Glass Crafters Inc.

Newly renovated small bathroom in Passaic county area of Wayne NJ needed shower door installation. The owner chose frameless shower enclosure with 1/2 inch thick glass and pivoted hinges.

What Is The Difference Between Frameless, Semi-Frameless and Framed Shower Enclosures?

Choosing a shower enclosure type and design for your bathroom can have a big impact on the overall look of your bathroom space. Your choice of a shower door with frames or without, it’s material, style and type of bathroom enclosure preferences should be carefully combined with the design and functionally that will suit your bathroom appearance.

Therefore there are 3 basic types of enclosures to choose from: frameless, semi-frameless, and framed. You can compare frameless vs framed shower enclosure based on pros and cons features. They also differ by type of glass, hardware, methods of opening and fastening.

Frameless Shower Enclosures

Frameless shower enclosures don’t have any frame around the glass.

Luxury heavy glass that used for this type of frameless enclosure is usually fastened by specifically designed hardware such as clamps and hinges to hold the glass panel without using any framing around it.

Frameless Enclosures are typically have either a bypass or pivot door and have been most popular among customers.

The glass that is used for the frameless enclosures is ½” or 3/8”. This type of showers known for their clean and seamless look.

Pros:

Sleek, modern, superior look
Sturdier operation and dependable design
Easier to clean and maintain
See trough look to show off the tile work in your shower
Minimalistic design doesn’t detract attention from your bathroom design details
Permits natural light in
Makes small bathroom space looks bigger
Long life span

Cons:

Due to heavy glass require a professional installation

GlassCrafters frameless shower enclosures provide a superior look, sturdier operation and dependable design, which are easier to clean and maintain.

Semi Frameless Shower Enclosures

Semi-frameless enclosures are a hybrid that is primarily a framed enclosure, while leaving some edges of the semi-frameless glass exposed achieving some of the effect of a frameless enclosure. They are the most common shower enclosure widely available everywhere.

This type showers door combines elements of framed showers with clean lines of frameless showers. The fixed panes are carrying some sort of frames, where the doors are frameless and don’t have any visible outlined edges. The hardware used for semi-frameless shower enclosures is mostly aluminum. They are not expansive, but at the same time very durable and long lasting.

Of course there are some exceptions. There are companies that are designing and manufacturing semi-framed shower enclosures made of plated brass or stainless steel extrusions. But those are rather rare.

The glass that is used for the semi frameless enclosures is ½” or 3/8”.

Pros:

Cost effective
Durable and long lasting
Clean look

Cons:

More parts for installation
Preferred a professional installation

GlassCrafters Semi frameless shower enclosures offer a clean alternative to bulky aluminum framed shower enclosures.

Framed Shower Enclosures

Framed shower enclosure traditionally feature a metal frames surrounding panels of tempered, textured or laminated architectural glass. The metal on the frame enclosure capture all edges of the glass such as top, bottom, sides and joints, parts of the partition, leaving no glass edge exposed. The moving parts such as door are fastened with stainless steel pivot or piano hinges.

The frame can be constructed from plated brass, steel or aluminium.

That frame can be made of extruded aluminum with some sort of paint or anodized color on it. Or it can be a solid brass frame plated in different finishes: polished or brashed chtome, polishe or brashed nickel, polished brass, oil rubbed or brushed bronze.

Plated Brass and Steel are more expensive options because of promising durability, quality, reach and bold Victorian look.

Aluminum frame is inexpensive option, although durable and lasts long.

Tempered safety glass used for framed showers can vary from less expensive ¼” glass, to a heavy ½”. Different companies are offering all range of product in this configuration.

Pure solid brass frames are meticulously plated to complement your bathroom fixtures.

Pros:

Effective At Keeping Water In the Shower

Cons:

Limits design options and layout because doors can only open outward

Due to heavy glass and metal parts require a professional installation

Choose the enclosure that fits best with your bathrooms needs. After you’ve weighed the pros and cons of frameless, and semi-frameless shower doors, and enclosures, find a trusted professional to install your new shower.

Reference:
Shower type choice

GlassCrafters' Metropolis Series™ framed shower doors, influenced by Tudor window architecture, is fabricated with symmetrical, geometric, grid pattern.

This European style from the late 18th Century offers Renaissance embellishments such as luxurious black metal finishes and hard-edge detailing.

Metropolis Series™ framed shower doors is intended to complement a broad range of interior décors including Traditional, Transitional and Art Deco.

Constructed with aluminum mullions finished in powder coated oil rubbed bronze and iron like, matte black.

 

 

GlassCrafters’ Equalis Series™ shower door system is a new developed product that provides the functionality of a frameless by-pass with a timeless, contemporary and transitional aesthetic.

Both doors glide effortlessly on a solid aluminum track with cladded stainless steel.

Fully reversible units come in a select number of sizes with your choice of polished stainless, brushed stainless, or polished chrome anodized.

Return panels are available for certain sizes.

The Equalis Series shower door system on our main website.

This custom frameless Neo Angle shower enclosure on a buttress walls was designed, engineered, fabricated and installed by GlassCrafters’ in a residence of Towaco NJ.  The shower enclosure is from Majestic Series™.  Below is a demonstration of the shower enclosure installation process by our experienced, highly professional, skilled installers. Pictures before, in a process and complete installation is shown in pictures.

Shower enclosure installation details:

Enclosure installation by Jason French, photo credit: Michael B.
Use our Showroom Locator tool to locate distributors who offer installation services can also handle the measuring of your shower space in addition to installing the finished product.
shower enclosure installation, frameless shower door installation, frameless glass shower door installation, shower enclosure installation

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