New Construction Shower Doors In Bloomfield Hills, MI
Glass is one of the last trades through the door, so decisions made months earlier decide what the enclosure can be. Here is how to sequence a Bloomfield Hills build so the shower glass never holds your punch list open.
Glass Goes In Last, So Plan For It First
Every other trade on your job works to a drawing. Glass does not. An enclosure is fabricated from readings taken off the finished tile, because that is the only surface the panels will ever touch, and nothing usable comes off a framing dimension. Glass is not a product you order early and stack in the garage. It is a measurement you cannot take until the wet work above it is done and done well. Glass shower door installation is last in the room, and it inherits everything before it.
Two things get decided long before we arrive and cannot be revisited. The first is blocking. Hinges and clips anchor into the wall, so there has to be solid backing where they land, and once the board and tile are on, that choice is closed. The second is curb and pan geometry, which sets how the door seals and where water goes. Build both with the enclosure in mind and every option stays open, including the heavy frameless shower doors buyers in this market expect in a primary bath.
The third thing that stalls glass on a build is not technical. It is approval. On a spec house you decide. On a pre-sold house the buyer decides, sometimes through a designer, and the selection can sit unsigned while the tile cures. Tell us at the measure who holds authority over glass, finish and any change if the opening reads differently than the plan. A job with one named approver keeps moving. A job with three opinions and no decision does not.
What A Builder Needs From The Glass Trade
Blocking Before The Board
Solid backing behind the tile where hinges and clips land is the best insurance on the job and the only kind that expires. If the wall is still open, block generously across the full hinge wall and the return rather than at a guessed point. It takes a framer minutes and removes a whole category of late problems.
One Spec Across Every Bath
A house going up here usually has more than one shower, and they should not each be decided separately. Set the glass type and hardware finish once, then vary the enclosure style only where a room calls for it. We can record every opening in one visit so the house is quoted and fabricated as one package.
Read The Room, Not The Plan
Plans show intent. Tile shows reality, and it is never exactly where the drawing put it. We take readings off the finished surfaces, check the walls for plumb and the curb for level, and build to what is there. That is why panels land clean instead of being shimmed and forced on install day.
The Sequence That Keeps A Build Moving
The working order runs like this. Frame and set the blocking. Rough the plumbing and lock in valve and head placement. Waterproof. Build and tile the curb and pan. Set and grout the walls. Then we measure, then we fabricate, then we install. Nothing on that list can be pulled forward. If the tile is half set or the curb is not grouted, the measure is worth nothing, and taking it anyway is how a panel ends up wrong. Two calls solve it: one at framing, one when tile is scheduled.
Install day is mostly about access. The room needs to be clear, clean and cured, with no other trade working in it while panels are carried in and set. Slot it after paint touch-up so hardware is not taped over, and before final clean so the bath is handed over finished. Where a bath runs to an unusual configuration, custom glass shower enclosures are worth walking at the measure with someone on site who can approve on the spot.
- Blocking set behind the tile at every hinge and clip
- Curb and pan tiled, grouted and pitched before the measure
- Valve and head locations settled, not still floating
- Readings taken off finished tile, never off the plan
- One named approver for glass, finish and changes
- Install slotted after paint touch-up, before final clean
Common questions.
When Should A Builder First Call About The Glass?
Twice, ideally. Once at framing, so backing lands where hinges and clips will need it, and once when tile is scheduled, so the measure is booked against real progress rather than a hopeful date. The first call is short and prevents the expensive version of this conversation.
Can You Quote A Job From The Plans?
We can read drawings, talk through each opening, and give you a clear picture of what every bath wants in style and hardware. The quote that counts comes after the free in-home measure on finished tile, because that is what the glass is cut to. Plan review first, measure second.
What If The Tile Goes In Out Of Plumb?
Almost every wall is out somewhat, and glass is cut to the readings we take rather than a nominal size, so ordinary variation disappears into the fit. Past a point it shows as an uneven reveal along the wall. If an opening is near that point, you hear it before anything is ordered.
Can You Handle Several Showers In One House?
Yes. We record each opening separately during one visit, so a primary bath, a guest bath and a children's bath carry the same glass and finish while each gets the enclosure its room supports. Keeping them on one schedule stops the punch list reopening one bathroom at a time.
Who Signs Off, The Builder Or The Buyer?
Whoever you tell us at the measure. On a pre-sold house that is often the buyer or their designer, and on a spec house it is you. What matters is that it is one person with authority. Unsigned selections are the most common reason glass sits while the house finishes around it.
What Do You Need On Site For The Install?
A clear, clean, cured room, a path wide enough to carry panels through, no other trade working alongside us, and someone who can let the crew in. Heavy 3/8 inch tempered glass is set by hand, so access and floor protection matter more than power or water.
Put The Glass On Your Schedule
Building in Bloomfield Hills? Call the showroom at (586) 315-8900 or text (586) 800-9481 with your tile date, and we will book the free in-home measure around your sequence.