Floating Shower Door/Panel

[Andrew Dale]

Long story short: Has anyone ever seen or had experience with a shower door/inline panel that are not sealed at the floor, but instead only attached to the wall?

We're redoing our small 50's master bath. We have a ~40" wide opening after tile and we've done a curbless design and have waterproofed out 2-3' from the shower entry for a slight wetroom feel. The shower floor is sloped to the drain the appropriate amount and has been tested to confirm that water that falls near the doorway will flow down into the drain and not out into the bathroom. I wish I could avoid the panel, but the largest door I've seen is 36".

So, with such a small bathroom, the less material we have mucking up the view, the larger it will feel. Every shower door system I can find either uses a U-channel design or needs a mount on the floor for the inline panel. I'm wondering if, since the door will be hinged to the left wall and the panel attached on the right, there's any reason to not use some sort of system that would leave a 3-4" gap below the door and only be attached to the walls.

I know, this is a bit more different, but I'm just looking for ideas. I'm really just trying to avoid drilling into the floor for the bottom support as that seems like it could lead to troubles with waterproofing. I wouldn't mind just doing a splash shield panel, but my wife is a tiny thing that gets cold easily.

Any tips, or recommendations? Here's a pic of the initial layout. Some measurements have changed, but you get the idea for the layout.

 

[Richard Galvan]

Wow! Your idea of floating shower door is truly a great idea. I would have considered something like this for my bathroom too. A few weeks before, I got done with my bathroom renovation process. We used a frameless shower enclosure which was about 85"h. The contractor, we hired, changed the configuration so that it opens into the shower so as not to drip water on the floor while getting out. My wife happened to see this blog http://www.waldenhomes.ca/7-Bathrooms-to-Inspire-You while searching for some bathroom designs and it has some really good design. May be you can refer this for better designs.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[hj]

A door opening INTO the shower is completely illegal. If someone were to become incapacitated for some reason there would be no way to open the door other than to destroy it.

 

[Andrew Dale]

Well, a door opening ONLY into the shower is illegal, right? If it swings both ways, there shouldn't be any issues. But, that's beside the point.

 

[Jadnashua]

There's nothing that says a glass panel must be supported underneath or have a channel there...it will make it harder to contain water, though. Just look at glass entry doors used in commercial situations - supported entirely by hinges on the side. It needs to be tempered. This site has some pictures of various configurations that might inspire you.

http://www.wilsonglass.com/shower-doors/

I've not dealt with them, but have heard of others that have with good results. I have no financial association with them. Any good glass shop should be able to replicate something similar if you want.