glass shower door

How Safe are Frameless Glass Shower Doors?

If you’re looking for new glass shower doors in Chicago, you may be considering frameless shower doors. As experts in shower doors installation in Chicago, we’re often asked by customers if these frameless shower doors are safe. If you’re going to all the trouble of upgrading your shower installation, you want to make sure that your new doors are both sleek and safe. So let’s talk about the construction of these stylish doors.

Frameless shower doors are made of something called tempered glass. This kind of glass is up to five times stronger than standard, annealed glass. This means it’s extremely difficult to break these shower doors, which are typically around 3/8” thick. Additionally, if these doors do happen to shatter, they don’t break like traditional glass panes. Annealed glass, like you’d find in many windows, shatters into jagged, irregular pieces which can cut like blades. Obviously, this can be incredibly dangerous, particularly in a slippery situation like a shower. Tempered glass, on the other hand, shatters into small pebble-shaped pieces. If you’ve ever seen a smashed car window, those little pebbles on the ground are tempered glass shards. Due to this pattern of breakage, tempered glass is not only harder to break than standard glass, but also safer if it happens to shatter.

Even though these shower doors are quite durable, it’s wise to follow some basic safety measures when using them. Tempered glass is susceptible to shattering, particularly if struck along the edges. That’s why it’s always wise to take care when opening and closing the shower door and avoid letting it come into contact with any hard objects. All in all, these shower doors are the perfect combination of style, safety, and practicality. The experts at Imago Glass are the leading experts in shower glass doors in Chicago and can answer any questions you may have.