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How To Choose The Best Hardware For Your Glass Shower Screen
Glass shower screens are now a standard feature of contemporary bathrooms, as they combine practicality and durability with elegance and style. However, to ensure that the glass screen is safe and easy to operate as well as being aesthetically pleasing, it’s important to consider your choice of glass hardware carefully.
This might seem to be an unimportant issue, particularly if you have already deliberated for weeks or even months about the tiling, flooring, type of fixtures you want, colour scheme and so on to create a contemporary and stylish bathroom.
However, these details can help to complement the overall bathroom design and draw the whole space together. It’s also essential to choose good quality components that will be safe and stand the test of time. Here are some tips to help you select the best hardware products for your glass shower screen.
Handles
Consider handles that provide good functionality and also match the style of your bathroom, such as an elegant brass light bulb door knob (not actually a light bulb, but a handle that resembles this shape). These classic handles are not only attractively shaped and add to overall aesthetics of the shower unit, but are ergonomically pleasing and comfortable to use.
This makes them ideal to use for both sliding and hinged shower doors, because they are easy to grip even with wet hands. The door knobs are available in a range of finishes to suit your decor scheme, and can also provide a beautiful detail for glass display cabinet doors. They work well in vintage Victorian style bathrooms, and classic or rustic themed rooms.
If you have a larger or more contemporary bathroom design, then you may wish to consider a bar handle that looks sleek and minimalist. Some bar handles can be combined with other purposes, such as a towel rail, which may be a consideration if you have a compact space.
The handles for your shower screen should be made from strong and corrosion resistant materials such as brass and stainless steel. The handles will typically be available in a choice of finishes, so you may wish to choose a colour and texture that echoes other fittings in your bathroom such as taps, toilet handles and towel rails.
Hinges
If you have hinged shower doors, then naturally you will want quality hinges that allow the door to open and close without any friction, and hold the door firmly open or closed when required. Bathrooms are humid environments, so the hinges should be made from a high quality corrosion resistant material such as stainless steel or solid brass.
Ensure that the weight and thickness of the hinges can support the weight of the door, and that you have the appropriate wall-mounted or glass to glass design as per the type of door you have. Hinges can be provided in a range of finishes to match the rest of the hardware, such as chrome or brushed nickel.
U channels
If you have a frameless or semi-frameless shower screen, you will need a U channel to hold it firmly in place. The components should be made from high quality materials such as aluminium or stainless steel, to enable them to withstand frequent contact with water without rusting or degrading.
Ensure that you have the right size of U channel for the thickness of your screen; the most common sizes are 6mm to 12mm. The components are usually available in different finishes, such as matte black or powder coatings.
They are not difficult to fit if you are confident in DIY tasks. However, they do have an important job to do in supporting and stabilising large glass panels, so if you have any doubts it’s best to arrange a professional installation.
Remember that it is always good practice to buy the best quality glass components you can afford, to ensure that they are safe, durable and easy to install and use. They should also complement the overall design of your bathroom.