shower sliding doors

**John Arnold** · 03-21-2013, 10:41 AM

This new shower has two sliding doors, except the one furthest from the shower head doesn't move. I can't remember encountering this before. Is there some reason for this, or a reason why it's bad? Seems like you should be able to enter the shower away from the spray in case it's too hot, etc.

shower.jpg

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**Scott Patterson** · 03-21-2013, 11:20 AM

What did the top track and support look like? Did it have a roller on the top or was it fixed?

**John Arnold** · 03-21-2013, 11:28 AM

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

What did the top track and support look like? Did it have a roller on the top or was it fixed?

Scott - Thanks. I don't know the answer to your questions. Here's a photo of the other end of the door handle, with a suspicious-looking screw.

shower screw.jpg

**Scott Patterson** · 03-21-2013, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by John Arnold

Scott - Thanks. I don't know the answer to your questions. Here's a photo of the other end of the door handle, with a suspicious-looking screw.

shower screw.jpg

Looking at the picture it looks like the door has been fixed in place by that screw. If it had rollers at the top for it to move on then I can see no reason for both doors to not slide back and forth.

**Jeff Langhorn** · 03-21-2013, 04:50 PM

Maybe a door was fixed so they couldn't get configured as to let the water spray leak between the doors. I'm guessing the shower head is located on the right. The water would go right to the floor since it's a full shower and possibly get slick.

Jeff

**Jerry Peck** · 03-21-2013, 05:50 PM

Many are fixed in place from the time of installation.

There is no requirement that both doors slide, even though both doors may be able to slide, it is personal choice of the builder, designer, occupant, etc., not the manufacturer.

Many times the double slider is selected as the opening is slightly off from a perfect standard opening size, install the double slider doors, which just happen to be 'self-adjusting' to the width of the opening, anchor the intended-to-be-fixed door in place and you still have a the one door which slides for entry.

Rod Corwin · 03-22-2013, 08:05 AM

Originally Posted by Jeff Langhorn

Maybe a door was fixed so they couldn't get configured as to let the water spray leak between the doors. I'm guessing the shower head is located on the right. The water would go right to the floor since it's a full shower and possibly get slick.

Jeff

I agree. The people in my house can't seem to get the configuration right and I am constantly telling them. Always walking in to a wet floor.

**Phillip Norman** · 03-22-2013, 08:50 AM

I think people are smart enough to configure doors correctly. The pinned door should be freed. There is a related large concern. There is commonly a plastic alignment clip at the bottom extrusion. This clip must be movable, to safely tilt doors for cleaning, or to remove them for a fairly-frequent good reason. The bottom extrusion is a poor seal in most cases, and may get gooped with silicone. Bad idea. The extrusion should be sold always with a greased resilient seal. I have once seen discreetly the horrible consequence of jimmying doors for removal despite the fixed-in-place alignment clip. Thousands of glass shards where a tempered-glass door crashed on tile, while simply sliding the door open. Blood. Screams.

**Jerry Peck** · 03-22-2013, 05:52 PM

Originally Posted by Phillip Norman

I think people are smart enough to configure doors correctly. The pinned door should be freed.

I disagree on both statements ... one would *hope* that people are smart enough to slide the right door to the right place so that the shower does not spray out the gap because the overlap is backwards ... but not all are, or not all notice the difference.

There is no need to un-pin the fixed in place door is that was the intended installation for the door.

The rest of what you state as being applicable to all (there was no exception stated that it only applied to doors made as you described) because there are *many* styles of bottom tracks, and top tracks, and some of the bottom tracks not only do not have a plastic clip in the bottom but there is no need for a bottom alignment clip as they have their own individual tracks.

I repeat - there is no reason to un-pin that fixed in place door if it was intended to be installed that way, and we simply do not have sufficient information to determine that the door was not intended to be installed that way. The only way to know would to have been there at the time of construction.

**John Kogel** · 03-22-2013, 08:53 PM

Originally Posted by John Arnold

This new shower has two sliding doors, except the one furthest from the shower head doesn't move. I can't remember encountering this before. Is there some reason for this, or a reason why it's bad? Seems like you should be able to enter the shower away from the spray in case it's too hot, etc.

shower.jpg

I prefer to slide the near door open, reach in and turn the faucet without getting sprayed.
We've all had to dodge spray to turn a shower valve off when the door closest to the head won't slide. That's annoying.

If people were smart enough to keep water in the shower, we wouldn't have to report soggy drywall and rotten floors.

**Jerry Peck** · 03-23-2013, 07:04 PM

Originally Posted by John Kogel

I prefer to slide the near door open, reach in and turn the faucet without getting sprayed.

So do I.

However, what we do not know, unless I missed it, is the layout of the bathroom in relation the shower, shower doors, shower control, and the shower door's sliding panels - is there sufficient space in front of the shower along the entire front access side of the shower - or is there a restriction at one end which precludes entry to/exit from the shower?

Frequently there is a toilet or vanity cabinet at or near one end which restricts access to the shower at that area, if this is the case then there is no reason for that end's siding door to side.

If there is no restriction blocking access to that area of the shower, is there some other apparent reason for having that door fixed in place? If not, there may have been some other reason for that door to be fixed. we just do not have sufficient information to determine if that fixed door 'should be un-fixed and made such that it is allowed to move' ... making such a call with what we know would, in my opinion, be a 'bad call' and an error in reporting.