Where we install shower doors

What changes from one home to the next

A shower door is measured to one bathroom, and some of what decides it comes from where the bathroom is.

Near the ocean

Salt air reaches well inland from the beach, and it attacks metal long before it affects glass. In a coastal home the hardware finish and the quality of the fixings matter more than anywhere else, and a bathroom window that opens toward the water makes it worse. Tell us how close the house is to the ocean or the Intracoastal and we will take it into account when we talk through hardware.

Condos and high-rises

Condominium work has its own logistics. Most associations ask contractors for paperwork before they can start, set working hours, and want the service elevator reserved. Large panels of tempered glass also have to fit that elevator, or the stairwell, on their way up — tempered glass cannot be cut once it is made, so a panel that will not fit the elevator has to be planned as two before it is ordered. Check with your management office what they require before the measure, so the install date is not held up by a form.

Older houses

Walls in older homes are rarely plumb, and the tile is often set on a thick mortar bed. Both change what can be fixed where. That is why we measure the opening at several heights and look at what is behind the tile before recommending a door: an out-of-plumb wall can rule out frameless glass, or call for a semi-frameless door with a channel that absorbs it.

Hard water, everywhere

South Florida water is mineral-heavy across all three counties, and the deposits it leaves on shower glass will etch it in a few years if they are left to build up. A squeegee after each shower does more than any product. How to clean hard water off shower glass.