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How to Add a Shower Door to Your Shower Base
| Featured Image – @hamsahome from Instagram – SKU: KS4475AX | Shower bases are ideal for quickly adding a new shower enclosure to a bathroom. Unlike complete shower surrounds, these bases leave the homeowner free to use any tile, acrylic board, or other materials to finish in the shower. However, that means that the homeowner must also find the right shower door to fit the opening. After purchasing a shower base with no included door, use these tips to get a good match. |
Look for Expandable Rails
Shower doors with fixed frames tend to be paired with specific shower bases to ensure a perfect fit. If you wish to match a shower door to a base that wasn’t built to match it, make sure there is an expandable base rail. These rails slide to adjust to the exact size of the opening of the shower base, ensuring a tight fit even when the base and door weren’t made to work together perfectly. These types of shower door frames also help overcome any minor issues with out-of-level framing.
Reinforce the Installation for Frameless and Heavy Doors
It is possible to install frameless glass shower doors on shower bases, but only with the right installation. The shower base must be able to fit over wood framing, preferably 2x4s, or better yet, to give the frameless door something to screw into. The frames for sliding shower doors distribute the weight enough that they can be installed with wall anchors into empty wall cavities. Frameless and heavy shower doors require wood framing where they are screwed into the wall. Not all shower bases are the right shape to allow for this extra framing, so make sure to check for compatibility before picking a door.
Measure the Inner Opening
It’s not enough just to measure the bottom of the opening along the shower base where the door track will rest. You should also measure at the threshold, as well as five feet above the shower base and then halfway between these two points. These numbers must all be within half an inch of each other, or the shower enclosure needs more framing and adjustment. Once there is a measurement at all three points that is within the acceptable 1/2-inch range, you’ll then have the necessary width for the shower door.
Shop Kingston Brass
With a little care, the right shower door is easy to find to match any shower base. Kingston Brass has plenty of shower bases ready to be completed with any framed or frameless shower door that fits. Explore the selection today to get started on a unique new shower design from scratch.
