sulfide inclusion in the tempered glass, or a chip in the edge that finally gave way. Neither is an installation fault. The panel is replaced.
When should I bring you in on a bathroom remodel?
Before the tile goes on if you can. Seeing the opening at rough-in means we can tell your contractor what the glass needs, rather than working around what’s already built.
Who installs custom shower enclosures in Phoenix?
We do. Call (602) 777-3717 and we’ll arrange a free in-home consultation.
Book a consultation
Call (602) 777-3717 Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 5:00pm. See glass shower doors for framed and replacement doors, and residential glass for everything else we work on.
