Sliding and barn door shower doors

Choose a sliding door when a hinged door has no room to swing. If the door would clip the vanity, or the bath is a narrow secondary bathroom, glass that rolls along the opening leaves the whole doorway usable without needing clearance in front of the shower. Shower Doors of Nashville calls the barn-door slider “the perfect solution when space is tight.”

Sliders turn up most in secondary baths and in the smaller bathrooms of older homes, including many of the older houses around Franklin. Where there is room for a door to open, a frameless hinged door is the other way to go, and the consultation is the place to compare the two in your own bathroom.

A bypass slider has two glass doors that pass each other on rollers concealed inside a metal header across the top of the opening. Two metal jambs fasten to the walls, and a low “stay clean” track runs along the bottom. Each door gets a towel bar, or you can pair one towel bar with a knob.

The glass edges are polished and left bare instead of wrapped in metal, so the doors still read as glass. The frameless slider is the lighter-looking version: two glass doors that bypass each other on exposed rollers, with the hardware in plain view. Both are measured for the exact opening at the final measure.

The header is the difference. Both series are barn-door sliders, with one heavy glass panel rolling on exposed rollers past one fixed panel. The Cambridge Series uses a round header bar and suits a softer décor. The Serenity Series uses a rectangular header and fits a more modern bathroom.

Because the rollers and header sit out in the open, the hardware finish counts for more on a barn door than on a bypass slider. Matching it to the faucet and shower trim is part of the design visit, and the finishes on offer are on the glass and hardware options page.

Yes. Sliding and barn doors take the same glass choices as a frameless enclosure. Rain glass, with its vertical texture and heavy privacy, is a frequent pick for guest baths, which is also where sliders tend to go. Satin and Obscure glass give privacy in other ways, and clear glass is the standard.

In a bright primary bath with white tile, UltraClear low-iron glass keeps the doors from showing the green tint that ordinary glass carries. For homes where hard water spots the glass, ask about ShowerGuard coated glass for the slider as well. Pattern stock changes, so the glass is confirmed when the order goes in.

A sliding shower door is priced on the opening’s size, the glass thickness, the glass type and the hardware finish. Shower Doors of Nashville doesn’t publish a price list; Steve quotes each job free after measuring it in your home, and that visit can usually be booked within a few days.

After the final measure, plan on about two to three weeks before the glass is ready to install. The install day is short by comparison, and installers Kyle and John are the names that come up in customer reviews. To get started, call 615.431.5070, email steve@showerdoorsofnashville.com, or request a consultation online.