A sliding enclosure has to travel, and that is what makes a Paterson tub alcove interesting. Two panels hang from a header and pass each other across the full width of the opening, so they need the same clearance at the top, at the middle and down at the rim. In the original bathrooms here those three numbers are rarely equal. We take all of them, build the panels to the tightest one, and close what is left with seals rather than force. Both panels are tempered safety glass, cut in our Lodi shop.
A hinged door only has to fit where it hangs. A bypass has to fit everywhere it travels. Both panels move across the whole width of the opening, passing one another in the middle, so every inch of that path needs the same clearance. That is why the width gets taken at the header line, again at about mid height, and once more down at the tub rim or the curb. In an old alcove those three readings can differ by a surprising amount, since the walls are rarely square to begin with. The panels are built to the smallest of them. Build to the widest instead and they bind partway across, and no adjustment at the top will free them.
What that leaves is a little slack at the looser end, and slack is what the seals are for. A vinyl fin rides each jamb and closes the space between glass and wall, and where the panels cross at the center, a clear strip on each leading edge shuts that seam. Nothing has to be forced against a wall to make it tight. The middle reading earns its place as well: a jamb can bow out halfway up while standing true at the top and the bottom, and a tape at those two heights alone would miss it. It is a slower measure than a new build in a finished bathroom, and it is the part that decides whether the panels run easily or fight the opening.
In a Hillcrest or Wrigley cape, or a two-family in Riverside or Sandy Hill, the original bathrooms were drawn small, and a tub alcove in one of them has little floor in front of it to give away. Sliding glass suits a room like that because both panels travel inside the width of the alcove, so nothing already standing in the room has to give up an inch. The glass goes onto the existing tub, and the tub itself is not touched. What varies from one house to the next is who meets us at the door. Sometimes it is the person who owns the bathroom. In a two-family it may be a tenant's bathroom in the owner's building, and the tenant is the one who opens up. That, more than the room, is what shapes the visits.
Getting through the door is what sets the calendar. Somebody has to be there to let us in, so the measure and the install are booked for a window a tenant, a family member or whoever holds the key can actually meet, and we keep both of them short. The install runs as one visit: header up, panels hung, guide set, seals fitted, and we say when the shower can be used again. Both trips run from Lodi, about twelve minutes out by Route 20 or Route 19, so if an alcove needs reading twice, that second trip is ours to make and not a problem you have to solve. Our own crew does the work, licensed and insured, and nothing of the old enclosure stays behind.
Tub alcoves in Paterson two-families, plus jobs from Clifton, Garfield and Elmwood Park. Notice how close each panel runs to the tile at either end, and how much of a small room is still floor once the glass is closed.
More custom glass in Paterson: frameless shower doors, semi-frameless shower doors, shower door replacement. See everything on our Paterson, NJ page. Sliding & Bypass Shower Doors nearby: Paramus, Ridgewood, Hackensack, Fort Lee, Lodi, Midland Park, Englewood, Teaneck, Fair Lawn, Mahwah, Wyckoff, Tenafly, Franklin Lakes, Ramsey, Glen Rock, Montclair, Wayne, Carlstadt. Learn more about our sliding frameless shower doors statewide, or read the How much do shower doors cost in NJ? and Modern shower design ideas that last guides.
There is no single figure, because it depends where the difference sits. A quarter inch spread over the whole height disappears into the jamb seals. The same quarter inch bunched at the rim, where the panels pass closest, is what makes a door catch halfway. So we look at where the taper is, not only how big it is. Past what the seals can absorb, a filler strip is set plumb against the wall and the panels are built to that.
The back wall is the easy place, because both panels travel along the front of the tub and never come near it. The end walls take more thought. Each time the shower is opened, the inner panel slides all the way to one end, and a bar set close to the front edge there can sit right where that panel stops. Tell us at the measure where the bar is going, or show us if it is already up, so the two can be planned around each other.
Far enough ahead that you can tell your tenant first. Give us the days that work and we will put the measure in one of them. The install is a separate visit and the same rule applies to it. Both are short, and all we need is access to the bathroom and a clear path to carry glass in. A date can move if your tenant's plans move, since nothing is on order at that stage.
The clearance worth checking is not in front of the glass, it is your own reach over the rim. Nothing swings out toward the sink, so one person can stand at the vanity while another opens the shower. What changes is the lean: running a bath, rinsing the tub or bathing a small child all happen over the rim through the open side, with glass at your shoulder rather than a curtain you can push aside. Try that reach before the measure, with the sink where it is.
It is a decision rather than a standard. The panels are cut to a height that keeps spray inside without turning the tub into a box, and where the tile stops usually has a say. In a small bathroom, going too high makes the room feel shut in and makes the panels heavier to move. We measure the tub, the shower head and the tile line, recommend a height and put it on the quote.
Some finishes far more than others. Polished chrome shows spotting the most, brushed nickel hides it best, and matte black stays clear of spots but holds smudges and fingerprints. Whichever you choose, what actually keeps the metal looking new is a squeegee or a towel kept within reach of the tub. Where several people share one bathroom, that makes brushed nickel the practical pick.
A bypass is built around the narrowest width across your tub, and the gap between that and the widest is what the seals take up. Finding both is what the free in-home measure is for, and an itemized written quote comes after the visit. Call or text (201) 460-1313.
A bypass is built around the narrowest width across your tub, and the gap between that and the widest is what the seals take up. Finding both is what the free in-home measure is for, and an itemized written quote comes after the visit. Call or text (201) 460-1313.
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