Benefits of Glass Block Shower Enclosure Accessories Cleveland, Akron, Columbus, Cincinnati & Dayton Ohio

A glass block shower enclosure is not complete without the right accessories. Choosing the right shower base, door, window, seat, shampoo/soap niche, wall board or towel bar can improve the looks, function and save money on your bathroom remodeling project. Here’s a partial list of benefits you can realize with the right accessories:

Glass block wall set on a granite covered shower bench seat

Semi-frameless shower door system installed in a glass block wall Akron Ohio

Chrome wall towel holder/grab bar

Ready for tile glass block shower base and prefabricated wall before shipment

• Increased safety – A well placed decorative grab bar or shower seat will minimize the chance of injury and improve the looks of your shower.
• Improved function - Choosing the right shower head, valve or hand held shower can make your shower experience easier, safer, therapeutic and minimize water coming out of a walk in shower.
• Add usable space – Using a recessed or corner soap dish can increase the room in your shower and minimize slippery floors.
• Eliminate future repair costs – Using a waterproof shower base (ready for tile or acrylic) and high crack resistant urethane grout can eliminate big repair bills down the road.
• Create a stylish shower – In the fashion industry it is said that accessories make the outfit. Likewise shower accessories and colored glass blocks can also add style and a dramatic impact to your shower.
• Eliminate your rotten wood framed shower window – Adding a frameless glass block window can increase privacy and make a maintenance free shower window.
• Add value – Most Americans prefer to use the shower vs. a bathtub. Improving your shower or doing a bathtub to shower conversion can add resale value to your home.
• Purchase from a company you can trust – We are accredited by the Better Business Bureau and have won service awards through Consumer Choice.
• Free design and technical installation assistance – With glass block showers it’s important to begin with the end in mind (designing the shower before beginning any construction). Take the guess-work out – let us help you with design ideas, supply and installation (in selected markets) of your shower walls and accessories.
• Free Nationwide Shipping for shower accessories – No hidden shipping fees or costs. We ship anywhere in the United States – from Washington to Texas to New York to Florida.

7 Frequently Asked Questions about Glass Block Shower Accessories

Question 1 – How do I select the right glass block shower base? What options are available?

• Step 1 – Determine if you’d like to finish the floor with tile/river rock or acrylic – The most popular one piece glass block shower pans are made of acrylic or ready for tile expanded polystyrene. Determine first if you’d like a tile/river rock or acrylic shower floor.

Glass block walk in shower 60” x 34” with an acrylic base

Before shipment - Expanded polystyrene ready for tile glass block shower base and prefabricated walls before shipment

After installation – Barrier free entry roll in shower using ready for tile shower base and prefabricated walls

During installation – expanded polystyrene base after tile installation with partially set prefabricated glass block shower walls

After installation - River rock shower floor with corian curb

After installation – Tile shower floor and tile/glass tile shower walls using frosted glass blocks – Cleveland Ohio

Design tip (frame type) – For tile floors consider using urethane grout to minimize long term maintenance of grout.

• Step 2 – Determine if you need a standard or custom size – Acrylic glass block shower bases are on made in standard sizes (60 x 32, 60 x 34, and 72 x 51). Ready for tile bases are available in virtually any size or shape.
• Step 3 – Does your shower pan need to accommodate any special needs or are there any plumbing restrictions – Acrylic bases for glass blocks are only available in standard sizes with step over curbs. Expanded polystyrene bases can be designed with barrier free entries and the drain can be located where you want it (saving on plumbing costs in remodeling projects).

Before shipment - Barrier free ready for tile shower base before shipment

After installation – Shower base with tile and glass blocks

Design tip – Use our free design service before ordering a base or prefabricated glass block wall.

Question 2 – Can I incorporate a bench, corner, or fold down seat or shaving leg ledge into the shower? Yes. The simplest way to do this is using a waterproof expanded polystyrene preformed pan. It will save you installation time, ensure a waterproof seal, and eliminate the aggravation of building your own framed structure.

• Corner Seats & Shaving Leg Ledge

Product before installation - Expanded polystyrene corner seat (18” x 20”) and ladies leg ledge (10” x 20”) for shaving (custom sizes available)

Corner seat after tile installation - Expanded polystyrene corner seat (18” x 20”) after tile installation

Corner seat after glass block installation - Expanded polystyrene corner seat (18” x 20”) after glass block wall installation

Corner seat, tile floor and wall with colored glass blocks

• Bench Seats

Product before installation - Bench seat (14” deep, 20” high) – available in standard widths including 30”, 32”, 34”, 36”, 42” & 48” (custom widths also available)

Inside view – Glass block wall on top of bench seat

Outside view – Glass block shower wall

• Fold Down Brazilian Walnut Bench Seat - Naturally resistant to water & 3 times stronger than teak, this shower seat provides 450 pounds of weight capacity and adds a stylish and functional accent to a shower.

Brazilian walnut seat with 15” concealed wall mount braces

Folds away and does not need to be locked into place

Design tip – If you lack shower space, but desire a seat, consider using a teak or brazilian walnut fold down seat.

Question 3 – What type of shower door should I choose? How can I install a shower door into my glass block wall?

• Choosing a shower door – There are 3 basic types of shower doors – frameless, semi-frameless and completely framed. The semi-frameless and frameless look much better with a glass block shower.

Frameless shower door for a glass block wall – Columbus Ohio (picture courtesy of ME Whittaker Builders)

Semi-frameless shower door

• How to install a semi-frameless shower door system in a glass block wall

Step 1 - Measure the opening between the glass block walls
Step 2 – Use a high grade silicone adhesive to adhere the bottom track to the shower curb

Step 3 – Mark & Drill holes through grout joints (approximately every 16” to 24”)

Step 4 – Fill drill holes with high grade silicone adhesive & install plastic wall anchors

Step 5 – Create pre-drilled holes in the doors vertical track, install screws through the vertical tracks & then install the frameless shower door system

Design & installation tip – Provide a final measurement for your shower door after the glass block walls have been installed. Measure at the top, the middle and the bottom of the opening.

Question 4 – How can I improve the function, looks and safety of my shower? – Using well placed soap dishes, shampoo niches and decorative towel bars and grab bars will improve the function, looks and safety of the shower.

• Luxuria line of Decorative Shower & Bathroom Accessories – With the Luxuria collection add a stylish look to any shower wall surface and get the added safety of a 350 pound weight capacity to reduce the chance of slipping and falling (available in white & chrome).

Wall Towel holder & grab bar

Corian & chrome soap dish holder

Corner shelf with integrated support rail – Corian shelf can be removed for easy cleaning and support rail is within reach to offer a helping hand.

Toilet roll holder

• Ready for tile line – Waterproof expanded polystyrene shampoo and soap niches can simply be nailed into wood studs and then tiled over. Creating a waterproof niche for a tile shower has never been easier.

Recessed ready for tile 11” x 14” shampoo niche

Recessed ready for tile 22” x 14” shampoo niche

Recessed 14” x 6” soap dish

Finished tile shampoo holder – 11” x 14” size

Design tip – If you have limited room use recessed soap & shampoo holders which are built into your wall surrounds.

Question 5 – How can I make my shower enclosure as waterproof and water resistant as possible? What is the best grout to use between the glass blocks and tile wall surrounds? What surrounding wall backer should I use with my glass block shower? To make your shower as water resistant as possible invest in the highest quality grout and wall backer materials.

• Glass block & tile grout – You can either use a standard sanded grout or choose a specialized urethane grout for the highest level of performance. Some of the advantages of the urethane grout vs. standard sanded grout are as follows:
  • High crack resistance – semi-flexible/low shrinkage
  • Highest level of water resistance
  • Self sealing - requires no sealing
  • No color fading, streaking or shading – even when wet. UV stable colors (non-yellowing)
  • Product can be saved & used later
  • Premixed and ready to use
  • Resistant to stains and most household chemical products
  • Can be used in grout joints between 1/16” and ½” on vertical or horizontal surfaces (interior or exterior projects) on glass, ceramic, porcelain or natural stone tiles

Urethane grout available in 9 lb and 18 lb premixed buckets

Download a pdf with the available urethane grout color selections

• Wall Backer boards – Cement & Waterproof Systems – You can either use a water resistant cement board or a waterproof wall board made of extruded polystyrene behind your tile shower wall surrounds. Here’s the advantages and disadvantages of each system.

• 
  Water resistant cement backer board
  Cement backer boards – What is used behind the shower wall surrounds is critical. For lower initial purchase costs use cement board behind grouted tile and marble walls. While moisture resistant backerboard will work – if you’re looking for the security of a waterproof material invest in extruded polystyrene wall backer.
  • Advantages
    • Initial purchase price
    • Widely available
  • Disadvantages
    • Messy & hard to cut
    • Heavy (about 50 lbs./sheet)– difficult to handle and work with
    • Not waterproof – only water resistant
    • Hard to make recessed shampoo/soap niches
    • Higher installation labor costs

• Waterproof Wall Board

  Waterproof extruded polystyrene wall, accessories and shower base system

  Wedi building panel system (cross section view of waterproof building panels, thin set & tile installation)

  Waterproof wall board

  • Advantages
    • Easy to cut – no mess
    • Light (less than 9 lbs./sheet) – easy to handle
    • Waterproof – don’t have to worry about expensive shower repairs
    • Ready made soap & shampoo niches fit directly inside studs
    • Reduced labor expenses & time to complete the job
  • Disadvantages
    • Initial purchase price
• How to Install a Waterproof Tile Wall Backer Board in 5 Steps

  Step 1 Use utility knife – cut wall panels to size. Attach the first panel with non-rust screws (use one fastener for every 12” for walls, one every 6” for a ceiling)

  Step 2 – Apply a continuous ½” bead of wedi polyurethane joint sealant around the panel edges. Butt the next panel tight to the first panel.

  Step 3 – Once the panels are set install the washers with tabs every 12” – make sure the washer heads are dimpled below the surface of the building panel.

  Step 4 – All excess sealant is spread flat over the joints using a putty knife.

  Step 5 – Wedi fiberglass mesh sealing tape applied over seams and fastener heads.

• Finished back wall and plumbing wall surrounds – Selections can vary from cultured marble, solid surface Corian & Swanstone to a wide selection of tile surfaces. The most popular are tile & Swanstone.

Tile finished walls with glass blocks

Tile walls in a glass block shower

Swanstone tile wall surround

Question 6 – How do I select the right shower head/valve and plumbing fixtures that will work with either a walk in shower or shower with a door? There are countless shower heads, valves and drain kits available on the market. A standard wall mounted shower head can be most cost effective. For a gentler flow of water that minimizes water splashing consider the rain shower head (these can be an excellent choice for a walk in shower). For an improved ability to shower for those with special needs or children, the hand held shower is usually preferred. Choosing the right drain can also make your project easier. Round drains are widely available and cost effective, but you may want to consider a square or trench drain for their ease of installation and looks.

• Shower head – wall mount, rain, and hand held options

Wall mount and hand held shower

Rain shower head in walk in shower with frosted glass block

Hand held shower

• Drain kit – Round, Square & trench options

Round strainer and PVC drain body inside expanded polystyrene shower base before tile installation

Square strainer and PVC drain body

Trench drain finished in a tile floor

Question 7 – What type of maintenance free window can I use in my shower and bathroom? Shower and bathroom windows can be a challenge. Often the trim around the existing window has deteriorated and the current window may not provide the amount of privacy desired. Here are some solutions to consider:

• Glass block shower window – Glass block provides privacy and is easy to clean. Since the window is available in both frameless and vinyl framed designs it can be used inside the shower or bathroom to create a maintenance free project. Add additional style & privacy with colored and frosted glass blocks as well.

Unframed glass block shower window in a shower

Frosted glass block bathroom windows unframed

• Glass block bathroom windows – For new construction projects an excellent product to use is the vinyl framed glass block window. This window can be nailed into the opening just like a traditional window.

Cross section view of vinyl framed glass block window

Completed project Glass block bathroom window Decora pattern

If you need help choosing the right glass block shower accessories (whether you need a door, decorative grab bar, bench or corner seat, shower head, valve, or window) in Cleveland, Columbus or Cincinnati Ohio call for a free design consultation or email for an estimate.