A sliding shower door or sliding tub door offers greater protection to the rest of your bathroom than a simple curtain. No one wants to have to mop up a mess in the bathroom right after a relaxing shower. The shower door seals in moisture and prevents water from escaping at the edges. In addition, with this bathroom fixture there is no need to worry about accidentally brushing up against it. Contact with the door will not allow water to escape as it would with a shower curtain.
The solidity of a sliding door can also offer a greater sense of privacy and security. It is comforting to know that a simple, accidental brush against will not jeopardize your privacy in the shower. This may be especially helpful if there are small children in the house.
The sliding door also has an advantage over swinging shower doors, in that it takes up less space. Opening this type of door will not make a bathroom feel any more cramped or hinder other people from passing by the space if necessary. This factor makes sliding doors an excellent space saver that may actually make your bathroom seem larger.
The downside of installing a door for your shower is that it will be more expensive. A shower curtain may sell for as little as $5, while a door can cost anywhere from $80 to upwards of $1000 depending on its quality and the materials that were used in its construction. In addition, unless you are skilled with home improvement projects, you will need to pay a contractor to install your new door.
The problem becomes even more pronounces when we look at bathrooms in particular, since these rooms tend to be some of the smallest in any residence or living area. For some bathrooms, there’s only basically enough room to fit a shower area, a toilet and sink, and perhaps some amount of storage, and maybe not much else. For bathrooms which tend to be on the smaller side, sliding shower doors can be really helpful.
They tend to work out better in these conditions, because they take away the need to make a provision in the bathroom for where the shower door is supposed to swing out. Usually, an area adjoining the shower stall needs to be kept clear precisely for this reason. But if the shower door is instead installed in such a way that it merely slides from side to side, this in effect gives some room back in the bathroom, making it feel less cramped and less small. So for those smaller bathrooms, while they may not always be suitable, one should at least consider the idea of frameless shower sliding doors.