Shower doors · Montreal
Glass shower doors and panels for Montreal bathrooms
Few Montreal bathrooms were designed around a glass door. The tub sits between two walls in a plex built long before the 1980s, or fills one end of a compact condo bathroom, and a curtain has been doing its best. A glass door or fixed screen can go onto that tub or shower as it is. We pass your request to an independent local glass professional who measures, recommends sliding, hinged or fixed glass, and quotes. Planning a walk-in shower instead? See custom and walk-in enclosures.
- Fits the tub or shower you already have
- Tempered safety glass as standard
- Measured to walls that aren't square
Door styles
Sliding, hinged or fixed: choose by the room
The right door depends less on taste than on what's in the way: the toilet beside the tub, the vanity opposite, the swing of the bathroom door.
Sliding (bypass) doors
Panels glide along the tub ledge, so nothing swings into a narrow plex bathroom. But you step in through a gap narrower than the tub, and the track needs cleaning.
Hinged or pivot doors
A wide opening and no bottom track, but the door needs room to swing out and a wall solid enough for hinges. On a tub, a hinged screen often covers just the shower end.
A fixed panel
No moving parts. On a tub it stops splashing at the shower end; on a shower base it works when the entrance is wide enough to go without a door.
On an existing tub
Replacing a shower door on a tub you already have
Most requests start with a tub that's staying. The pro checks that the ledge is flat enough for a track, that the side walls are plumb, and what they're made of, since tile over plaster and a fibreglass surround take anchors differently. Older plex bathrooms are seldom square, so frameless glass is measured on site and cut to the real angles.
If it's the old door that's failing, a repair may do: worn rollers, a split sweep or a loose hinge can often be replaced alone. Shower doors are one of several bathroom and household glass jobs we route to local pros.
Safety glass
Tempered glass: a requirement, not an option
Canadian building codes require safety glass, tempered or laminated, in shower and bathtub enclosures. Quebec's building rules are set out in its Construction Code, based on the national code. Tempered glass is the baseline for any shower door, not an upgrade.
How tempered glass behaves
It's cut, edged and drilled, then heat-treated, which makes it far stronger; if it breaks, it crumbles into small, blunt pieces. Nothing can be trimmed afterwards, so niche shelves are cut to size on the same order.
Clear, frosted or low-iron
Clear glass makes a small bathroom feel larger. Frosted or patterned glass adds privacy where roommates share a bathroom, and hides water spots. Low-iron glass drops the green edge tint that shows against white tile.
What affects the quote
What drives the price of a shower door
Every door is sized to its opening. Expect questions about:
- Sliding, hinged, pivot or a single fixed panel
- Framed, semi-frameless or frameless, and the glass thickness each needs
- Clear, low-iron, frosted or patterned glass
- Hardware finish and the number of hinges, clamps or rollers
- A tub ledge or walls out of square, or tile needing special anchors
- Removing the old door and carrying glass up to the flat
Send a photo from the doorway, the width at top and bottom, and the height you want.
Upkeep
Cleaning and caring for a glass shower
Squeegee after each shower and wipe weekly with mild soap or diluted vinegar; scouring pads leave scratches that hold soap film. Keep a sliding door's track and drain holes clear, and follow the maker's instructions for coated glass. In winter, run the fan: excess humidity and mould are common in Quebec homes, and a mirror over the vanity clears faster too.
Plexes and condos
Plex and condo bathrooms: access and measurements
In Villeray and other plex neighbourhoods, upper flats are often reached by an outdoor spiral staircase that a full-height panel can't turn. Mention the floor and the stairs so the pro can plan the carry or suggest smaller panels.
In a condo, book the service elevator and ask the syndicate what it expects of contractors. If the work goes beyond the door, such as plumbing or retiling, check with the syndicate and your borough first; see condo owners and syndicates.
Tenants should raise a failing shower door with the landlord before booking anyone. The Tribunal administratif du logement explains urgent and necessary repairs for both sides, and landlords can send us the request directly.
Questions
Shower door questions
Explore your options
Other bathroom and glass work
Independent glass pros fit shower doors across Montreal and nearby cities, including Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, Verdun, Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Longueuil.
Send a photo of the tub or shower
Include the width of the opening and whether the tub is staying. The glass professional we pass it to will say so if new rollers or a sweep will set the old door right.