Shower doors
Shower glass and hardware options
Clear, low-iron and privacy glass, ShowerGuard coated glass against hard water, and hinges and handles in the finish your faucet already wears.
TL;DR
Every shower enclosure from Shower Doors of Nashville starts with a glass choice and a hardware finish. Clear glass is standard. UltraClear low-iron glass drops the green tint of ordinary glass so white tile stays white. Rain, Satin and Obscure glass add privacy in different ways. Guardian ShowerGuard, sold here by a registered dealer, is coated glass that resists the hard-water spotting Middle Tennessee water leaves behind. Hinges, handles and header bars come in finishes including matte black, brushed nickel, chrome, brass and oil-rubbed bronze. Glass type and hardware finish are two of the four things that set the price.
What is low-iron glass, and why does it matter in a shower?
Low-iron glass is made with less iron, which takes out the faint green cast that ordinary glass shows. Shower Doors of Nashville installs UltraClear low-iron glass, which stays clear to the edge at any size or thickness. Standard clear glass carries a slight green tint, and on a frameless door the polished edges are where it shows.
The upgrade matters most when the tile behind the glass is white or a pale color. Through ordinary glass, white tile picks up a green tone; through UltraClear it still looks white. UltraClear comes in the same 3/8″ and 1/2″ thicknesses used on our frameless shower doors.
What does ShowerGuard do against hard water?
ShowerGuard is Guardian’s coated shower glass, built to resist what dulls an ordinary enclosure over the years: hard water, heat, humidity, soap and cleaning products. Shower Doors of Nashville is a Guardian ShowerGuard registered dealer, so the coated glass can be specified when your enclosure is designed.
Water across Middle Tennessee is hard enough that uncoated glass will spot, and left long enough those spots etch into the surface permanently. Coated glass is how a homeowner protects the enclosure for years after it goes in. Each local utility publishes its own hardness figure, and our service area pages give that figure for the towns where one is published.
Which privacy glass should I choose for a shower?
Choose by how much you want hidden and whether you want a visible pattern. Shower Doors of Nashville offers four kinds:
- Rain: a vertical texture with heavy privacy, well suited to guest baths.
- Satin: acid-etched for a soft, even look with full privacy and no pattern.
- Obscure: a patterned glass that blurs what’s behind it.
- Clear: the standard, for a bathroom where the tile is the point.
What’s available in patterned glass changes with supply, so Steve checks stock before your order is placed. You can talk through the choices at the free in-home consultation or at the Hendersonville showroom, open Monday through Friday from 8 to 5.
What hardware finishes are available for shower doors?
Hinges, handles, clamps and header bars come in a range of styles and finishes so the shower matches the rest of the bathroom. Enclosures Shower Doors of Nashville has installed carry matte black, brushed nickel, chrome, brass or gold, and oil-rubbed bronze. The aim is to match what’s already in the room, usually the faucet and shower trim.
Finish counts most where the hardware is out in the open, like the rollers and header of a barn-door slider or the hinges on a frameless door, where a few pieces of metal carry the whole look. Hardware finish is one of the four things that move a shower door’s price, with the opening size, glass thickness and glass type.
When do I choose the glass and hardware for my shower?
The glass and hardware are picked at the design and final measure visit, after the free in-home consultation and before anything is ordered. That visit settles the glass type, the thickness, the hardware finish and where the door hangs, and the measurements taken then are what the glass is made to.
From that final measure, plan on about two to three weeks until installation. ShowerGuard has to be chosen at that visit too, since it comes as coated glass rather than a treatment added later. To get the first visit on the calendar, book the consultation or call 615.431.5070.
Answers
Glass & Hardware Options: common questions
Is ShowerGuard coating worth it?
If your water is hard, ShowerGuard is worth asking for. Without a coating, hard-water spots can etch into shower glass permanently over time. ShowerGuard is Guardian’s coated glass, made to resist hard water, heat, humidity, soap and cleaning agents, and Shower Doors of Nashville is a Guardian ShowerGuard registered dealer.
Why does my shower glass look green?
Ordinary glass contains enough iron to give it a slight green tint, which shows most along the edges and can make white tile look off-white. UltraClear low-iron glass has less iron, so it looks optically clear and white tile stays white. Shower Doors of Nashville offers UltraClear on its shower enclosures.
Which shower glass gives the most privacy?
Satin glass, which is acid-etched, gives full privacy with a soft look and no pattern. Rain glass has a vertical texture and heavy privacy, and Obscure glass uses a pattern to blur the view. Shower Doors of Nashville offers all three alongside clear glass, and Steve checks which patterns are in stock first.
Why are my glass shower doors cloudy?
Cloudy shower glass usually comes from hard-water buildup, or from heat, humidity, soap and cleaning agents slowly corroding the surface. Once the spots etch in, they won’t scrub out. For new glass, Shower Doors of Nashville offers Guardian ShowerGuard, coated to resist that wear. Call 615.431.5070 to ask about replacing the cloudy glass.
Can my shower door hardware match my faucet?
Yes. Hinges, handles, clamps and header bars come in a variety of styles and finishes, and Shower Doors of Nashville has installed enclosures in matte black, brushed nickel, chrome, brass or gold, and oil-rubbed bronze. The finish is picked at the design visit so it lines up with the faucet and trim.
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