San Francisco Bay Area - Question About Framed Shower Doors & New Installation Problem

by Dallas Arts Salon

Question About Framed Shower Doors & New Installation Problem

We recently redid our master bath stall shower & we were very pleased with the plumber & tile-work done.

We contacted a local glass & mirror company to measure for a new hinged shower door. We opted for framed with clear glass with brushed nickel finish.

The owner & I discussed the height of the door & I told him I wanted it to be 70". I went to their showroom & looked at a few doors and display & was OK with our decision. It is only 34" wide shower and not very visible so felt we did not need to go frameless.

They installed the door this past Thursday. When I got home Thursday night I noticed the side "rails" of the frame were sticking up over the height of the door - meaning not a flush straight line across the top. The frame came up 70" as ordered but the door is about 3/4-1" shorter & you can see the "brown" magnet on the frame as well.

I am very unhappy and called the owner. He said that they could come back and cut the rails. I asked him why the door was not 70" as ordered. He went on to say that that this is common and most people don't mind. He said I should have ordered 71" if I wanted 70". I asked him how should I have known that the doors always come shorter than the rails?

I told him I do mind and this would bother me every time I saw it, this was not how our old door was made and not how they looked in his showroom or on the manufacturer's website.

I really do not want to have the rails cut. I wanted the height to be 70" straight across as ordered. I am dismayed at the idea of them ripping out the rails/frame from our freshly installed tile and grout. I felt that there was poor quality control on their end and they should have caught this before installation.

I asked the owner if the door can be replaced without having to rip out the frame & he said he thought so. I have asked him to come back, remeasure & to order the correct height door & replace it.

Am I being unreasonable? Should I have to pay to have this fixed?

The 1st photo is from the manufacturer's website and the 2nd is how our door looks.

Appreciate any comments or insights or suggestions.

Thanks.

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Dallas Arts Salon 1st photo is form shower door mfg website & 2nd is of our door installed.

5 months ago · Like

olldbobbi In the first photo, I can see the rails sticking up above the door, maybe not as much as in your bathroom, but they don't look level to me. What does everyone else think?

5 months ago · Like ·

Dallas Arts Salon this is the part that is driving me crazy - also seeing the brown magnet.

5 months ago · Like

Deborah Butler, Brickwood Builders The two look the same to me.

5 months ago · Like ·

Dallas Arts Salon Should the rails be higher than the door and not flush across? Should we be seeing the brown magnet? Thanks.

5 months ago · Like

olldbobbi Thanks, Deborah, I wasn't sure if it was my olld eyes or not!

5 months ago · Like

lmegac I don't see the magnet on the manufacturers photo. I would have called them ack too! Perhaps they could shorten the magnetic strip? Go with your gut, I think they screwed up?

5 months ago · Like ·

Interiors International, Inc. The do look awfully close to the same. I would take him up on cutting the rails. Pick your battles carefully.

5 months ago · Like ·

Deborah Butler, Brickwood Builders I would not want to see it that way personally, but that is why we spec custom made frameless doors. My point would be that if the picture you are providing was what you were shown before ordering, then what you got appears to be equal to the picture. Not the answer you want to hear, I'm sure. I think the provider is within acceptable tolerances.

5 months ago · Like ·

Dallas Arts Salon If cutting the rails was the answer, shouldn't they have cut the rails before installation? Do I not need to be concerned about having all this done on a newly tiled shower? Why wouldn't the shower door be the same height as the rails?

5 months ago · Like

feeny Here's the problem: it isn't flush in the manufacturer's photo. I agree completely that it SHOULD be flush to look best, but I'm not sure you have a particularly valid complaint if the manufacturer's photo you were basing your selection on isn't flush either. So I guess i agree with Interiors International that if they are offering to fix it by cutting down the railing (without in any way damaging the tiles), that might be a reasonable solution if they won't replace it with a taller door. Of course, if they'll put in a taller door that would be the best option.

You mentioned seeing it in the showroom as well. Are you sure it was completely flush there? And when you ordered it from them, did you say you wanted it just like in the showroom? If so, then you have a better case than from the manufacturer's photo.

5 months ago · Like

olldbobbi I have an idea for you. Personally, I would not want him to cut the rail, the tile could end up scratched or worse. Instead, can he fabricate a cap that could be attached to the exposed area that bothers you? If this is possible, make sure he secures the cap well so it doesn't fall off and frustrate you further.

5 months ago · Like

Dallas Arts Salon The photo on mfg website does not show any brown magnet showing and when I zoom in on it, the margin of height difference appears much smaller than what we got. The glass company did not show me this photo. I found it on mfg website and provided as an example. Glass company owner never told me that rails would stick up. I had option to go semi-frameless but he talked me out of that because the magnet would only be about 3" where the door handle would hit. I should have gone with my gut and done that.

5 months ago · Like

Dallas Arts Salon Problem with a cap is that this is a hinged door so how could the door open & close?

5 months ago · Like

olldbobbi The cap doesn't need to be so large as to interfere with the opening and closing of the door.

5 months ago · Like

Dallas Arts Salon I will ask about that. I am really concerned about the new tile and any issues.

I was also wondering if there was something they could put on bottom of the door to "raise" it up.

I went to the showroom mainly to drop off a deposit after they came out to measure & when I looked at models I was focused on the "feel" of the framed versus semi-frameless doors.

I do not recall seeing any doors with magnet showing.

Here is one photo I snapped when I was at the showroom but it is not very clear.

I will see what he says on Wednesday when he comes back.

When we spoke Friday he offered me a discount on what we paid to just cut the rails (he did not say how much) but if they can order a new door and replace it w/o removing the rails & potentially scratching the tile that would be flush with the rails, I think that would be the option I would be happiest with even if it means I have to pay something extra.

Thanks.

5 months ago · Like ·

astraea I think this is also an object lesson, that when we have a job done - especially when it's "custom", to request a sketch with dimensions on it, be included on the paperwork! Or if they can copy a catalog page & write the dimensions right on the picture, and attach that to the job order.

5 months ago · Like ·

lmegac Why not contact the manufacturer and ask them?

5 months ago · Like

olldbobbi astraea, hindsight is always 20-20, isn't it? It would be so great if we could visualize all the possibilities before we have the work done :))

5 months ago · Like

astraea Unfortunately we often learn our lessons "the hard way", knowing that we'd do things differently "the next time"! I do reach out to friends before a big purchase, if only to ask if they've ever had a particular brand or used that store, so I find out if there have been major problems.

I can think of a few things I bought after moving into this house, where I'd do things differently .. fortunately none are catastrophic problems! The other day I mentioned that to get chairs on casters for the dinette, I had to get them separately from the table .. and now I find the table slightly high for comfort .. I never thought to measure the relative heights of the chair seats in the store! I haven't been happy with the washing machine I bought either, but only realized that after using it .. so I'd never buy that brand again.

5 months ago · Like ·

Dallas Arts Salon Indeed! I expected when we discussed 70" height, that it would be 70" straight across and that the vendor would have explained to me that the door would be shorter than 70" which would have had me asking why?

Even my horrendous 30 year old door that was replaced was flush across but I guess that was because it had a panel.

Lesson learned but sometimes hard to know what to ask in advance and you rely on the the person you hire to give you the details.

He spent a lot of time steering me away from a semi-frameless door even though price was same as framed so I am thinking he could have provided a bit more info on this door.

I'll let you know happens but aesthetically I cant live with the way it looks now.

Thanks.

5 months ago · Like ·

judyg It looks as if your type of installation has that issue. You may have been happier with a frameless.

A Petaluma remodel

5 months ago · Like

Dallas Arts Salon All's well that ends well. The owner came out, remeasured and agreed to replaced the door. He wanted us to be happy with the job. New door arrived last week, was easy to remove the old one and install the replacement without removing the rails, and now I am happy. We paid for some of the cost of the new door and while it probably should have been right in the first place well worth the peace of mind. Thanks all.