# Removal of shower doors/frame



## proofer (Jan 20, 2008)

We moved into a house recently, but I don't like this type of shower door. 


I'd rather just have a normal shower curtain hanging there instead. How hard is this to remove? Also, how much damage will it do to the tub and wall in removing this door frame?


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## Bravid (Jul 23, 2008)

I recently did the same thing.. My doors were hung with screws through the wall panels, so I just unscrewed the screws, ripped through the silicone (I suppose you could cut it.. but I just yanked) and it came off. If the doors have been on the shower for a long time, it might be a little dirty and the tile might be discolored.

If yours, like mine were screwed, then you'll obviously have holes that you could caulk, I suppose. All tolled, it took me all of 10 minutes to take out.

Hope that helped.


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## proofer (Jan 20, 2008)

Bravid,

Thanks for sharing your experience. It looks like ours has 3 screws on each side of the door frame to remove. The screws go into white ceramic tile. Along the base, it looks like it's adhered to the porcelain(?) tub just by silicone, but it's hard to tell at this point. Do you have any pictures (of the sides and/or base) to show how yours now looks? Besides the 6 holes along the sides, did it do any damage to the tile (besides the discoloration)? Also, how did your tub turn out? Did it rip anything up, or did it turn out okay looking?


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## Tommy Plumb (Oct 7, 2006)

You will have a couple screw holes in the tile. You can either replace those tiles or fill the holes in with grout or white silicon. The only other problem you might run into is discoloration under the door frame. The bath seems pretty new so it shouldn't be too bad if at all. You will also be doing a lot of scraping of silicon that is under the frame, you will have to be careful not to scratch the tub/tile in the process.


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## Bravid (Jul 23, 2008)

I don't have any pictures to show you.. my camera's battery died and I can't find the charger. I wanted to take pictures of the whole process, but oh well.

My shower doors didn't go into tile, they went into a fiberglass tub surround wall. I was ripping the whole thing out, so I wasn't too concerned with damage, but there was no visible damage after I got the doors off. Of course with ceramic tiles, it will be different I'm sure.

If you cut the silicone with a razer, you shouldn't have too much damage, if any at all. The screws will leave holes, but you can caulk that, or chisel the tile out and replace it fairly cheaply (if there is a Habitat Restore in your area you can buy single tiles there for around $0.20)

One question.. I saw the picture you posted.. Is that a towel rod _inside_ the shower?


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## proofer (Jan 20, 2008)

Thanks for the posts and the info.

I have no idea how old the bath enclosure is. I'm betting it's older because (a) the house was built in 1965 and (b) I'm not sure what era people put these sliding shower doors in rather than having shower curtains, but I'd have to say it's been quite a while. Do people still install these shower doors??? I rather like the look of a shower curtain better than these sliding doors, and I don't like having that door's frame on top of the tub.

And yes, that IS a towel rod inside the shower. I know that rod gets soaked after a shower, so I would imagine a towel hanging there would get soaked as well. What's up with that?

If I get brave and decide to take the shower doors off, I'll be sure to post pictures of the aftermath and let you know how much damage I get on the ceramic tile on the sides and on the top of the porcelain tub. From your posts, it sounds like there shouldn't be that much damage left behind, but with my not knowing for sure in advance, I don't know if it's worth taking the risk. I don't want to have to replace a whole new tub since it's the only tub in the house.


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## Tommy Plumb (Oct 7, 2006)

Just pull them off carefully. You can run a knife between the frame and the wall to cut the silicon. If you don't break/bend anything and don't like the look you can put the doors back up.


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## quiltmom06 (Aug 16, 2008)

*shower door removal*

Hi, I too want to remove the shower doors. If I do I will have holes in the bath surround. Is there "plugs" that can be placed in these holes?


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## Tommy Plumb (Oct 7, 2006)

quiltmom06 said:


> Hi, I too want to remove the shower doors. If I do I will have holes in the bath surround. Is there "plugs" that can be placed in these holes?


Silicon... Or just browse Home Depot until you find something that fits in the holes.


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