Pivot Shower Doors

The two main shower door types are pivots and sliders, and people have to choose among them, keeping in mind the design of the bathroom. For example, sliding doors can only be installed if there is enough room to the right of the stall (so that the door doesn't hit the wall, sink, toilet or cabinets), and pivot shower doors need to open outwards, to keep the user from getting trapped inside.

Pivot shower doors tend to be more common in larger bathrooms and can be the perfect choice for corner stalls, and are not typically used with bathtub shower combinations. People usually choose framed pivot shower doors for more conservative, traditional bathrooms.

The finishings of the frames come in a wide variety of choices, and can range from plain white aluminum to sterling to chrome. Frameless shower doors are fashionable and a perfect fit for trendy bathrooms. Made of tempered glass, they are hard to break, hard to scratch and easy to clean. Clear glass pivot shower doors can offer the feeling of open space and will make your bathroom look bigger.

Buying Considerations

When looking for a pivot shower door, make sure you know the sizes required by your shower stall. Contrary to popular belief, these measures are not standardized; the width and height of such a door can differ from one model to another by up to ten inches. Fancier, more expensive models come with adjustable sizes of three to four inches, but that is as far as it goes. You can't stretch or skew it outside this range. 

When shopping for pivot shower doors, keep in mind that you can get far better rates and a wider choice of models online, rather than at any shop in your town. Large online retailers usually have a huge database of manufacturers and have access to their whole catalog. Even if a certain model is not in stock at that moment, they will order it for you and deliver within a few weeks, which the corner brick and mortar shop most likely cannot.

Also, consider opting for insured shipping when buying your pivot shower door. Even if the glass is hard to break, you don't want to end up with one that is already cracked, or severely scratched. Carriers sometimes act carelessly with the packages they are delivering, and nothing will ruin your Friday afternoon more than finding out your $500 shower door already is broken, and you can't even use your shower stall properly.