Bathroom Remodel Shower Doors In Macomb Township, MI
One bathroom out of service, a family still living in the house, and a tile setter working to his own schedule. Here is where the glass fits into your remodel, what to decide before the measure, and how to avoid a finished room waiting on a door.
Where The Glass Fits In Your Remodel
In a one bathroom remodel the enclosure is the last thing to arrive and the last thing to work. That is not a scheduling preference, it is how glass gets made. Your door is cut to the opening that exists once tile and grout are finished, so the measure cannot happen until the tile setter is off the job. For a stretch after that, the room looks complete and the shower still is not usable.
Which is why the useful call comes earlier than most people make it. Homeowners tend to phone once the tile is done. The better moment is while the walls are still open, because that is when blocking, curb pitch and door swing can still be arranged around the enclosure you actually want. You can see everything we build for shower doors in Macomb Township, but the decisions that make a remodel go smoothly get made long before any of it is ordered.
If the tile and pan are staying and only the enclosure is changing, the sequence is much shorter. Shower door replacement works from the opening you already have, so the measure can happen with the old unit still in place and the old unit leaves with us on install day. Where the room has a tub opening, bathtub shower doors are measured off the tub deck and the finished surround, which have to be complete first.
Three Things To Say To Your Tile Contractor
Ask For Blocking While The Walls Are Open
A remodel is the only moment the studs are visible. Solid backing behind the board where the door will land takes a few minutes now and cannot be added once the wall is closed and tiled. You do not need exact positions, just which side the door opens from and roughly how tall the panel will be.
Have The Curb Pitched In And Capped Level
Water follows the pitch of the curb and glass follows the line of the cap. A curb that leans outward sends water onto your floor whatever door sits on it, and a cap that runs downhill turns into a visible wedge under the panel. Say it before the tile goes on, because afterward it is the tile that has to change.
Confirm What Is Actually Finished
A measure needs the tile, the grout, the curb cap, the bench return and any trim complete and clean. Plenty of remodels lose time by booking the measure while one of those is still coming, because the numbers move and the visit has to happen again. Ask your tile setter for the honest date, not the hopeful one.
Living In The House While One Bathroom Is Out
The realistic order is demolition, plumbing rough in, waterproofing, tile, grout, then the measure, then fabrication, then the install. Demolition, plumbing, waterproofing and tile all belong to other trades. We come in for the glass at the end of it. If this is the only full bath in the house, say so at the measure. It does not change how the enclosure is made, but it is a good reason to have configuration and finish decided in advance so nothing waits on you.
Configuration is the decision that matters most in a room you actually live in. A hinged door needs its swing clear of the vanity, the toilet and the room door itself. Where it does not have that, sliding shower doors keep the floor clear and open in place. Where an opening wants a defined frame around the glass, framed shower doors do that job well. Bring the faucet and valve trim you already bought to the measure, so the enclosure finish is chosen next to it instead of from memory.
- Blocking asked for while the walls are open
- Curb pitched in and the cap run level
- Tile, grout and trim finished before the measure
- Faucet and valve trim on hand at the appointment
- Swing clearance checked against vanity and toilet
- Old enclosure removed and hauled away for you
Common questions.
How soon after the tile can you measure?
Once the tile, the grout, the curb cap and any bench return are complete and clean. Glass is cut to the finished opening, so measuring around unfinished work means measuring the wrong opening. The most common way a remodel loses time is booking the measure while the tile setter still has a day left.
Will my bathroom be torn up again for the glass?
No. The enclosure mounts to the finished opening and the work stays contained to the shower itself. If an old unit is still in place, it comes out on the same trip and leaves with us. Your tile, pan and plumbing stay exactly as your other trades left them.
My new tile is slightly out of plumb. Is the job ruined?
Almost certainly not. Very few shower walls are perfectly plumb, and a custom enclosure is built to the variation we measure. There is a point past which an opening should be corrected instead, and if yours is past it you will hear it at the measure, while your tile setter is still reachable.
Can I choose the door before the tile is picked?
You can choose configuration and finish whenever you like, and deciding early genuinely helps. What waits on the tile is fabrication, because the dimensions come off the finished surfaces. Treat it as two decisions: what you want, which is yours now, and how big it is, which is ours later.
What should I have ready for the measure?
The faucet and valve trim you bought, or a clear photo of it, a look at the tile going in, and a sense of how the room gets used. It also helps to know whether you want the door to swing or slide, and how much floor the vanity and toilet leave in front of the opening.
We are living here through the remodel. Anything we should do?
Keep a clear path to the bathroom and tell us about pets, stairs and finished floors before we arrive. The work stays in the shower itself. Once the glass is set and sealed, we tell you how long to keep water off it.
Call While The Walls Are Still Open
Even if the tile is weeks away, the configuration conversation is worth having now. The in-home measure is free and the quote comes with no pressure. Call (586) 315-8900, text a photo to (586) 800-9481, or email [email protected].