Installing a shower door is not the most difficult of tasks, but it’s still better to let a professional take care of it instead of doing it yourself. In this article, a local handyman from Home & Business Services shows the necessary steps for the process, as well as the tools he uses for the job.
Home & Business Services – HBSOnTime.com in short, is a family-owned local business operating since 2013 in the Greater Fredericksburg Area, VA. They offer their services within a 50-mile radius, including the counties of Culpeper, Caroline, King George, Louisa, Orange, Stafford, and Spotsylvania. Apart from local handymen, their employees include highly-trained experts in professional cleaning services (residential, commercial, air ducts, windows, carpets), home maintenance, and turnkey services.
Without further ado, let’s see the local handyman‘s take on installing a shower door:
TOOLS: safety glasses, measuring tape, pencil, hacksaw (32 teeth per inch blade), miter box, level, electric drill, 1/4″ masonry drill bit (for installing on marble or tile), 1/8″ drill bit (for installing on fiberglass), center punch, power screwdriver, caulk gun, ladder;
STEPS:
- The local handyman will measure the wall to wall distance, leaving room for the wall channels to slide;
- He will place the track in the center of the tub ledge, with the high side on the outside, so water from the shower doesn’t spill on the floor;
- The local handyman will then slide the wall channels over the track, to get an exact fit, without moving the track on the tub ledge from its position. He will use the level to make sure that the wall channels are plumb with the wall, then he will mark the mounting holes of the wall channel on both sides. Last but not least, he will drill and insert the wall anchors;
- Before the actual track installation, the surface has to be cleaned so that the silicone sealant will adhere properly. The worker will apply a bead of the sealant to the grout line representing the track’s end (on the underside, only the outside leg will need a thick continuous bead). Next, the track will be positioned on the tub, in the previously marked area, and the wall channels will be installed, fit into place, and screwed securely (with bumpers at the top and bottom screw locations);
- The local handyman will install the header, not before measuring to make sure that it will fit onto the wall channels. Next, he will slide the header down on top of the wall channels;
- He will install the rollers on the glass door panels. For the outer sliding panel, they will be mounted on the same side as the bottom guide channel;
- The handyman will install the inner-sliding panel, checking that it’s plumb to the wall (its edge should touch both bumpers). The outer-sliding panel will be lifted on the underside of the header, with both rollers resting on the outer track, and released so that the bottom guide channel slides over the high side of the track;
- Last but not least, silicone sealant will be applied to both ends of the track (where it meets the wall channel), as well as the inside and outside seams of the channels – leaving it to dry for one hour.