Frameless vs semi-frameless shower glass

Frameless

Thick panels, polished edges, hinges or clips, almost no metal on the glass. It reads as a clear opening. It needs a square-enough wall, the right hinge, and seals that actually work. Out-of-plumb tile is normal; the glass is cut to the room.

Semi-frameless

A header or channel on some edges, still a lot of clear glass. Often the better job on a wider opening, a sliding door, or a wall that will not take a heavy frameless hinge. Easier to keep water in on some layouts.

Cost, cleaning, clearance

Cost follows thickness (10 mm vs 12 mm), number of panels, hardware, and how far out of square the tile is. Frameless is not automatically more expensive than a well-spec’d semi-frameless slider — and a cheap frameless door that dumps water on the floor is the expensive one.

Cleaning: less metal is faster to wipe. More metal can hide soap line. Neither stays clear if the seal is wrong.

Clearance: we template after the tile is finished. Shower valves, niches, and out-of-square corners are in the drawing. A door that hits a towel bar is a measure problem, not a glass problem.

If a panel breaks

Shower glass is tempered. A single cracked panel can often be matched in an existing system. We do not replace the enclosure to sell you a new one if one lite is the job.