Do we need a shower door?

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Hi all,

This is my first post on Houzz. We just finished the tiles in our master bath shower and are about to order frameless shower glass for it. Here is a picture of our shower (the bathroom still needs more work painting the wall etc.).

The total width is 70" and the pony wall is 40 3/8" wide. We're debating if we should just get a fixed panel on the pony wall or get both the fixed panel and a door. Can you please give us some advises or comments?

Thank you.

Featured Answer

kudzu9

8 years ago

To summarize the answers:

You need a door or you don't need a door, or you can wait to decide.

You may be cold or you may not be cold.

You should have reversed the layout or you don't need to have reversed the layout.

Splashing may be a problem or it may not be a problem.

Turning on the shower could be an issue.

What have I missed?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (24)

hnhouser
8 years ago
I know nothing about this except that I'd be darn cold without a door.
loveday814 thanked hnhouser
leela4
8 years ago
What are the other dimensions of the shower space?
Related Discussions
Furniture layout for an awkward open floor plan
Q
Comments (5)
David - Thanks! Appreciate that you even drew out the plan. :) You are absolutely right, it's been difficult finding an optimum layout. In fact, our current layout is more or less the same as your plan. Would you have chosen different furniture - a smaller sofa or a different dining table perhaps? (Also, I'm curious: is there a good reason why the architect had the pillar like that?) Mona - Do you mean having a buffet at the entry? I currently do have a sideboard, though it wouldn't fit at the entry - it's about 67" wide by 18" deep. It's currently placed in the middle of the long wall. There's actually still sufficient clearance between it and the 3-seater sofa in David's plan. plague - The household shelter is a local (Singapore) building requirement. Its walls are reinforced and is meant to be a shelter in times of emergency. It can't be removed, and any renovations carried out cannot affect its integrity (there is a list of permitted and prohibited works). Normally it is just used as a pantry or storeroom.
...See More
What types of Doors best for Jack and Jill Bathroom? Tight layout
Q
Comments (5)
What is the space behind your shower currently? Is it closet or exterior? Is it possible to absorb that space into your shower for a bench or just to simply enlarge it? For your doors. Your shower door will need to swing out, or you can do a shower with only an opening and no door. Have you considered a "Neo-angle" shape instead of a rectangle for the shower to help the traffic flow too? The door closest to I should be the pocket/sliding door. And the door closest to the toilet should swing into the bathroom. here is an example of a neo angle shower:
...See More
Need help with Scandinavian style for BTO
Q
Comments (5)
Hi Mr Martini! Congratulations on the new BTO! Hiring a good interior designer will definitly help with designing your new home. And seeing that you are a family man, I imagine you would want as little hassle as possible. A good interior designer will listen to your ideas of how you want your home to look like, and make it happen as best as possible, taking into consideration your family's lifestyle, HDB limitations on renovation, your budget, etc. While my husband and I did hire an interior designer for our resale flat, I unfortunately will not recommended them for they gave us more headache than I felt necessary for the tiniest of problems. So do ask around and see if anyone can recommend a good interior designer. Back to your love for Scandinavian design! I was going for the Scandinavian style too only to later realise along the design process, that we were not loving the bland colours and minimalism and somehow, we managed to end up with a relaxing resort-themed home which we're loving. In fact, a recent Houzz article tells us that the Scandinavian colour palette is moving away from pale cool shades which I find fun and refreshing. Here's the link: Check out this story from houzz - http://houzz.com/sr/m=7/u=L2lkZWFib29rcy82NjU4MDg4NA== Nevertheless, if bright pops of colour is not your thing, here's another article I found: 'Top 10 Tips for Ceeating a Scandinavian Interior': http://freshome.com/2012/12/03/top-10-tips-for-creating-a-scandinavian-interior/ I feel this article breaks down the Scandinavian style so that it's easy to replicate, one aspect at a time. As a common design style in Singapore, I think most deisgners are now very familiar with this style so you shouldn't have any trouble achieving this style. All the best, Mr Martini with this exciting (though sometimes exasperating!) project and do share photos of your new home if you can! Katherine
...See More
Need help with my kitchen cabinets
Q
Comments (6)
Hello there :) Nice design by the way. Perhaps you can: 1. Change the door panels only. Keep the existing shape & the cupboards, the carpenter can 'update' the doors with different handles too (like image above). 2. Spray paint is more $$$ but I think it is longer lasting. 3. Laminated is less $$ but as we all know it chips & eventually the laminate comes out (wear & tear). 4. Unless you want the inside of the cabinet to be changed from existing white to a different colour, then the carpenter have to dismantle everything & redo. So more $$$$ Hope this helps & Happy shopping!
...See More
millworkman
8 years ago
If you wanted no door the shower should have been reversed, now the way it is setup in my opinion you definitely need a door.
loveday814 thanked millworkman
kitandkaboodle
8 years ago
milworkman, can you please elaborate on why a door is needed with this setup ? I don't understand
loveday814
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Other dimensions: the depth is 36 inches, and the pony wall is 5 inches in depth. since we are gonna install the glass in the center of the wall, so 3 inches should be taken out from the depth. The ceiling is about 8 feet high.
PRO
Hudson Smith Interiors
8 years ago
I don't believe you "need" a door in this space. You should have plenty of clearance to shower there without splashing, etc, into the bathroom. But many people find the lack of door uncomfortable, exposed, and cold. Once your plumbing is finished you can test out how you feel about this by hanging a clear vinyl shower curtain on a tension rod (so it's temporary). Try showering with it only half-way closed, and see if you like it or not. Hth!
loveday814 thanked Hudson Smith Interiors
Jay Dub
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I disagree with the shower needing to be reversed for that to work. The highest amount of splashing comes from the point where the shower spray hits your body. In this setup, that will be directly behind the pony wall and the glass partition. If you reversed the shower direction, your body would be directly in front of the door opening, and water would going absolutely everywhere onto the floor.

Good advice from Hudson Smith. Only way to know for sure is to test it out.
loveday814 thanked Jay Dub
kudzu9
8 years ago
You may get a little water on the floor from splashing without a door, but I doubt it would be a big deal. We have a doorless shower in our masterbath and don't see the occasional splash as a problem, nor are we cold from not having an enclosed space...but you might feel differently. One option is to install the glass on the pony wall area in a way that would make it easy to add a door at a later point without having to modify anything. That might mean nothing more than bringing the glass flush with the end of the pony wall, so that there would be no gap if you put in a door later.
loveday814 thanked kudzu9
User
8 years ago
I think you may need one. Water probably would go everywhere, and it would be cold.
loveday814 thanked User
sjhockeyfan325
8 years ago
I'd be freezing in that shower without a door, but I don't think splashing will be a big problem (some, but not a lot). We had a doorless shower in our previous home, and when we remodeled put in a door - great decision for us.
loveday814 thanked sjhockeyfan325
kitandkaboodle
8 years ago
I don't have first hand experience, but I think if the type of shower head shown above the water is used the water is directed straight down toward the drain and there would be less splash.
kitandkaboodle
8 years ago
opps the photo i copied from homedepot.com didn't get attached. i'll try again with a houzz photo.
Willow · More Info
millworkman
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I don't know in my opinion unless you stand almost directly under the shower head the water will be hitting you and the floor almost at the opening. Not only that but if you put a fixed pc of glass on the pony wall you need to go all the way into the shower to turn it on (and under the shower head)...........................
jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)
8 years ago
You don't need to get the door right away. You can wait and see if there is too much splashing before you decide to either need or don't need the door.
Bunny
8 years ago
Without a door it could get cold. I wouldn't want water getting outside the shower area. But most of all, as millworkman pointed out, you have to be inside the shower to turn it on and adjust the temp. Eeek.
Jay Dub
8 years ago
@kudzu9 Hahaha. Sounds about right. That's par for the course for asking questions on houzz. It's a very mixed audience here. If you want more consistent answers from professionals, I'd seek out other forums.
LE
8 years ago
You'll get a lot of speculation from people based on their experience and preferences. But did any of the people who said you would be cold ask where you lived? Maybe you are in Bora Bora or maybe you are in the Arctic. Maybe your house is drafty and maybe it's tight and you keep it at 75 degrees. Free advice is worth what you pay for it right?

We have a doorless shower and it is not cold or drafty. The house is new, well insulated and has warm floors. Also the bathroom itself is not large. The splashing is minimal and we put a tub mat at the entry to the shower to step out on anyway so we don't get the rest of the floor wet. All of that or none of that may apply to you. (But I did see some great advice here that I took, which is to have the controls at the door and opposite the shower head.)
User
8 years ago
It looks unfinished to me. I'd put glass on the LH side on the railing up to the ceiling.
MongoCT
8 years ago
I'd recommend a glass panel on top of the pony wall but no door for now. If you hire a glass company for the installation, tell them that you might want to add a door in the future, say 4-6 months down the road. They'll be able to set you up so your potential glass door will match the pony wall glass.
rockybird
8 years ago
I dont think you will need a door. You might want a glass panel on the pony wall if it splashes out. My previous place had two showers set up like yours with no door. The only real difference was that where the pony wall is, there was a panel of floor to ceiling glass. I never got cold in the shower. The disadvantage with the pony wall glass will be that you have to reach into the shower, getting wet, when turning it on.
sjhockeyfan325
8 years ago
I am staying at a hotel in steamy New Orleans right now, and the shower is only partially enclosed and I still get cold when the water is at my back. When I had no door on my shower in my previous home,. It was in a mild climate. I just prefer a door and the weather outside doesn't matter.
LE
7 years ago
For anyone reading this in the future in advance of building the room this far, I recommend considering that people have really different reactions to the door/no door situation, and you may change your mind. We didn't install a door, but we did put the framing in for one behind the tile "just in case."
Griesel J
3 years ago
I'm late to this party but am responding in the event it helps others. I have almost the identical set up described above other than I don't have a pony wall. Instead, I have an 86"x 42" glass shower panel that runs up from the floor. The other thing I did differently is although the shower head is in the same location, the diverter (I also have a hand shower) to turn it on is on the opposite wall (where I enter the shower so that I do not get wet). I kept the option to install a shower door in the future but so far it has not been an issue (I live in Santa Barbara). I do keep a mat outside the shower area which works perfectly. I love my setup.

Do we need a shower door?

kudzu9

Comments (24)

hnhouser

leela4

Related Discussions

millworkman

kitandkaboodle

loveday814
Original Author

Hudson Smith Interiors

Jay Dub

kudzu9

User

sjhockeyfan325

kitandkaboodle

kitandkaboodle

millworkman

jerzeegirl (FL zone 9B)

Bunny

Jay Dub

LE

User

MongoCT

rockybird

sjhockeyfan325

LE

Griesel J

COMPANY

EXPLORE HOUZZ

CONNECT WITH US

Do we need a shower door?

Comments (24)

Related Discussions

loveday814Original Author

COMPANY

EXPLORE HOUZZ

CONNECT WITH US

loveday814
Original Author