Shower Doors and Enclosures Are Used Every Day by Millions of People in America

Shower Doors and Enclosures are used every day by millions of people in America, Europe and throughout the world. This article looks to explain the differences in design and manufacture of those products used in America and Europe. Design American shower enclosures and doors are mainly completely frameless. Their construction is 8 or 10mm glass and a variety of hinges and brackets. These often come as standard and are offered by most companies in that market sector. European designs however are constructed with an aluminum frame and are all quite different. Their aluminum construction means there are more moving parts and more tooling’s needing for complex aluminum sections. This means that most companies designs are completely different to each others. Reasons for Difference is Design and Appearance American bathrooms are mainly tiled, this includes the floor. This means that the showering areas do not have to be any particular size, and there can be a big tolerance in construction from the original plans when building a new house. Therefore shower enclosures are an afterthought in this process and a shower enclosure must be custom fit to suit an existing space. European Designs however mainly use a shower tray, the installation of this is extremely central to the construction process and therefore the showering area is dictated by it. The use of a shower tray originally comes from the fact that in the 1980′s, most European bathrooms had carpeted floors. So a shower tray was needed to contain any water. This has also lead to more aluminum being used in European shower enclosure design, because the door must retain water. Main differences in Design Shower Trays Trays are used in European bathroom suites and dictate the showering space, therefore enclosures can be pre-built because certain sizes are always used in construction. In America they are mainly not used, so custom doors are made to fit each particular scenario. Water Retention European customer expect shower enclosures to retain water as a fundamental part of their design, a door that leaks water is usually seen as faulty. Especially if the bathroom is carpeted as this will eventually damage the carpet. American bathroom design is not held by the same expectation and therefore the doors can leak water without being seen as faulty. Source: shower-enclosure