Sliding doors or hinges: which shower enclosure to choose

When you choose a custom shower enclosure, one of the first decisions is how the door opens. Sliding doors and hinged doors look similar when closed, but they behave quite differently in daily use. Here is how to work out which one suits your bathroom.

Hinged doors: a full opening and a clean look

A hinged door opens outwards, just like an ordinary door. When it is open, the entrance to the shower is completely clear, so stepping in is more comfortable and cleaning the glass is easier because there are no tracks.

The only condition is that there is room in front of the shower for the door to swing. If a basin, a cabinet or the bathroom door is right there, hinges may not be practical.

• a wide, unobstructed entrance
• fewer parts where water and limescale can collect
• needs free space in front of the enclosure

Hinges are also a good choice when you want the enclosure to look as simple as possible, with very little visible hardware. The glass takes centre stage and the bathroom looks calm and tidy.

Sliding doors: the answer when space is tight

Sliding doors move along the enclosure and take up no space in front of it. That makes them an excellent choice for smaller bathrooms, narrow walkways and layouts where the basin sits right next to the shower.

The entrance is a little narrower than with hinges, because one pane slides behind the other. The track and rollers need a wipe now and then, but that only takes a couple of minutes.

• no space needed in front of the shower
• a good fit for small bathrooms
• the entrance is slightly narrower than with a hinged door

Sliding doors are also practical when the shower sits in a walkway or when the bathroom door opens straight towards the enclosure. That way there is no risk of one door hitting the other.

Models for a niche and for a corner

For a niche between two walls you can choose between the flat hinged enclosure, Flat Pivot from 19,000 RSD, and the flat sliding enclosure, Flat Slide from 19,400 RSD.

For a corner shower there are more options. Linea Pivot has one hinged door and a fixed side panel, while Linea Slide has a sliding door, both from 21,000 RSD. On the Alfa Pivot both doors open, while Alfa Slide has two sliding doors and is especially handy in smaller bathrooms. Both Alfa models start from 24,300 RSD.

You can browse the models by opening type in our collections of hinged shower enclosures and sliding shower enclosures.

How to decide

Stand where you will step out of the shower and look at what is in front of you. If there is at least as much free space as the door is wide, hinges are an excellent choice. If there is a basin, a washing machine or a narrow walkway, sliding doors are the safer option.

Think also about who uses the bathroom. If children or older family members shower there, the wide entrance of a hinged door is often more comfortable. If the bathroom is small and every centimetre counts, sliding doors leave more room to move.

It also matters how you picture the cleaning. With hinges you only wipe the glass and hardware, while with sliding doors you also wipe the track now and then. The difference is small, but for some people it is decisive.

Whichever you choose, every enclosure is made of tempered glass and built to measure after a free measuring visit to your address. Production takes 7 to 15 working days, we install it ourselves, and the 2 year warranty covers the glass, hardware and installation.

Open the model you like, enter your measurements in the calculator and you will see the price straight away, with or without installation. If you are not sure which is better, book a free measurement and we will choose the right solution together.