Shower enclosures come in a wide variety of styles and finishes. It can seem daunting at first, but once you know the process as well as the steps you need to take, it really is easy.

The tools you will require are: 

  • Spirit level
  • Silicone and a silicone gun
  • Cordless drill with a suitable drill bit for drilling through tiles
  • Tape measure
  • Pens or pencils for marking 
  • Screwdriver
  • Rubber mallet 
  • Pipe and cable detector before you drill your tiles 


Whatever type of enclosure you choose, double check that all of the products and parts. 

You should have: 

  • shower screen glass (this particular one comes in 3 sections of glass), one will be the side panel and the other 2 will be placed together to form the sliding door
  • Aluminium frame (as individual pieces)
  • Seals 
  • Top and bottom rail where the wheels will be connected
  • Wheels for the sliding door
  • Handle 
  • Some fixings (eg screw caps, rubber stoppers etc)

And always make yourself familiar with the instruction manual!

The first thing you need to do is lay everything out flat. Make sure that everything required is in the kit. A good tip for assembly is organising everything in order of assembly. A wise tip is to place a piece of cardboard over your shower base, as you don’t want to damage it or mark it if you are wearing hard wearing footwear.

You can then start to assemble your frame. These will be the 4 metal bars, 2 large for the sides and 2 smaller ones for the bottom, simply screw them into position using your drill or screwdriver.

This frame will be where the sliding glass door as well as the piece of glass will go. After screwing these 4 together, then you can slide your magnetic strip into the side of the frame, a key trick is to do it once it is on the floor, making it much easier to slide through. Then you can place the other strip next to it, this will attach magnetically. 

Then offer your frame up onto your shower base, to get the correct measurements for it. Remove this then use your pen/pencil to mark through the holes where they are on the frame onto the tiles in preparation for drilling. Before you drill, make sure the frame is level, use a spirit level for this, then you can use a pipe/cable detector to make sure you’re not drilling through any cables or pipes.

 

Depending on your tile thickness, you should use a diamond tip drill bit as this won’t crack or damage your tiles, ensure that it is on the drill setting and NOT the hammer action one. Start off with your drill at 45 degrees then straighten up to 90 degrees as you complete your drilling.

Then plug and screw the frame into position.

Now the frame has been installed correctly, measure the end of the frame, this will give you the other side of the frame where the two side frames meet to form the edge.

Once again, drill plug and screw the other side into the tiles, making sure it is level.

With this particular shower enclosure, this side has a glass piece that is the full length of the desired side. You can move it into position, slotting it in the frame that you have just drilled into the wall. There are screw holes in this side which will be screwed in later once you are happy everything is square, level and fits correctly. It also fits into the side of where you drilled the other frame in before. 

Once fitted together, make sure that it is level on all sides, using the spirit level.

Next you’ll have to install your fixed panel, which is the piece of glass next to the sliding door. Gently place it into the frame then move it over to the side of the frame that is against the tiles, screw the little brackets into the top and bottom to hold this panel into position. 

Once these brackets are in place, apply one of the sealing strips, this will go in between the frame and the glass on the inside with the shower, this is used for keeping moisture from going out of the frame on this side. You can use a rubber mallet to help you with this.

Hanging the door into position is the next step. Take a screwdriver and undo the screws on the wheeled brackets, attach the bracket over the pre cut out hole over the top and bottom of the door, there should be 2 on each. For this step, you can use a few pieces of polystyrene to keep the door off the floor during this stage, as you don’t want to get it scratched or damaged.

Lift the door into position and place the wheels over the top and bottom of the frame so they can attach to the sliding rail mechanism properly. Once you have done this, make sure your door slides and closes before proceeding.

Then place the other side of the magnetic sealing strip over the part of the door which will close the door tightly when you take a shower. 

At this point, you can install a little rubber stopper, at the top and bottom of the door, this will stop the sliding door from slamming against the tile if it is opened too much. You can fit this with a small screw.

You can then fix your door handle onto the outside of the door, again this comes with small screws and can be screwed into position.

Now that it is looking good, you can measure the levels with your spirit level once again, this is for screwing the glass panels into the frame which is screwed into the tiles. This will give it overall structural strength. 

There should be screw holes in the frame that is screwed into the wall, however, there won’t be on the fixed panel pieces of glass. Use a drill to drill a pilot hole through the metal that is underneath the panel. Screw your little flathead screws and hand tighten. Repeat this over the rest of the frame. There should be ones on the top, middle and bottom of the sides. This provides you structural strength. 

Remove the screw that go into the tiles, one at a time. This is because you need to place the cover over the head of the screw, screw it back into position and then place the cap on top. This will keep it watertight, and not allow water to get into the parts of the tiles with screws in. 

You can then place your door seals on, this will go on the edges of the sliding door and the standing glass, this will keep water from getting our of your shower. The biggest one goes on the inside of the glass, then place the smaller one on the outside of the glass. Make sure the door slides correctly before proceeding.

The last part is to take your silicone and silicone gun and run it around all of the edges, where the frame meets the tiles, as well as where the frame meets the shower base. I’m using a clear, transparent sealant, but you can use whatever colour you want to match to your tiles. This will keep any movement to a minimum. 

After striking the line of silicone in, before it dries you can use a wet finger to smooth it off before it dries. I am also putting a line of silicone in around my shower base where it meets the tiles, to make sure no water can go behind it. 

All you need to do now is to make sure your water works, then take a nice shower in your brand new enclosure! 

If you’d like to see Bathroom Mountain’s full range of enclosures, click here: https://www.bathroommountain.co.uk/shower-enclosures

Or if you’d like to see the full step by step guide and to see more guides, click here and subscribe to the YouTube channel. https://youtu.be/LrhChcQJkkA