Glass Company For Your Next Project.
The Quality Of Their Products Than We Do!
It goes without saying that a large company equals large buying power
and therefore lower prices. Right? Look at the big box stores. If they
have it on their shelf or they can order it from one of their vendors while
you wait, then yes they are indeed cheap. But that is not necessarily the
case if they have to send out someone who knows what they are doing.
There are many circumstances in which they can get away with sending
someone who kind of understands what they are doing, but there are
many more circumstances where they would need to use a pro. This is
the case with frameless shower enclosures and low-E window glass.
That's when it will cost you more than you were expecting. If they are
still cheap, then be careful and understand what you might be getting
into. As a Benjamin Franklin once said: "The bitterness of poor quality
remains long after the sweetness of low prices are forgotten."
We try to find the middle ground between low price/low quality
companies and high price/because they can get away with it companies.
We don't have the massive buying power of our larger competitors, but
we also don't have the massive overhead either. This allows us to remain
competitively priced while still caring about what we do. Other small
companies may have low overhead and offer low prices, but they have to
take on so much work to make a profit that they don't have time to care.
This does make it hard for us in a tough economy, but we are not willing
to give up on our principles.
With regards to heavy glass frameless shower enclosures: Just because
it is frameless doesn't mean that it has to leak (i.e. splash-out through the
gaps around the door). Every frameless shower we quote includes the
cost of not only the sweep, but for clear strike pieces and hinge side
sweeps as well. We have had consistent success at preventing all but the
most minor amounts of splash-out, while still looking quite attractive as a
frameless shower should. To our knowledge, no other company around
does this. Why do they cost so much: Often times hours will be spent
just getting the glass ordered correctly. One size does not fit all. We
must take into consideration the margin of error of up to approximately
1/8" when cutting and polishing each glass panel or door. Unlike some
other trades, if we order it wrong, even by a little bit, then we can't use it
or return it. It's just hundreds of dollars down the drain. So a level of
risk associated with ordering and handling your glass is factored into the
price. As stated above, you are paying for professionals, including the
owner, to come out to measure and install the shower glass. That means
that the same guys that came out to measure are the same guys doing the
installation.
With regards to framed or semi-frameless showers: If you are
looking for a cheap (low to mediocre quality) door or enclosure (installed
by mister in and out in a hour guy), perhaps for a rental property, then
frankly we are not the company to call. At this time we only sell Alumax
shower enclosures and are no longer installing fully framed doors. Every
door we install will have polished edges and a loop handle or a towel bar.
We are looking for customers who are tired of putting up with poor
quality just so they can get a rock bottom price, but are wary of paying
top dollar just to find out they way overpaid.
Just as it is important for glass to be measured correctly, the quality
of the tile work is also important for a top notch fit & finish. For a heavy
glass frameless wall-mounted door to operate correctly, tile or marble
walls must be true (i.e.: not bowed or wavy). They can lean a little, but
care should be taken to make sure each tile is flush and true with the next
one, at least where the door will be mounted. It is also always a good
idea to mount additional studs in the wall where the door will be hanging
prior to installing Hardi Backer or cement board, just to make sure that a
heavy door will not pull the screws right out of the wall. It is not
necessarily a requirement, but it is still a good idea. Sheet rock alone will
not suffice and is generally a bad idea around wet areas with grout lines.
If the walls are bowed badly or are extremely wavy, then a header with
pivot hinges may be required in a situation where a header might not
normally be required. Please note that a wall mounted towel bar or
window sill ledge that will be near the out-swing of a shower door is
usually the best reason to use a header with pivot hinges, as the pivot
point on the door can usually be manipulated to allow the door to open
the full 90 degrees without hitting the object in the way. The same
applies for a door-mounted towel bar. If a header is not desired, then
careful planing needs to occur to avoid this type of problem. We work
with some very good (and often very competitive) contractors, and we
would be more than happy to refer them to you if you will just give us a
call and tell us about your project
