# Frameless Shower Door Hinge -HELP-



## MisterPG (Nov 25, 2009)

So I have a reasonable quote on a piece of 10mm (3/8") tempered glass to use as a shower door. I plan on purchasing my own frameless shower door hinges (like these http://cgi.ebay.ca/Frameless-Shower...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3cac51a5c8 ) and doing the install myself.

Can shower hinges be attached to the glass without drilling? Can I just use an epoxy or something, instead of having to pay the glass company (and wait) to have mounting holes drilled?

The door is only 22" wide x 48" high (no... the opening's not that short... just looking at having the door match the height of a pony wall).

PS - According to my calculations, the glass should only weigh 39 lbs.


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## troubleseeker (Sep 25, 2006)

All the hinges I have seen required holes in the glass, doesn't mean they don't exist, but that is my observations from what our glass fabricators use.

Now here is the really bad news. If the piece of glass is already tempered, it cannot be drilled.


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## Just Bill (Dec 21, 2008)

There is a lot more engineering in those doors than meets the eye. I would suggest that a DIY effort might not be as economical as you think.


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## bathvision (Apr 25, 2010)

*Shower door hinge*

Unfortunately there is not such a hinge that you can glue to the glass , you need to have cut outs in the glass for it or you need to mount on the wall.


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## MisterPG (Nov 25, 2009)

Hi guys - Thank you all for your input. Let me just chime in here for a moment with a couple of things. First, my original inquiry was spurned by the original quote I received from a local glass supplier. The quote I was hit with prompted me into DIY mode. I was originally quoted $1166.00 (plus taxes) for 2 brushed nickel hinges, installed on a 22 ½” X 48” piece of 10mm tempered glass with all 4 edges polished. The next quote I received, from the same company after explaining that I was looking to reduce my costs and therefore would supply my own hinges, came in at only $180 less.

Slightly ...okay, more than slightly.. disheartened, I then began to shop around and asked for quotes from every single glass company in town. Keep in mind, that at this point, I was looking ONLY for the glass, thinking that I could find some shower hinges on ebay and just epoxy them onto the glass myself. The quotes ranged from $389.66+taxes all the way down to $160.10 including taxes.

Here's where the learning curve kicked in... I then began to inquire about the cost of hinges.. at this point, pretty much everybody informed me that I was looking at having to notch the glass. Here's the good part, though... the guy who came in at the lowest glass quote, also came in at the lowest overall price..

2 X notches @ $30.00 each = $ 60.00
2 X hinges @ $59.95 ea = $119.90
Shipping = $ 20.00
Sub total = $199.90
PST = $ 13.99
GST = $ 10.00
Total  = $223.89 in additional costs

Original cost of glass = $160.10

Total cost for what you require = $383.99

That's $931 saved over the original quote from supplier A. So, the moral of the story??? SHOP AROUND! Don't be discouraged by a high quote.

As for installing it myself, I feel confident in my abilities, but only time will tell, I guess


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## troubleseeker (Sep 25, 2006)

I would double check the $160 price to be sure the two of you are on the same page.Sounds awfully cheap to supply the glass, with polished edges, cut the notches, ship off to be tempered, and shipped back for your pickup. Are you sure he is not quoting you on just a piece of laminated glass (safety plate) , because this will not work; the moisture will get between the laminations and fog the edges.


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## MisterPG (Nov 25, 2009)

Thanks for the info, troubleseeker - I'll be popping by his shop either this afternoon or tomorrow to check out the glass and hinge samples... I'll let you know what I find.


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## tpolk (Nov 7, 2009)

that 160 probably hardware cost and holes


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## bathvision (Apr 25, 2010)

*Price*

You should pay aroud $30 per hinge cutout (mickey mouse). Two hinges and 6" handle cost $70, holes driling about $12. The shower door glass will cost about $45 to $65 per sqf. all the prices for shower doors hardware are what the glazer will pay at his supplier, they will charge you more to make some money


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## MisterPG (Nov 25, 2009)

*The Finished Product...*

Hi all - i know it's been a while, but I wanted to close this up by posting the finished product. http://www.diychatroom.com/f2/post-picture-your-current-project-49104/index4/#post456587

I did the door install myself, and it's been working just great! Thank you everyone for your advice  Cheers!


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## eurofiles (Apr 19, 2021)

Just Bill said:


> There is a lot more engineering in those doors than meets the eye. I would suggest that a DIY effort might not be as economical as you think.


bullocks. For a frameless door, the only things you need are the hinges with the right cutout in tempered glass and that the # of hinges can hold the weight of the door. Big name frameless glass door manufacturers just take advantage of customers not knowing any better.


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## GrayHair (Apr 9, 2015)

You might want to check dates before replying. This thread is 11 years old.

My first few posts were on long dormant threads.


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