If you’re remodeling your bathroom, installing sleek glass doors is a great way to get an upscale look for your bathroom. Baytown shower glass installation offers many benefits, including making your bathroom look bigger and making your shower easier to clean. For your glass shower enclosure and doors, you’ll need to measure your shower enclosure carefully to ensure each component is manufactured properly.
Accurate Measurements are Essential for Baytown Shower Glass Installation
When installing a custom glass shower enclosure, measurements are incredibly important. The measurements for your Baytown shower glass installation project affect the glass panel manufacturing process. Incorrect or inaccurate measurements often mean the glass panels will be the wrong size. This makes them difficult or even impossible to install. Therefore, it’s important to take careful measurements to ensure they are correct. In fact, most experts recommend taking each measurement at least twice, like that old saying “measure twice, cut once.”
Before shower glass manufacturing and installation, our Baytown glass company can help measure for your custom shower enclosure. This can help give you peace of mind that your shower glass installation will go smoothly and look great in your bathroom. However, many homeowners take their own measurements first to help them choose the right glass options for their home.
How to Measure for Baytown Shower Glass Installation
If you’re planning to install shower glass in your bathroom, it’s good to wait to measure until after your shower pan is in place. This gives you a template as you measure your enclosure. Keep in mind that there are many different types of shower enclosures with different shapes. For example, some common shapes for shower enclosures include:
- Square
- Rectangular
- Alcove
- Neo-Angle
You’ll need to measure a little differently for each type, but the basic steps are similar. We have a few tips to help you as you measure your shower enclosure for Baytown shower glass installation.
What You Need to Measure for Baytown Shower Glass Installation
Before measuring for shower doors, you will need a few things. You will need:
- Measuring tape
- Level
- Pencil
- Paper
Also, it can help to have a measuring buddy to hold one side of the measuring tape, write down measurements for you, and otherwise help you.
Sketch Your Shower Enclosure
One of the first things you should do is roughly draw your shower enclosure. Don’t worry if you’re not Picasso. This sketch is just to help you keep each measurement straight from the others. So, grab that pencil and paper and make a few drawings of what your shower enclosure looks like and leave some room for you to write down dimensions as you measure.
Always Measure Finished Walls for Baytown Shower Glass Installation
Also, wait to measure for shower glass until the walls are finished, which means the tile or shower surround is installed. This helps you get the most precise measurements. It’s a common mistake for homeowners and contractors alike to measure for Baytown shower glass installation by measuring from stud to stud before the tile or surround is in place and then simply adding the listed thickness to those measurements. The problem with this is that thickness for tiles and surrounds can vary, which means your measurements may be inaccurate. Even a slight difference can cause major problems for your shower enclosure. So, even though it can make your project last a little longer, you want to measure finished walls for your shower glass.
Measuring the Door Width for Baytown Shower Glass Installation
Once you’re ready to measure, you can start by measuring the width of the glass panels you need for Baytown shower glass installation. If you just want a door for a tub or shower alcove, then this is pretty easy. Simply measure from wall to wall to get the door thickness. However, you want to measure in at least three places, as walls may not be exactly straight (also known as plumb). We recommend measuring width at the shower base, about three feet up, and about six feet up. If you get different measurements, that means the walls are out of plumb. Typically, the shower glass can be customized to fit out of plumb walls.
If you plan to have more than just one wall of glass for your shower enclosure, measure the width of the shower base. However, you will still need to check if the walls are plumb, which is a little more difficult for non-alcove shower enclosures.
Checking if the Shower Walls are Plumb
Whether the walls are straight is important for custom shower enclosures. If your walls are plumb (or straight up and down), then the glass panels will be manufactured straight. However, many homes have out of plumb walls. How much the walls are out of plumb matters. If they are slightly off, then it may not matter for glass manufacturing. However, if they are significantly out of plumb, then the glass manufacturers may need to customize the panels to your out of plumb walls.
If you have an alcove shower, the first sign that your shower walls are out of plumb is that your three measurements up the wall don’t match. Even if that is the case, it’s important to verify with a level. Measure the wall vertically with the level to determine whether the walls are plumb or out of plumb. If they are out of plumb, you can measure how far off they are. Take the level tool and place it against the wall and bring it so it’s straight up and down. Then, measure the gap between the straight edge of the level and the shower wall.
Measuring Height for Your Shower Enclosure
The next measurement to take for your Baytown shower glass installation is the height of the shower enclosure. The first thing you will need to decide is how high you want the glass panels. Some homeowners prefer floor to ceiling glass shower enclosures, but others prefer to have a gap between the ceiling and the top of the glass. If the tiles or surround for your shower ends before the top of the wall, then it’s a good rule of thumb to make the shower enclosure that tall. Measure from the bottom of the shower base to the top of the tiles for both walls. If your tiles go to the ceiling but you don’t want floor to ceiling glass, simply measure up to where you want the top of the glass to be. Just make sure it is at least as high as the shower enclosure to prevent splashes.
Measure Floor Space for Hinged Doors
If you want sliding shower doors, you don’t need to do this. However, if you’re planning on hinged doors, it’s also important to double check there’s plenty of room for them to open. Otherwise, you may find that the door bangs into the vanity, toilet, bathtub, or other fixtures.
First, you’ll need to decide how wide you want your shower doors to be. Typically it’s anywhere between 30 and 48 inches wide. Take the measuring tape and place the edge of where the hinges will be and bring the tape out to the width of the shower door. From there, swing it in a semi-circle to confirm that there’s plenty of floor space for hinged shower doors to open.
Want a Custom Glass Shower Enclosure? Call Our Baytown Glass Company!
If you want custom glass options for your home, business, or car, our team at Joey’s Glass is here for you. We offer everything from Baytown shower glass installation and Baytown residential glass repair to windshield replacement and commercial glass installation. We are proud to be Baytown’s oldest full-service glass company, serving the Greater Baytown area since 1973. Get in touch now for a free quote for your glass needs.