Why Frameless glass is the preferred choice of Architects and Designers

Why Frameless Glass is the preferred choice of Architects & Designers

Why Frameless glass is the preferred choice of Architects and Designers

An interesting report carried out a few years ago – The 2018 UN World Urbanization Prospects Report – revealed some pretty shocking statistics. It is estimated that by 2050, a whopping 6.66 billion people will have migrated to, and would be needing accommodation in, cities and urban areas around the globe. The big question, therefore, is how are we going to make this possible?

 

Well, there is only so much land so standard living space is going to shrink and the design of apartments and offices will need a drastic change. The large spacious rooms with enclosed walls of today will become a thing of the past and one of the solutions to creating what at least feels like un-cramped, functional and beautiful to look at spaces will be the use of frameless glass.  

 

Frameless glass will become one of the most sought after materials and will be the common mandate and preferred choice of Architects and designers alike. As one Designer commented ‘’It has a unique quality in that it creates the illusion of space when there isn’t any!’’ 

 

Sounds like an invaluable commodity to Builders, Architects and Designers of the future, but it is already being deployed today in many applications, particularly in urban areas where space is at a premium. It can be used both in and outdoors, so let’s take a look at how and why frameless glass is the preferred choice of Architects and Designers…

 

Indoors 

 

Kitchens – We spend a lot of time there and newly designed homes use frameless glass to create a flow between this and other rooms, but still keep out steam and odour.  

 

Bathrooms – Incredibly functional and beautiful frosted frameless glass shower doors make the smallest room of the house look spacious and elegant! Frosted frameless glass eliminates the feeling of claustrophobia in this and other very small rooms but maintains privacy.

 

Balustrades – Glazed balustrades for interior staircases have thankfully replaced the stuffy stairwells we have experienced in the past.

 

Doors and walls – Cupboard doors or entrances to walk-in closets, sections of flooring and walls throughout the home are all applications of frameless glass. When doors and walls are frameless they have a feeling of simply not being there!

 

Outdoors

 

There is nothing more stunning to look at, more elegant and more functional than frameless glass handrails on balconies. Frameless glass is as hard-wearing, eco-friendly and more attractive than any other choice when used in this application and this is one of the reasons that it is the first choice for Architects and Designers.

 

Because of its safety aspect, it is also used now as an alternative, but far more appealing one, for pool fencing and obviously wooden deck handrails too.

 

Those in the know choose Premier Hardware

 

When it comes to the supply of not only every type of frameless glass but all the accessories and hardware required for its installation, Premier Hardware are the preferred choice for builders, Architects and Designers alike.

 

With our comprehensive knowledge and range of products our competitive pricing and our dedicated service we are the frameless glass suppliers you can count on. There are no hidden costs and no hidden agendas, we are as transparent as our glass and we provide only the best. Contact us to experience what real service is about and to find out why frameless glass is the preferred choice of Architects and Designers!

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Frameless Glass Applications

Four Frameless Glass Applications that make a home or office fabulous

Frameless glass stacking doors

Four Frameless glass applications that make a home or office fabulous!

As most construction industry participants know, frameless glass is all the rage at the moment and this is a great alternative to offer your clients both in the residential and commercial sectors. The beauty of sheer glass unhindered by unnecessary frames has a magic all of its own and has to be seen in the right applications to be truly appreciated.

There are four Frameless glass applications that make a home or office fabulous – and these are…

Frameless glass shower doors

Not only do frameless glass shower doors look magnificent giving the shower a much more open look, with a sense of style that can’t be achieved with other types of doors, but there are practical reasons too that they are a preferred option for discerning Architects builders and Interior Designers. 

They come in a variety of sizes giving you more options when it comes to the design of the shower area and this tends to make the whole bathroom area look larger. They are easier to clean and maintain as it is only the glass that needs cleaning, and there are fewer dirt catchment areas. Because of this, there is less space for mould and mildew to be captured.

Frameless glass balustrades

Frameless glass balustrades are the epitome of practicality meeting sheer beauty in an incomparable coupling of aesthetic beauty and protective function. Superb when wending their way up a staircase or creating a sheer frontage to a patio or balcony, their many benefits give them a distinct advantage.

Whilst offering total protection against falling they also elevate the look of a room and create a wonderful illusion of space when used on what can often be very cramped looking areas. Also easy to clean and maintain, they allow more light to flow and offer a minimalistic, yet modern, look to every interior.

Frameless glass sliding systems 

So popular are these sliding Frameless glass systems amongst Designers in the USA that our entire range is named after America’s most trendy areas like Manhattan in New York, and Cleveland in Ohio!

Slim-framed aluminium sliding doors can be frameless thanks to the various methods with which they can be installed. One of these is recessing the frame into the wall to conceal it, leaving just the door panel visible and resulting in an almost frameless look. These sliding applications are also popular because of their very thin sightlines.

Frameless glass office/shop fronts

If you want the look of your offices or shop fronts to be as transparent as the way you do business, you can do no better than to open the world to your workplace or store with the world’s most trendy office and shop fronts.

With all the benefits of our other Frameless glass hardware applications, these come in a wide range of products and all the necessary hardware fittings and fixtures to ensure a perfect installation every time!

Get premier products and all the ‘know how’ you need!

Premier Hardware supplies high-quality products, as well as the technical knowledge and levels of service required by the ever-growing architectural glass market in South Africa. We are based in Brackenfell in Cape Town but supply our products nationwide.

Our experienced team offers premier technical knowledge and levels of service and we are standing by to assist you with any queries you may have regarding these products. Contact us for a first-hand experience of why we are rated as one of the countries ‘premier’ suppliers of the four Frameless glass applications that make a home or office fabulous!

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Frameless glass stacking doors

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Frameless Glass Stacking Doors

Frameless glass stacking doors

The Advantages and disadvantages of Frameless glass stacking doors

Almost every year, new interior and exterior design trends emerge. The installation of frameless glass doors is one style that has lasted the test of time. This design concept has exploded in popularity in recent years. The trend of fusing the inside of a home with nature has grown in popularity. Would you like to improve the aesthetics of your home or office or try something new? See all of the advantages and disadvantages that these amazing frameless glass doors could bring to your home below.

Advantages of Stacking Doors

Improved Investment

investing in frameless glass doors will improve the architectural, functional, and aesthetic appeal of your home’s inside and exterior. Your home’s ventilation and natural light will also improve dramatically.

Additional Safety Measures

Many frameless glass doors are composed of thickened, toughened glass, which can help to protect your home from the elements. It’s incredibly tough to separate the panels of these sliding doors after they’ve been joined.

Increased property value

You know that feeling when you’ve got guests over and your property feels cramped? Frameless glass sliding doors are the solution. These doors make a small space feel bigger, maximize available space, and improve your view. They give your property more of a sophisticated feel and make it more valuable on the market.

Disadvantages of frameless glass

Frameless glass can be challenging to clean or maintain, because users can open them by touching the glass, they are prone to gathering fingerprints.

Dirt and corrosion at the top and bottom of the frame may cause jamming troubles.

 

These folding doors are a fantastic addition to any modern style home or office. The thick, glass panes open and close smoothly with a runner system. If you want a high-end finish to your terrace or simply want to separate two rooms, frameless folding doors are highly recommended.

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Shower Frameless Glass

Why you should Install Frameless Glass Shower Doors

Why You Should Install Frameless Glass Shower Doors

Do you intend to renovate your bathroom? If that’s the case, you’ll find that there are numerous options for shower closure. The tried-and-true shower curtain, the cost-effective sliding doors, a framed glass door, or a frameless glass shower door are all options. Most people’s budgets play a significant role in selecting which option is best for their project. Remember that they’ll all do their job, which is to keep the water inside the shower where it belongs.

While this is true, many homeowners are opting for a frameless glass shower door for their bathroom remodel in recent years. There are a variety of advantages to doing so.

Significant benefits of frameless glass

They come in a variety of sizes.

Today’s frameless glass shower doors come in a variety of sizes, giving you more options when it comes to the design of your shower area. A frameless shower door can fit your needs whether you want to build a large spa shower or a smaller walk-in shower in the corner of the bathroom.

Added Light

The bathroom is one of those rooms in the house where the amount of light you have is critical to your daily routine. When you’re in the shower, it can be tough to find the razors, soap, or shampoo.

A frameless glass shower door, on the other hand, allows both artificial and natural light to enter the space, greatly improving sight.

It gives the impression that the bathroom is larger.

Shower curtains and sliding shower doors might block your vision. Glass, on the other hand, allows you to view into the shower area, making the space appear larger. If you have a small bathroom, a frameless glass shower door is unquestionably the best choice.

Mould and mildew build-up are less likely to occur.

There is no area for soap and water to collect or build upon a frameless glass door because there are no seals around it. This means there is no space for mould or mildew to grow.

Cleaning Is Easier

If you’re like most people, cleaning the bathroom isn’t your favourite chore. Showers and baths can often be particularly tough to clean. To clean a frameless glass door, just use a squeegee to remove soap scum, residue, and other debris. This is a quick and simple procedure that guarantees your shower enclosure always looks beautiful.

As you can see, installing a frameless glass shower door has a number of tempting features. If you’re ready to invest in your bathroom, make sure you choose the correct company. They can assist you in getting the appropriate door for your shower and bathroom, as well as ensuring that it provides all of the benefits outlined above.

 

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Custom Glass Shower Enclosures

Important design Tips for custom Glass Shower Enclosures

Custom Glass Shower Enclosures

12 Important Design Tips For Custom Glass Shower Enclosures

You’ve finally made the decision – it’s time to upgrade your out-of-date shower with a new custom glass enclosure! Be prepared to see your bathroom in a whole new light, with more open space and a modern look!

Before you get started, though, you will want to make yourself familiar with the aesthetic touches you want and the structural elements you’ll need to ensure maximum functionality and impact. After years of providing hardware for frameless shower enclosures for customers in South Africa, we’ve seen several contractor mistakes and oversights that can upend your project. You don’t need to become an expert on the matter, but understanding the fundamentals can help ensure that the contractor you choose is building your new enclosure the right way.

Heavy frameless shower enclosure Raleigh Tip 1: Angles to Use

Plan for your shower to be built using 90°, 135°, or 180° angles. Most shower hardware is designed to accommodate these angles, so planning ahead can help guarantee the enclosure will function correctly and remain cost-effective.

Tip 2: Support for Shower Doors and Hardware
Make sure the wall where you plan to install your hinged door has the proper studding support behind it. Doubled 2x4s is best, but a single 2×4 will work. Additionally, provide wood studs or blocking where doors hinge or panels are anchored, especially if metal studs were used in the original construction of the wall.

Tip 3: Shower Curb
Do you want to install your shower enclosure on a curb, or would you rather have it flush with the floor? Eliminating the curb can be beneficial to planning a handicap-accessible shower enclosure, but the curb can help prevent water from leaking or pooling on the floor of your bathroom.

Tip 4: Slope of Curb
Typically, curbs are sloped at a 5-degree slope to enable the water to flow toward the drain. Without this slope – sometimes referred to as the “pitch” – the curb would have stood water on top or could leak water onto the bathroom floor.

Tip 5: Slope of Shower Seat
If you are considering a built-in shower seat, make sure that the seat slants toward the drain at a 5-degree slope. This allows water to flow off of the seat and into the drain.

Tip 6: Plumb Walls
In order to prevent gaps, uneven joints, and hinge “bind”, any wall that meets a door or glass panel must be precisely vertical (also called “plumb”). If the wall is more than ¼” out of plumb will be both prone to leak and be unsightly.

Tip 7: Minimum Width of Glass Panels
Each glass panel should be at least 4½” wide, which is the minimum width for tempering glass and supporting the hardware. The door must be at least 22” wide but no more than 36” wide.

Heavy frameless shower enclosure Raleigh Tip 8: Glass Tiles
When designing your shower enclosure, avoid any plans that involve mounting door hinges and glass clips onto the glass tiles. These situations often cause breakage, adding time and expense to your new enclosure.

Tip 9: Soffits
The eaves along the top of your shower are called “soffits”. In order to avoid an uneven look, your soffits must line up perfectly with the angles in the curb below.

Tip 10: Shower Head Position
Insider tip: If possible, make sure to position your showerhead toward tiled walls or fixed panels. This minimizes leakage. Whatever you do, never place your showerhead opposite another door or opening unless you have a low-flow showerhead or one that points straight down to the floor.

Tip 11: Raised Tiles and Overhangs
It is the goal of any professional installation to ensure that nothing interferes with the door’s movement and leave no gaps between the door and the wall. This situation can often arise with raised decorative tiles or overhanging tiles, but these can be modified to allow for proper door usage. You should note, however, this is sometimes done using filler, which may negatively impact the look of the finished product.

Tip 12: Curb Tops
Solid pieces of tile, marble, and granite are ideal for the curb top. Tiled curb tops increase the chance of a leak, and can lead to mildew or mold down the line. The shower door seal functions best on a solid, smooth surface.

At Premier Hardware, we pride ourselves on offering the best quality frameless glass hardware in South Africa. Contact the Premier Hardware team today to learn more!

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Frameless Glass Shower Doors

Frameless Glass Shower doors advantages & disadvantages

Frameless Glass Shower Doors

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Frameless Glass Shower Doors

Bathroom remodeling is the most common home improvement project for homeowners. As many as 81% of all projects involve updating the bathroom.

Frameless glass shower doors are trending as the modern way to enclose your shower. This glass minus the hardware will not only improve the look of your bathroom but is easier to care for too.

Considering frameless glass for your shower? Consider these pros and cons before you make the decision.

What are Frameless Glass Shower Doors?
The goal of a frameless shower door is to embrace minimalism. You will see them and not realize that you have.

There will be a distinct lack of hardware around the glass. Gone are the days of the gold and silver frames around the outside.

Typically, there are a few clips holding the sheet of glass in place. You’ll find that the glass in this system is much thicker than the framed option.

Pros of Frameless Shower Doors
There are many benefits of upgrading to frameless shower enclosures. Some are cosmetic, but there are also functional benefits.

Style
A minimalist interior design is trending right now. This trend has made frameless glass showers popular.

If you are looking to sell or rent your home, this will make the bathroom desirable. Having a frameless glass shower enclosure will be deemed as upscale.

Once you eliminate the hardware, you are no longer limited to how you decorate the rest of the bathroom. This gives you complete freedom when decorating the rest of the bathroom.

No Limits on Sizing
When you buy framed glass shower doors, you will find a standard set of sizes. Hopefully, your bathroom works with one of those sizes.

Alternatively, you can cut frameless glass to fit whatever size you need. This gives the doors a lot more flexibility.

Think of this as an opportunity to customize your shower doors. You can make them slide, or create any sized door.

No Corroding
When there is no hardware, there is nothing to corrode. Corroded metal is the most common reason for replacement of traditional metal framed doors.

Your shower will continue to look great long into the future. You will also save money by not having to make the replacement as soon.

Maximize your space
Sure, a frameless glass shower enclosure cannot magically add square footage to your bathroom. What it can do is trick your brain into thinking the bathroom is bigger.

If you currently have a shower curtain, this is like a fabric wall dividing your bathroom. It makes the bathroom look smaller.

A glass wall is transparent, so while it still divides the room, you don’t see it that way. Your bathroom will feel brighter, bigger, and airier.

Minimize the Mold
Mold will have fewer places to grow when there is no hardware for water to collect around. Framed shower doors give water the chance to collect under and around the door’s seals.

This collected water and your bathroom’s warm temperature is the perfect environment for mold to grow. You are then fighting the never-ending battle to remove it.

Frameless doors are the easiest to clean. Just wipe down the sheet of glass and squeegee. Once you’re done wiping, the glass is clear and you are clean.

Cons of Frameless Glass Shower Door
There are some cons to consider before making the commitment to a frameless glass door. Price tends to be the biggest deterrent to those looking to make the upgrade.

Price
The initial price of a frameless shower door is higher than that of traditional framed doors. If you are on a strict and tight budget, this may not be the door for you.

However, you need to consider more than the initial investment. You are giving your home an upscale and modern update.

You are also increasing the time of use before you need to replace this door. The money you spend on the glass now is well worth the benefits.

Chance of Leaks
The metal frame around traditional glass doors act as an insulator. This keeps the water in the shower, and out of the rest of your bathroom. Without this insulation, water can leak out as you are bathing. Keep this in mind when considering the placement of your shower head.

You won’t want the shower head pointing directly at the glass or gaps, as this may cause water to leak out. Having the glass cut to precise dimensions by a professional is the way to go in order to avoid this issue from even occurring.

A professional will measure and cut the glass to fit your shower dimensions specifically and make the gaps as small as possible.

Heat might be a problem
This is a very rare occurrence. Frameless glass shower enclosures are made from tempered glass. On very rare occasions, the glass cannot withstand the heat from the water and the glass will shatter. This is a rare thing to happen and framed doors face the same potential problem. Do not let this very small possibility stop you from giving your shower a beautiful new look.

Give Your Bathroom an Upscale and Modern Look
Your bathroom and kitchen are the two places in your home that people notice the most. When remodeling your home for sale, these are the two rooms to do.

Keep this in mind if you are thinking about giving your bathroom an update. You’ll want to pick features that give your home a modern and upscale feel.

The best way to do that is by installing frameless glass shower doors in your shower. It’s like adding square footage without breaking down walls.

Not sure where to start? Contact us and let us help put you in touch with a few of the reputable companies that use Premier Hardware products.

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