Glass Showers:
Framed vs. Frameless
There are three key questions to consider when deciding between a framed shower and a frameless shower:
- Aesthetics - How is your new shower going to fit into your existing bathroom or your planned new bathroom?
- Maintenance - How easy is the shower to clean and how often should it be done?
- Cost - Will this break the budget for your bathroom renovation?
Aesthetics
Your new shower should complement the rest of your bathroom, working with the other elements in the room to complete a harmonious look. For instance, a chrome finish framed shower complements chrome bathroom fixtures quite well while a frameless shower would tend to blend into the background. On the other hand, a frameless shower will highlight tile or stone work in the bathroom while a framed shower tends to overwhelm these accents.
Maintenance
Frameless showers are much easier to clean than their framed counterparts. With nothing to work around other than the shower hardware, the doors and enclosure walls can easily be wiped down. Framed showers, however, require more frequent cleaning to ensure there is no water sitting in the frame which can cause deterioration over time.
Cost
When it comes to price, frameless showers tend to be a bit more expensive due to the way in which they are constructed. With no other support other than the glass, the bond between panels is crucial. Also, the panes of glass in a frameless shower tend to be slightly thicker to support the weight of the enclosure. The vast configuration options of the frameless shower will increase the cost of the enclosure as well. Additional work must be done to fabricate steep angles and curves that are not possible with framed showers.
Many Unique Shower Options Available
Clayton's Glass offers a nearly limitless variety of framed and frameless glass shower configurations, options, and accessories, but we are perhaps known best for our Euro Frameless Shower series.
The flexibility of the Euro frameless shower's configuration allows your shower designer at Clayton's Glass to create a highly personalized shower including steep angles and curves that would not be possible with standard or framed shower configurations.
Clayton's Glass is now an authorized reseller of Cardinal Cast Glass Enclosures!
>> Browse the Cardinal Shower Enclosure Gallery
Looking for Inspiration?
Browse these shower galleries from leading shower manufacturers:
You can also view our most popular hardware package or view all shower hardware options.
