Updated: May 18, 2023 by Kris Jarrett

Glass Shower Enclosures: Cost + The Options You Do & Don’t Need!

I’m sharing all the details about glass shower enclosures including cost and which options might be worth it and which aren’t!

After sharing our master bathroom remodel, something many of you wanted more info about is our glass shower enclosure. Today I’m dishing all of those details including the extra options I chose, why I chose them, and the full cost breakdown too. (post includes affiliate links – full disclosure statement available {here})

Before jumping in, here’s a reminder of what our glass shower enclosure looks like:

I chose a simple shower design without a built-in shower bench (I never sat on the bench in our old shower and like the clean-lined look without it!). Our frameless glass shower enclosure is 60″ long x 37″ wide with a 28″ door. The price was definitely higher than I expected! The base price I was quoted for the shower enclosure + installation was $2400 (note that I got multiple bids and they were all quite close to each other but prices in Connecticut are higher than most other areas of the country).

My quote was for a frameless unit with standard ⅜″ tempered glass, brushed nickel wall hinges, non-mitered door, and standard 6″ pull. But where they really get you is with all of the extras – there were a ton of options and choices to make. I’ll share each of them along with the additional cost and what I chose to add on (and what I decided wasn’t worth it).

Frameless Shower Clips vs. U-Channel

One of the biggest design decisions I made was whether to go with frameless shower clips at all points where the glass meets the tile or to use U-channels as supports for the glass panels. Here’s an example of your typical shower clip:

Wall clip on frameless glass shower enclosures

Most people choose to go with all clips on both the sides and bottom of the glass because technically “frameless” shower enclosures don’t have any type of framing or channels – they are supported entirely with clips. But I went against the grain on this one and chose to go with wall clips along the side and U-channels along the base of the glass.

If you don’t know what a U-channel is, it’s basically a short U-shaped metal strip that the glass rests in:

Such helpful info on choosing glass shower enclosures including whether to go with a U-channel or clips!

The two reasons I chose to use them are: (1) when the glass shower enclosure is resting directly on tile and sealed with clear caulk like it is with clips, over time mold/mildew often develops under the clear caulk where it’s impossible to reach and clean. Because of this, many people find that they have to frequently cut the mildewed caulk out and re-caulk. This is more common with natural stone like I have than porcelain tile because of the porous nature of natural stone (see my post on using marble tile in a bathroom for details). When you use a U-channel you don’t have this issue.

Reason (2) is that I actually like the streamlined look of the U-channel on the bottom instead of the clips:

Great tip on U-channel vs clips for glass shower enclosures!

Our overall bathroom design has more of an updated classic feel than an extremely modern one and I felt like the design of the U-channel fit that aesthetic best. In terms of pricing, some companies charge about $100-$200 less for using U-channels than clips because the cut of the bottom of the glass doesn’t have to be quite as precise with a U-channel – my proposal was the same price regardless of which I chose.

Glass Treatment to Prevent Water Spots

Another add-on option is a glass treatment that seals pores in the glass to make it resistant to water spots and stains. In some cases this is done during the fabrication of the glass and in others it is sprayed on as a sealant after production of the glass. It helps keep your glass clean and from becoming cloudy over time. This is a great option to consider if (1) you have hard water and (2) you don’t have the best track record for regularly cleaning your shower glass.

I was quoted an extra $540 to add-on this glass treatment – yikes! I decided to pass on this option and instead try and be a more diligent cleaner to keep our glass enclosure cost closer to what we had budgeted for it. I also might try out {this spray glass treatment} that works similarly (but has to be re-applied frequently). I do know several people who swear by how much easier the factory applied glass treatment has made it to maintain their shower so it could be a decision I regret with time.

Regular Glass vs. Low Iron Glass

Shower glass is fairly thick which gives it a subtle green hue. One add-on option is to choose low iron glass that is completely clear, without the greenish hue. It’s called ultra-clear glass, opti-white, Starphire glass, and various other names. Along with the glass being completely clear, when you look directly at the edge of the glass, instead of it appearing green like it normally would, it has more of a bluish tint:

Great info on low-iron ultra-clear glass vs. regular glass!

I debated this decision a LOT mainly because it’s a super pricey option – I was quoted an additional $648. After researching and getting LOTS of opinions, what I found is that if you don’t have white tile the difference probably isn’t noticeable enough to warrant spending the extra money. But if you have white tile like I do, it might be because you can definitely tell the difference.

As much as it pained me, this was the one costly add-on we went with – I LOVE my shower tile and didn’t want one of my final decisions on our bathroom one that made me unhappy with the overall result.

It definitely lived up to the hype! You can see as you look at my bathroom tile through the glass of the shower enclosure and through the open door, there’s no change in color:

We chose the ultra-clear Starphire glass for our shower enclosure - more details in the post!

Shower Glass Thickness: ⅜″ vs ½″

The most commonly used glass thickness for shower enclosures is ⅜″ but an upgrade to ½″ was another add-on option (my quote for this upgrade was $648). The benefit of ½″ glass is that the extra thickness provides additional stability. Also, some people simply like the thicker look. Unless you’re one of those people (personally I like the look of the thinner glass), the main reasons you’d want to choose ½″ glass is if you have glass panels that are taller than typical (like 80″+) or if your shower door is hinged off one of your glass panels instead of being hinged off the wall like mine:

This decision was an easy one for me – we stuck with the less expensive ⅜″ glass.

Decorative Handles

Most shower door companies include a standard curved handle on both sides of the glass door in their basic price. Different styles are an upgrade with the price depending on the style. I wasn’t a big fan of the standard handle and went for an upgraded handle that I thought tied in the design of the tile on our tub wall really well:

The handle we chose for our glass shower enclosure!

The cost for this upgrade? $200

Robe Hooks or Towel Bar

There are also several options that allow you to hang your towel on the shower enclosure if that’s something you’d be like to be able to do. One options is a robe hook (I was quoted an additional $125 for per hook) that’s on both sides of the glass – on the inside of the glass you can hang the towel you’re going to use after showering and then when you’re done using your towel you can hang it on the outside to dry. There is also the option to add a towel bar as an extension of the door handle on one or both sides.

I wanted to keep the clean-lined look of our shower enclosure so I chose not to do either of these and instead installed {these three robe hooks} for towels on the wall by our vanity:

So in love with this bathroom vanity and wall with towel hooks!

A Few Last Options

Believe it or there were still a few more options to consider:

Mitered glass door where the door only opens out (an additional $180) – the benefit of this is that the mitered edge helps create a tighter seal when the door is shut to prevent water from leaking out. I actually like having the door be able to swing both in and out so this was an easy no thanks. And I never had issues with leaking after installation.
Custom height – I wanted our enclosure to be a little bit higher than standard so it was taller than our shower head – this was an additional $100
Having the U-channel and framing clips in a brushed nickel finish on real brass framing (an additional $580). This is an upgrade of the standard anodized aluminum finish which is similar in appearance but not identical to the brushed nickel wall hinges and handle. I passed on this one.

Total Cost for Our Glass Shower Enclosure

The total estimate for our shower enclosure with installation ranged from $2420 to $5516 depending upon how many extras we chose. Starting with the base price of $2420 and adding the ultra-clear glass ($648), upgraded handle ($200), and additional height ($100), our total cost was $3368. Crazy expensive right?! I got multiple estimates and they were all within 10% of each other so I feel like this is a good cost estimate for the NYC area. However, as I mentioned at the beginning of the post, prices here are higher than most other areas so something similar in a different area of the country will likely cost less, sometimes MUCH less.

Phew… we made it through! Would you ever have guessed that buying a shower enclosure could be so complicated? I hope this post helps any of you who are in the midst of a major bathroom renovation or who have one planned for down the road. Want more details and ideas on renovating a bathroom? You’ll find these posts helpful:

Master Bathroom Remodel Ideas: My Ten Favorites!

Must-Have Bathroom Measurements

XO,

Comments