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What You Need to Know About Glass Thickness and Safety

All Shower Glass is Not Created Equal - What You Need to Know About Glass Thickness and Safety

With a frameless shower door, you want to avoid thinner glass and choose glass that's thick, durable, and safe. Unlike traditional shower doors, frameless models lack the heavy-duty frame and hardware, which is why you must choose glass that's a minimum of 3/8-inches thick. This minimum thickness will ensure the door is strong, durable, and able to easily withstand daily use. 

For a frameless shower door enclosure, you’ll often find a couple of thickness options available:

  • ½ inch 
  • ⅜ inch 

½ inch shower glass can provide much-needed structural durability, making it an excellent choice for homeowners who are willing to pay a higher price for glass that’s tougher and has a more substantial feel. 

⅜ inch shower glass is slightly thinner, but it still offers better than average stability. This thickness is a popular choice with many buyers since it’s affordable and durable. 

Shower Glass Safety 

The thickness of shower glass matters, especially if you’ve decided to go with a frameless shower door. Fortunately, most frameless models are made using tempered glass, which does not break like traditional glass. Tempered glass is heated until it becomes soft and is then chilled with cold air. Using this method induces stress to create glass that is impact-resistant. 

Unlike other types of glass, tempered will not break into sharp jagged pieces that can cause serious injuries. Instead, the glass will break into oval-shaped small pebbles that are much safer and will not cause the serious damage regular glass would, in the event of an accident. 

Additionally, you can choose tempered glass that offers different design elements, so you can choose a new shower door that allows you to add a touch of your personal style. 

Working with a Professional Glass Company 

If you’ve decided to update your shower or renovate the entire bathroom, you must choose a professional glass company that has experience with making thicker glass doors and can design a custom door that will fit your shower space perfectly. 

Glass companies that fabricate custom frameless shower doors not only create doors that will fit your shower space perfectly, but these doors typically offer superior quality and more design options.

Appearance 

In terms of texture and looks, there’s a wide variety of tempered glass to choose from, including:

  • Clear
  • Ultra-clear
  • Textured 
  • Rain 
  • Frosted 
  • Opaque 

Frosted and Opaque 

Frosted or opaque glass is a great choice for homeowners in need of more privacy since these types of glass can obscure visibility, making them well-suited in high-traffic bathrooms. Additionally, frosted glass can be a better choice for some homes, since it’s low maintenance and keeps fingerprints and smudges from being too obvious. 

Clear and Ultra-Clear

Clear glass is one of the most popular choices because it can really open up smaller bathrooms, allowing more light to shine throughout. Clear glass has a somewhat greenish tint to it, due to the iron content. Ultra-clear glass goes through an additional process to remove more iron, resulting in crystal clear, or ultra-clear, glass. 

Because these types of glass are textureless, they work well with any type of existing bathroom decor and design. The simple, clean look makes clear and ultra-clear popular among homeowners. 

Rain Glass

Rain glass is similar to frosted and opaque, offering more privacy while doing a great job of hiding smudges. It differs from the other privacy glass options due to its decorative, eye-catching raindrop pattern. However, because the texture of the glass obscures visibility within a shower, it’s a better choice for larger bathroom spaces. 

Quality Glass

Choosing quality glass matters. At GCS Glass, we use only the finest quality glass for our frameless shower doors and shower enclosures. We offer many customization options, so you can choose a new frameless shower door and enclosure that will meet your needs, and add more functionality to your bathroom while creating the calming, spa-like environment you’ve always dreamed of. 

Contact GCS Glass & Mirror Today 

A custom shower door can completely transform your bathroom space, whether you’re designing a new shower or upgrading your old one. Aside from adding more value to your home, a new shower door can breathe life back into an outdated bathroom. If you’re ready to make this important upgrade to your home, contact the pros at GCS Glass today to get a free quote and schedule a consultation with one of our knowledgeable and experienced glass experts.

To learn more or to schedule a consultation, contact GCS Glass today.




If you enjoyed this article, check out these other articles about Glass Showers:
Common DIY Fixes for Frameless Shower Doors & When to Call the Pros

What People Are Saying About Us

I did everything from my iPhone! Easy peasy!

The team at GCS was so easy to do business with. I did everything from my iPhone. I received quotes for my project with options to choose from. We scheduled appointments by text. Measurements were precise and the glass install looks great. When it was all done I made payments through an app on my phone. Easy peasy.

– Philip Capizzi

Very Accommodating!

Just had our new shower glass and frame installed and we are very pleased. Brendan and Tyler did a great job and we really appreciated them working around the other flooring project we had going on at same time. Very accommodating. The glass and framework looks great. I'm looking forward to using the shower tomorrow with the new look. VERY pleased. The company is very responsive, quick to come out and measure, and got the job done. Thanks!

– Steve Gerhart

A Great Experience!

A great experience from the first estimate, measuring and install. Really well priced and was surprised at how quickly the shower doors were delivered and installed an entire week early. Was very pleased with the entire experience from start to finish.

– Kathleen Ruhl

Super Fast Turnaround Time!

I found this company after looking at many top-rate glass companies in Denver and seeing that I had to fill out forms and wait for them to get back to me. Some took days, and others have yet to call or email back. GCS was easy to text in from the website and talk to someone and get a quote rather quickly with examples over the text message. Within a few mins, I had a quote and an appointment set! That's how you earn the business! Make the initial request EASY and prove what the client is looking for! They were on time for every appointment and were professional. The glass took a few weeks to arrive, but the team kept us in the loop via text and never missed a detail. We are so happy with our choice, and the glass looks fantastic! They even added a complimentary glass coating to keep the soap scum at bay for two years. I'm starting a new project and will use them again in the next few weeks! Highly recommend.

– Alex Tooke

Look No Further!

No need to search any further for a new shower door. Not only is GCS very fair on pricing (believe me, I did my due diligence) but their customer service is out of this world (so rare these days). From working with Chance on pricing, Austin on installing, and Tom on measuring and follow through, everyone was extremely professional. Tom is a perfectionist in the best of ways. His attention to detail is reflective in the quality of work. Thanks team!

– Caitlin Kinnett

Best Experience Ever!

We had the best experience work with GCS Glass! We knew going in some of our product was on back order and would take awhile. We were so impressed with GCS Glasses communication! They always communicated what was going on every time they got an update. We never felt like they “forgot about us” because they were in constant contact. Their workers were great and professional. Price wise they were slightly cheaper than competing companies. We could not be happier with this company.

– Jessica Laue-Flint

Highly Recommend Company

I would highly recommend this company for your shower door. Brandon was quick to respond to my request for quote. He provided excellent details about the options and prices including pictures, all in text so was very convenient.

– Teresa Hastings

Professional staff, Outstanding installers

GCS Glass is the premier company in AZ. Professional staff, outstanding installers. I ordered 3/8" Starphire clear tempered glass, brushed nickel hinges and hardware to match my bathroom fixtures. Emily sent me a detailed invoice with photos of the hardware. This was the finishing touch to the custom bathroom I built. If you want the absolute best GCS will deliver.

– Mark Plennes

Smooth Process, Amazing Quality

We absolutely Love our Glass from GCS Glass Supply. The whole process went so smoothly and the quality is Amazing. Joe and Tim were very responsive each step in the process. The install by Junior and Camden was above our expectations. They were very polite, clean and provided quality craftsmanship. Many thanks GCS Glass. Best regards, Jim & Susan M.

– Jim Mohrig

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