Forums > Specific Focus > Home, Garden & Construction in Mexico

Nancy Boyd

Oct 19, 2004, 1:23 PM

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Shower glass thickness

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We are building a home in the Ajijic area and want to have a glass enclosed shower. We are told by the architect .6cm is the thickest glass available. Does anyone know if thicker glass is available? If so, where in the area?

Thanks to all.

Rolly / Moderator

Oct 19, 2004, 1:57 PM

Post #2 of 9 (5803 views)

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Re: [Nancy Boyd] Shower glass thickness

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.6cm is just shy of 1/4 inch which should be plenty thick for a shower wall if tempered.

You can buy ready built shower walls from Home Depot in GDL.

Also glass is available in more than .6cm thickness (perhaps not in Ajijic). I bought 1cm-thick glass for my patio table from a local glass shop (not in Ajijic).

Rolly Pirate

mkdutch

Oct 20, 2004, 8:50 AM

Post #3 of 9 (5772 views)

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Re: [Nancy Boyd] Shower glass thickness

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We've used clear (one side) and imprinted (leaf design) to sandwich in some stained glass panels we bought for that purpose (the imprinted side was faced inward to ease cleaning) with great results. A solid, thick panel resulted that protects the stained glass and is easy to maintain. Wouldn't work well for a door, but stationary panels are fine....Dutch

Georgia

Oct 20, 2004, 10:24 AM

Post #4 of 9 (5767 views)

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Re: [Nancy Boyd] Shower glass thickness

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If you have space, and light is the issue, you might consider a wall of glass block. This was our solution and we love it. Ours has a bubble design in it. We chose not to have a shower door, just walk in.

Cynthia7

Oct 20, 2004, 8:26 PM

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Re: [Georgia] Shower glass thickness

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I love the freedom of not having a shower door. Most of the baths are tile or ceramic and a door is not needed -except for privacy.

cristalhombre

Nov 1, 2004, 6:06 AM

Post #6 of 9 (5710 views)

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Re: [Nancy Boyd] Shower glass thickness

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Hola Nancy. I sell/wholesale flat glass for a living (25 years now) so I know what I am talking about.

Good news is that glass is recognized now in metric thickness universally. 6mm (1/4") is a very common thickness for a traditional tub/shower enclosure (by-pass type). However if you are going to hinge a single door to swing in/out the more common thickness in the US is 9mm (3/8" glass). These doors are heavy and weigh about 5.5 lbs per sq ft so you need to have some hefty fastners for the hinge location. The MOST important consideration to consider IMHO is not the thickness but is it annealed or tempered glass. Tempering is a heat soak process that strengthens the glass and prevents breakage significantly. It is code for ANYTHING here to be tempered if the glass is in a door or 24" adjacent to a door. I have yet to see a piece of tempered glass in Ajijic. I know there are two furnaces in Guad to temper glass (older technology, but it's there and they work). Also there are several glass float plants in Monterrey and the quality of the glass from MX is excellent. We import a significant amount from MX for distribution in the states.

I would NOT install annealed glass in any shower stall. Too dangerous to deal with glass shards and bare feet.

adios
Don Vidrio

"NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST...."

Papirex

Nov 1, 2004, 1:48 PM

Post #7 of 9 (5691 views)

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Re: [cristalhombre] Shower glass thickness

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I couldn’t agree more about the need to install safety glass in any shower. In the 1950’s safety glass in shower installations was not required Where I lived.. At that time, I had a friend that had a house just a couple of years old.

He had two sons, they were about 8 or 10 years old then. One of them was finishing a shower and had opened the glass door just as the other boy entered the bathroom. The second boy did not notice that his brother was stepping out of the shower, and he swung the door shut. The glass hit the knee of the boy leaving the shower and shattered.

The boy in the shower fell forward, the glass had not broken completely, and his knee was cut on the lower part of the glass which was still in the door frame. His injuries were very serious, tendons were cut, etc.

I haven’t seen those folks in over 30 years. The last time I saw them, their son was still living with them, he had never been able to work when he grew up. Medical expenses had been ongoing all those years too. There was no one to sue, the builders had done nothing wrong at that time.

Some might call that a freak accident. Aren’t they all?

No matter how hard it may be to locate one, I would never have a glass shower door that is not tempered.

Rex

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

johanson

Nov 1, 2004, 3:33 PM

Post #8 of 9 (5681 views)

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Re: [RexC] Shower glass thickness

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What am I missing here? Why would you use glass? Why not Plexiglas? Several of the most expensive homes in Ajijic use either clear or frosted plexiglas.

After reading RexC's post below, I looked more carefully at what I thought was frosted plexiglas. It's smooth plastic.

(This post was edited by johanson on Nov 1, 2004, 6:45 PM)

Papirex

Nov 1, 2004, 6:39 PM

Post #9 of 9 (5667 views)

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Re: [johanson] Shower glass thickness

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There is no reason why Plexiglas couldn’t be used. The original poster was asking about glass. More care must be exercised when cleaning Plexiglas as it scratches easily. There may be cleaning solutions that I don’t know about. When I flew light planes we used a solution containing wax to clean the windshields. The wax was so the windshield would shed water if you flew under any light rain. (Heavy rain and you did a 180° or put it down.)

Frosted Plexiglas may take care of the cleaning problem, but soap scum is a little hard to remove even on glass. The house we live in now is less than two years old, the showers have sliding doors with plastic in them, not Plexiglas. The plastic is frosted, I don’t know how she does it, but our maid keeps them clean without scratching them. When the temperature rises, the plastic expands and buckles so the they rub together. Not deluxe, but safe.

If it was my house, I would have used glass or Plexiglas ( as long as we keep the same maid.J )

Rex
"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo