There is no denying the fact that frameless shower doors can add a classy effect to your shower instantly. While they are appealing and stylish, they have their fair share of problems.
You can fix some problems yourself, and for some, you will need to seek professional help.
One of the most crucial parts of a frameless shower door is the hinges. Here, I will mainly discuss frameless shower door hinges problems.
So, if you have frameless shower doors or you are planning to get one, this can be very helpful for you.
Problems With The Frameless Shower Door Hinges
There are several issues that you will come across with your door hinges. Since the door is frameless, most of your problems with these doors are related to hinges.
Let’s look at some of the issues you can face with frameless shower doors.
- Doors Getting Stuck
Sometimes you will see that the shower doors are sticking. Most of the time, the cause of this will be a loose screw on the hinges.
So, you should be looking into your hinges and check for any loose screws there.
Another cause of this problem can be scum buildup from soap. When there is a lot of soap scum buildup on your door, it may get stuck over time.
FIXES TO TRY
Now, to fix this issue, you can try out different things. If there are loose screws on the hinges, you have to opt for tightening the loose screws.
While you are on that, you can also tighten all the screws simultaneously.
As for the soap buildup, you have to go through a deep cleaning session on the door. You can create a solution using vinegar and dish detergent.
Or you can use lemon water instead of vinegar. Then, simply use that to wipe your door. Finish off the cleaning by scrubbing the door using a toothbrush.
- The Shower Door Isn’t Staying Closed
This is a common problem a lot of people face with a frameless shower door. Your shower door isn’t closing properly or isn’t staying closed.
The main reason for this issue is loose screws. The screws can be loose in any part of the door, such as the handles, latches, or hinges.
FIXES TO TRY
Well, the fix here is similar to the previous one. You can take a screwdriver and tighten all the screws equally. Usually, this should fix the problem.
However, if it doesn’t, you may need to clean the hinges correctly.
To clean your door hinges, simply scrub them, or you can use a brush with a bit of vinegar, then brush the hinges.
This should remove any kind of dirt or debris stuck in the hinges. Most of the time, this fixes the issue.
These are some typical problems that you may face with your frameless shower door that you can fix yourself.
However, another thing is pretty crucial with frameless shower doors. It’s the hinge adjustment.
Sometimes, the frameless door will sag a lot. This mostly happens when the hinges of your doors are not correctly tightened, or they are sliding down over time.
This is a pretty common issue to face with frameless shower doors.
Tightening the screws may be a solution to this problem, but that may not work all the time. So, what you will have to do then is to adjust the door hinges and make sure the door isn’t sagging anymore.
Let’s look at how you can adjust the door hinges to fix the sagging issue.
Adjusting Frameless Shower Door Hinges
If your shower door is sagging and leaking from the sides, then you have to adjust the hinges to fix the problem. Luckily, it’s a DIY process, so you don’t have to wait for professional help to do this job.
Although, you might need some assistance with this job. Along with that, you will need some tools as well.
Here are the tools that you will need to get the job done.
- Wooden Shims
- Allen key
Once you get everything ready, you can jump into the process. It’s pretty simple; you can just follow the steps I discuss here.
- First of all, get inside your shower. Then, you have to close the door to begin working on the adjustments. Tell your partner to hold the door and keep it closed while you work on the hinges.
- Start by loosening the bolts that you have on your door’s hinges. Usually, turning the bolts counterclockwise two times gets the job done. You will need to use the proper size of the Allen key when you are doing this job.
- While doing that, you have to hold the door and tell your partner to install the wooden shims on both the top and bottom of the door. This will make sure the alignment is straight across the door.
- Next, you have to hold the door while it’s closed and then tighten the bolts to fix the alignment. Before you start tightening make sure, the door is aligned correctly and not missing out on some parts.
- After ensuring proper alignment, you can finally tighten all the bolts of all the hinges.
- Then, you have to remove the wooden shims. After that, open the door and check the alignment. Then, close it again to see if the alignment is thorough or not. If you see it’s still not aligned properly, you can repeat the whole process to align the doors properly.
Now, one thing you should do before going through this complete procedure checks the door’s state. Whether your door needs adjustment on the alignment or you need to reset the enclosure frames can be a concern.
Suppose it’s the alignment. You can do it yourself, as I discussed.
But if you have to reset the enclosure frames, you will need to opt for professional help. To check the state of your door, you will need a 36-inch level.
Use the level and place it vertically wherever the door closes. Then, check if the top bubble on the level is intersecting a bubble line or not.
If the lines intersect, you will have to reset the frame, for which you will need professional help. But if the bubble is right between the lines, you will need to adjust the alignment, which you can do yourself.
Aside from these problems, there are other issues with frameless shower doors, like scratches on the door or a dragging shower door.
However, these aren’t related to the hinges, and most of the time, you will need professional help to solve these problems. That’s why I am not going to be discussing them here.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Your glass shower door won’t stay closed if you have loose screws on hinges, latches, or handles.
Yes, the hinges can be adjusted but you need someone to assist you to hold the door fully open and adjust the hex-head machine bolts located inside the hinges.
As long as you have the replacement parts of the same size, you can change the hardware on your shower door.
When your shower door is out of level, it will keep sliding open. Adjusting the rollers should fix this problem.
Conclusion
To sum up, frameless shower door hinges problems aren’t something that you should be losing your sleepover. They are pretty easy to solve once you know what’s wrong with the door.
For the most part, you can fix these issues by yourself. But if you don’t want to take any risks whatsoever, you can always go for professional help without overthinking.