Bathrooms are integral in every home and so, shower areas are. This is the area that allows maintaining personal time hygiene. However, adding a personal touch to your bathroom and shower area can enhance the value of your property. Irrespective of your style preferences and bathroom design, shower doors are the most basic decision to take. There are different types of shower doors available in the market. However, framed and frameless shower doors are the most common ones. To know more about each type of shower door let’s indulge in a deep comparison of frameless vs. framed shower doors.Thanks to Morn BM glass experts offering below detailed knowledge.
Pros and Cons of Framed Glass Shower Doors
Framed shower doors come up with frames for the support of the basic structure. Glass is the most common material to be used in framed shower doors. While the material of frames varies. Common options for shower doors frames are chrome, aluminum, nickel, and bronze. The frame is incorporated in different parts of shower doors such as joints, sides, and tops.
Pros of Framed Glass Shower Doors
1- More flexible option
The incorporated frames in glass shower doors make this type of shower doors more adaptable and flexible to different sizes and styles of bathrooms. This is one of the most amazing benefits of framed shower doors. It is because shower doors are designed with wider specifications.
2- Better suited for off-square shower area walls
The added frames in this type of glass shower doors make them suitable and more functional for different circumstances. It is most significant to indicate that framed shower doors are well-suited for off square shower areas. Even, you can fit these shower doors in an existing shower door tray with some modifications.
3- Allows design and style statement modification
Framed glass shower doors are now available in more design and styles. Over time, these designs are adding more to make a perfect style statement. Not only these can be better for style modifications but also these shower doors are sturdy enough. As the frame of these doors provides extra support.
4- Cost-effective
Framed glass shower doors are now available in more design and styles. Over time, these designs are adding more to make a perfect style statement. Not only these can be better for style modifications but also these shower doors are sturdy enough. As the frame of these doors provides extra support.
4- Cost-effective
Frames are not specifically incorporated in this shower doors’ type. While textured or tempered glass is being used in these shower doors. These doors are supported with the pivots only which are incorporated into the design.
Pros of Frameless Shower Doors
1- Versatility
Although frameless shower doors come up with the minimalist design but these can perfectly fit into any bathroom style. Furthermore, these shower doors are easily available in custom sizing which makes them more versatile and flexible.
2- Easier cleaning
Frameless shower doors are super easier to clean. It is because there are no grooves where dirt and mold can develop. Even more, this type of shower doors can also keep you from replacing corroded pieces as in framed shower doors.
3- Upscale design feature
The absence of framed design in this shower door type can be considered as an upscale design feature in your bathroom. It will ultimately enhance the value of your property in the best possible way.
4- Transparency
Transparency in frameless shower designs makes it more suitable for any type of bathroom. It is because this can create an impression of enhanced space in your bathroom. Ultimately, the bathroom will feel more spacious, and airy.
Cons of Frameless Shower Doors
- These shower doors are more expensive than framed doors.
- The absence of insulating material can cause water leakage.
- It contains a risk of spontaneously shattering if exposed to excess pressure and heat.
Cost Comparison
Both framed and frameless shower doors vary tremendously in terms of costs. Numerous factors play an important role in this cost variation. Some of the most common factors are given below:
- Size of the shower door
- Whether the product is custom or stock
- Type of glass used in the shower door
- Height of your shower door
All these factors can make it difficult to have an exact comparison of cost for both framed and frameless shower doors. In any case, custom doors can lead you to higher costs. However, if you are going to compare both of these custom doors’ types generally, then a frameless shower door can be an expensive option as compared to framed ones. Using either fixed, French, or hinge opening with a frameless shower door can cause about a 3x higher cost than a framed shower door. Even more, the installation costs of frameless shower doors are also higher.
Framed Door Properties
Framed shower doors feature frames surrounding textured or tempered glass sheets. The frames are coated to create nickel, bronze, chrome, or gold. The metal surrounds partition’s operable parts as well as other enclosure parts. Sweeps, seals, and magnetic hardware around the door can help to create a watertight fit.
Frameless Door Properties
These shower doors are relying on special pivots to support the structural part and heavy-duty glass material. These doors are free from metal around their operable part. However, some options may include metal tracks along with enclosure parts.
Semi Frameless Shower Doors
Semi-frameless shower doors contain metal frames around their entire structure but not around the complete door. Therefore, these are known as semi-frameless. This is the detailed comparison of framed vs frameless shower doors, which can let you have a better idea about which option can suit the best to your needs with ease.