Can the shower glass be ordered from the renovation drawings?

No. It's measured after tile. Tile and backer board add thickness, and finished walls are rarely perfectly plumb, so the pro measures real surfaces once tile is set and grouted. Start the enclosure request earlier, though, while the walls are open, so hinge blocking, the curb and the floor slope are planned around the glass.

Is it harder to keep water in with frameless shower glass?

A little, because frameless glass leaves tiny gaps where the hinges and edges meet. In practice it stays dry when the layout is right: the head aims away from the door, the floor slopes to the drain, and the door has a sweep and edge seals. Most leaks trace back to layout, not glass.

What decides how thick walk-in shower glass needs to be?

The panel's size and how it's supported. A walk-in panel with a free edge uses heavier tempered glass than a framed door, and a tall one usually gets a support bar. The installer specifies it for your layout before tempering, since it can't change afterwards.

Are made-to-measure shower doors worth it over standard sizes?

If the opening is square and a standard width, a stock door is sensible and quicker to get. Made to measure pays off when walls lean, the width is odd, a niche or ledge is in the way, or you want frameless glass. Custom panels fit the room as it was actually built.

Our newer house came with a basic framed shower door. Can it go frameless?

Often, and without retiling. The pro checks for solid backing behind the hinge wall, a level base wide enough to seat the glass, and how water runs to the drain. If one falls short, a semi-frameless door can fit the same opening. Photos of the base and both side walls help.

Renovation glass

Walk-in and frameless shower glass, built to fit

In a bathroom renovation, the shower glass goes in last but gets planned first, because hinge backing and the curb are decided before tile. This page is for that stage: a new walk-in, a corner or neo-angle stall, or trading a builder-grade door for glass made to measure. We connect you with a local glass professional who measures the finished space and quotes the panels. For a door that only needs a seal or a roller, see shower door repair, or browse all services.

Planned with your renovator, measured after tile
Tempered safety glass, made to measure
Builder-grade upgrades in newer homes

Get a free quote 905-470-3454

A single braced panel: the simplest walk-in, and it depends on a floor pitched toward the drain.

Layout options

Five layouts and what each asks of the room

Fixed panel (walk-in)

One braced panel and an open end. No door to maintain, but it needs length so spray stays in, and a floor pitched to the drain.

Door and panel

A door hung off a fixed panel across an alcove. Keeps the hinges off a wall that can't carry them.

Corner

Two glass sides at a right angle, with the door on one face.

Neo-angle

Three panels across a corner. Saves floor space in a smaller ensuite.

Steam

Glass to the ceiling with tighter seals. Plan it early, with the renovator in the room.

Renovation timing

When to bring in the glass pro, and why they measure after tile

While the walls are open
Share the layout, so the renovator adds blocking behind the tile where hinges land. Renovators and contractors can loop the glass pro in here.
When the base and curb go in
Floor slope, curb height and drain position decide how water behaves at the glass.
After tile is set and grouted
Now the pro templates. Tile adds thickness and rarely ends up plumb, so panels are sized from finished surfaces, and tempered glass can't be trimmed later.
Fabrication, then install
Panels are cut, edged and tempered, then fitted and sealed.

Glass and hardware

Glass weight, coatings and the hardware that holds it

Frameless panels use heavier tempered glass than a framed door, because the glass is the structure. The installer sets the thickness from each panel's size and support, and Ontario’s Building Code requires safety glass in any shower enclosure.

Wall-mount hinges fix the door to the tile, which is why the blocking matters. Glass-to-glass hinges hang it off a fixed panel instead. A factory coating slows mineral spotting, and hardware finishes are about matching the taps. Choosing a vanity mirror too? Match its trim.

Diagram of two shower doors: one hung on hinges screwed into the tiled wall, the other hung on glass-to-glass hinges from a fixed glass panel with a support bar — Left: wall-mount hinges, which need backing behind the tile. Right: glass-to-glass hinges off a fixed panel. Illustration.

Newer homes

Upgrading a builder-grade door in a newer home

North Oshawa has grown quickly since Highway 407 East arrived, and Whitby, Ajax and Courtice are full of subdivision houses from the '80s to the 2000s. Many came with a framed stock door on an acrylic base, and going frameless is a common upgrade in north Oshawa.

It can often be done without retiling, once the pro confirms the walls can take hinges and the base is level. If not, semi-frameless fits the same opening.

What affects the quote

What a custom enclosure quote is built from

Number of panels and doors
Glass thickness and type
Hinges, clamps and support bars, and their finish
Custom angles, notches and cut-outs
Full-height or steam panels
Visits timed to your renovator's schedule

A sketch with rough sizes, or tile-stage photos, is enough to start. Glass shelves for a niche can be [cut at the same time](/custom-glass/).

Start a shower enclosure quote

Free quotes from independent local pros.

Keeping it dry

How frameless glass keeps water where it belongs

Frameless glass leaves tiny gaps where hinges and edges meet. Water stays in mostly because of the layout: the shower head aims away from the door, the floor slopes to the drain, and a walk-in panel is long enough. Replaceable sweeps and edge seals handle the rest. A well-planned enclosure stays dry; a poorly planned one leaks whatever the seals.

Before you order

Questions before the glass is ordered

Explore your options

Pros measure and fit enclosures for renovations across Durham, including North Oshawa, Brooklin, Whitby, Courtice and Ajax.

Share your layout, or photos at the tile stage

A sketch with sizes, or photos as the tile goes in, is enough. We pass it to a local glass pro who builds enclosures, and they get back to you to plan the measure around your renovation.