How to select a shower door correctly.

Joey the lips

Have you ever tried to fit a shower door? Does it still rattle or open by itself. Does it do your head in? Having followed all the instructions you wonder , why is this not fitting right? Why is this not staying closed. Here is a couple of things manufactures do not tell you.
Hopefully this thread will give us a chance to share our experience and improve our knowledge. There is 4 main types of shower door on the market and starting with the most popular
1. Quadrant
2. Bifold
3. Slider
4. Pivot
Quadrant
Out of all the shower doors the hardest to fit is the quadrant and yet this is the most popular. Why? Because it creates the illusion that the bathroom looks bigger. Nearly all shower doors regardless of which model should not be fitted OR measured before tiling. There is a couple of exceptions so follow manufactures instructions. A quadrant should first be measured. How to measure a quadrant door. Imagine you are looking down on the shower tray. Imagine the shower tray is like quarter of a clock. One corner is at three o clock and the other is at 6 o clock. Then you have the centre dot on the dial as the corner of the shower tray. To get an accurate measurment you measure from 3 o clock to the centre of the dial and from six o clock to the centre of the dial. A typical measurent on the 3 o clock wall will be 790mm and on the 6 o clock wall will be 785mm. This means on your 800 quadrant door your tolerence on the door or adjustment must be between 785 and 790mm. A typical shower door is 780 to 800 so typical shower doors are ok. However! Sometimes a builder/plumber sinks the showertray to deep and the same measurments could be further out. Say 765mm at 3 o clock and 775mm at 6 o clock. This means the standard shower door will not suit. This is where it is important to measure because most agents/manufacturers will not take back opened product. One more thing. Be very careful on the quadrant door opening as some open out and it might not suit small bathrooms or bathrooms where the toilet and handbasin are in the way.

Bifold/Slider/Pivot
A bifold ,slider and pivot is the type of shower door that opens in the middle(bifold) opens left to right (slider) or opens out(pivot) and is usually between two walls. This also requires measureing. However this is measured at the top and middle and the bottom. Again this is measured after tiling. You measure top from left to right level across the wall. Middle, from left to right straight across the wall and from bottom from left to right straight across the wall. A typical measurement on an 800mm door would be 780mm on the top,775mm in the middle and 770 on the bottom. This means you need a door 770mm to 780mm adjustment. The pivot door usually opens out. This causes it to hit basins and toilets. This is why it is the least popular of the doors even though one of the most lovely.

Why is measurement so important you ask? A couple of reasons
1. Correct measurement will ensure the door fits and of course allows the door to be fit level insuring it won't fall open and
2. a correct measurement will allow you shop for a range of doors in that adjustment meaning you can source a cheap door as well as a good fitting door. This makes the DIYER job easier. Much easier.

Note: all shower doors require in the instructions that you use 2 people to fit however experiece has shown me that one person will get away with fitting all EXCEPT a quadrant. This is the mother of all pains when it comes to doors.

Any more experience? Please share.