Azek shower door/enclosure ..would it work?

[Michael Donahue]

Hey folks. I'm now in the planning stages of remodeling my small 2nd floor <8'x5' bathroom. For the shower, I ditched the old fiberglass stall that had outlived its usefulness and I want to replace it with tile. I'm not sure what to do for the door and exposed wall though.

You get an idea of the layout from the sketchup pic. It's very rough and the colors aren't great so bear with me on that! The right side of the shower needs to be open or glass because there is no light in the shower. I was thinking originally of doing a half wall like you see in the pic and using a 90 degree shower curtain/rod. I'm not sure if I want to go this route though. I was wondering if I could use Azek to build a door with either tempered glass or acrylic and make a similar 'window' above the half wall. Do you think this will work? I was thinking of making the door similar to a regular door with square rails and stiles and the glass for the panel.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

[bill mullin]

Don't know about the shower door, but for the half-wall, glass block on top, with a cap. Popular around here.
You can also buy pre-made panels of, I think, acrylic, that looks like glass block, installed like a window. Not as nice as the real thing, though.

[John Keeton]

Michael, I used another brand of similar material to build windows for my shop. They work OK, but I would be concerned with the weight of a tempered glass door and how well hinge screws would hold in the Azek, as well as possible sag.

[Peter Quinn]

Azek and most extruded polyurethane trim is meant for decorative installations only, to be fully supported by framing, and is not meant to be either structural or load bearing. My experience with Kleer, another brand of the same basic product, says not even maybe would this be a good viable long term solution. It bends, it sags, it is not strong at all. Great for exterior trim, not so much for anything that needs to hold its own weight and then some. It might make an acceptable sheathing for the half wall in a sheet goods format or if well joined from single boards, but IMO building a structural pedestal wall and tiling it might work better.

[Michael Donahue]

Thanks for all of the input folks. This bathroom is a real pain in the neck and I'm trying to do it on a budget...that's never a good combo :D

I was wondering about glass block but a few people I talked too thought it would look kind of outdated. I know that everyone has different tastes, but do you think glass block would look OK with tile in the shower already?

My dad even suggested I mount a picture window in that wall. :confused:

[Dan Friedrichs]

I think block would look outdated (IMHO). I think this is a great application for a frameless glass wall/door. Even on a budget, you should call some glass shops and see what it would cost to have a door/wall built - it might not be too bad, and it would sure look impressive against the tile.

[Jamie Buxton]

I think block would look outdated (IMHO). I think this is a great application for a frameless glass wall/door. Even on a budget, you should call some glass shops and see what it would cost to have a door/wall built - it might not be too bad, and it would sure look impressive against the tile.

I talked to somebody recently who bought a pre-fab frameless shower enclosure kit. He said it was much less expensive than a custom-made unit, and he installed it himself for more savings. A google search might bring more info.

[David Wong]

Here is a link to an on-line catalog of framed and frameless shower hardware. Once you identify what you want, you can either find a local or internet retailer to purchase from.

http://www.crlaurence.com/adv/showerdoors/index.html

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

This bathroom is a real pain in the neck and I'm trying to do it on a budget...that's never a good combo
Been there/done that.
Twice.
Get's expensive real quick to have to redo things because the first time around things were done "on too tiight a budget".

What I'd suggest is to check out corner stalls @ all the local pumbing supply places & bath shops.
They're engineered not only to use the right materials, but also to direct the water flow in the proper direction.

W/the square layout you have pictured, you have three junction points where disimilar materials come together. Those are always trouble/a source of leaks.