Special offer

Fitting a Full Bath into a Small Space: shower selection

By
Home Builder with H&H Builders Group, Inc.

See my previous entry for the background of this bathroom design.  Once I determined the general layout of the room I sent the drawing of our new full bath to my favorite local shower door company, DB Glass & Shower Door, for a quote. The local Building Official emphasized that the door opening must be a minimum of 22” clear (without obstruction), when I sent him the drawing for review.  This was especially important since the sink could potentially keep a swinging door from fully opening.  I rejected a rectangular shower because I don’t like the corner pointing into the doorway.  Feng sui says it’s a “poison arrow” of bad energy, but I say it’s a waste of space.  Especially in my laundry room!

The cost of a 3/16” clear glass “semi-frameless” shower enclosure with Euro header was about half the cost  of a 3/8” clear glass “frameless” enclosure.  If space and budget were my principal concerns I would have gone ahead with the semi-frameless option, however this room will be the guest room and “powder room”. If this were one of the main showers in the house I would have selected the 3/8” enclosure because I know that it would be of high quality and reliability.  However, this shower will mainly be used during phase 3, when the other house shower has been demolished and before the master shower has been constructed. I recalled seeing a prefabricated curved shower enclosure on the internet some months before and decided to investigate alternatives.

Before I describe my internet search, I’d like to clarify shower enclosure options.  A “framed” shower enclosure has metal around all of the glass components.  The glass is not very thick at 3/16” because it has addishower door stylestional strength from the metal frame.  In a “semi-framed” shower enclosure part of the glass is not framed.  In the photo the pull side of the door and the top of the door do not have metal edges.  A “Euro header” is rounded.  A “frameless” shower enclosure is attached to the wall with clips or channels, and may have metal at the top edges of the glass.  There are different types of hardware available for attaching the enclosure to the wall, door handles, and optional towel bars, as well as different metal finishes.  Visit the shower door company’s showroom to ensure that you understand what you are really buying.  DB Glass & Shower Door has a nice showroom so you can touch and look at different components. (photos courtesy of Cardinal Shower)

I found a number of tiny corner showers on the internet that would absolutely not comply with code requirements for interior dimensions or opening size.  Buyer beware!  I even had an email communication with someone from a company who assured me that their 32x32 phone booth looking unit with double sliding doors would meet code.  Perhaps the interior of the glass is at least 30” in diameter, but there’s no way the door opening is anywhere near 22” clear.  I found that many of the corner showers that would fit in our space would not meet code and I felt uncomfortable with not being able to assess the quality of such an expensive item.  The nearest showroom is in Los Angeles, too far away for me.

That said, I kept returning to the Vigo Industries 36” curved shower enclosure with a sliding door.  I typically avoid sliding doors because they seem to require more maintenance and cleaning, but this shower enclosure is very attractive, adds some interior space without encroaching too much into the room, and we’re not going to be using the shower on a daily basis so I’m okay with the sliding door.  The material price was less than the neo angle frameless option (with installation), my husband agreed to install the unit, and I decided to take a chance.  The material Round Shower, Pan, & Shower Panelarrived within days and is now sitting in the driveway in boxes, so I’ll have to report back in a few months after installation! I also purchased a shower panel from Vigo Industries, which includes a shower head, hand shower, and body sprays in one unit for much less than the separate components would cost if purchased separately.  The installation cost will also be much less because it just needs to be attached to the wall (in the corner, saving space) and only requires one hot and one cold pipe to be connected. (photos courtesy of Vigo Industries)

Laundry / bath with round shower

 

Here is the drawing of the room with the round shower.  I’ll discuss the sink, tile, and light fixture selection in my next post.  Don’t need to worry about the toilet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments (4)

Lottie Kendall
Compass - San Francisco, CA
Helping make your real estate dreams a reality
Hi Julia -- thanks for the explanation of the different styles of shower enclosures. I'm glad your pictures are showing!
Aug 27, 2010 02:14 PM
Lottie Kendall
Compass - San Francisco, CA
Helping make your real estate dreams a reality

PS--I need to call you to see if you'd have time to look at a couple of things at my house!

Aug 27, 2010 02:15 PM
Julia Harkola
H&H Builders Group, Inc. - San Carlos, CA
PE, PhD

Sorry about the early draft.  I've just learned about the "visibiliity" button, so should be able to complete my work offline!

Love to come to your house.  Let me know when is convenient for you.

Aug 28, 2010 03:44 AM
Anonymous
Pauline Wiles

Love the Vigo shower - it's an unusual shape, very stylish, and looks like a great use of space.

Aug 31, 2010 05:22 AM
#4