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Shower doors can be an aesthetically pleasing and a more effective way to close off your shower. Learning how to adjust shower doors will save you money and stress when these doors need a little TLC to get them back on track.
Contents
How to Adjust Shower Doors
The first step in adjusting and moving the doors on your shower is to determine what type you have. Generally speaking, there are three types of doors:
- Sliding Doors
- Hinged Doors
- Frameless Doors
Because each type requires different steps, we’ve separated each into its own section. Identify which you have and skip to the correct section.
How to Make Glass Shower Door Adjustment
Sliding glass shower doors are some of the simplest to repair and adjust. This is because the sliding mechanism is a simple roller that guides a door along a track.
When your sliding shower doors begin to stick or are not sliding as smoothly, you need to fix them straightaway. Allowing a problem to continue can cause further damage to the roller ball and track.
If too much damage happens, you will need to replace the sliding parts and possibly even the door, complicating the DIY project.
If you start to feel your sliding shower door not gliding as smoothly as it should, you will need to whip out your screw driver and see what is hindering it.
- First, identify if it is a roller that is off track or if the problem is a little more complicated. If the roller slipped off the track, you shouldn’t need to remove anything. Simply lift the sliding shower door and put it back onto the track.
- To begin, you will need to unscrew the guide rail from the bottom of the shower track. Make sure you use a drop cloth to protect your shower from any scratches.
- Next, lift the sliding door out of the track. Since the lower rail is removed you can tilt the door in or out to remove it. Go ahead and remove both doors so you can get a full view of any problems.
- Clean the top and bottom tracks to remove any soap scum, grime, or rust in the small spaces.
- You will need to locate and adjust the rollers. The rollers are located in the track and are nestled on a slanted opening. You can raise or lower the door by moving the roller up or down its slanted cutout.
- Loosen the screw to move the roller to the desired location. Make sure any other rollers are in the same locked position to keep the doors even.
- Once the roller has been adjusted and tightened you can replace the doors and screw the bottom guide rail back in place.
- Test the doors to make sure they are now gliding correctly.
It is important to make sure your rollers are the same type all across the guide rail. Rollers can have either a round edge or a flat edge. Inspect each one to make sure it is the same type and that the roller is not cracked or showing any signs of defect.
- Routinely clean your shower floor and pan along with your sliding shower door inner mechanisms.
This will help reduce any scum build up and deter any potential rust that can occur due to the metal guides staying moist too long.
- You can use a mop designed for tile floors, or get on your hands and knees and scrub away. Make sure you let the guide tracks fully dry before you replace the doors.
Adjusting Hinged Shower Doors
Hinged shower doors are typically glass doors with a framing system around them and are hinged to the wall or to another framed section. These doors are durable and relatively easy to fix when they become stiff.
- Take the time to look your shower doors over when the door becomes stiff or has any issues before you try to adjust them.
- Make sure that they are well cleaned with approved bathroom cleaning solutions, This decreases the chances for minor hiccups along the way.
While these shower doors are pretty sturdy, sometimes the damage on the door can cause it to not perform correctly. This could mean you need to replace the entire door instead of just a quick tighten.
If you have noticed your shower door has been acting up gradually over a period of time, it should just need a little attention on its hinges. You can use a natural cleaning agent such as Vinegar, as it is good multi-purpose tool for a lot of household items, including cleaning carpet.
- Tighten the hinges that are attached to the wall.
- Loosen and remove the hinge screws that are attached to the door and remove the whole shower door.
- Take this time to clean your screws with vinegar.
- Spray the hinges with some WD-40 to help loosen them up.
- Replace the shower door and tighten the newly cleaned screws.
This should fix most of the hinged door issues. If you need to lift or lower your hinged shower door, you can move the rollers in the top to allow the door to swing higher into the opening.
If you need to lower the door,
- Move the hinge down to adjust the shower door to the right height
- Make sure you clean up any caulk or adhesive when you are moving the hinges
- You can apply a fresh coat of the sealer once you move the hinge.
- Allow any caulk or adhesive to fully dry before you use your tile shower or allow any moisture to come into contact with the hinges.
It is best to avoid taking a shower, and refrain from using your handheld shower head until it is dry. Even though water may not come near it from the shower spray, steam in the air could affect the adhesive.
Adjusting Frameless Shower Doors
The difference between a framed (hinged) and frameless shower door is the thickness of the glass. Frameless showers and shower doors are made from 3/8 to 1/2-inch-thick glass. This makes the glass sturdier and not in need of a frame to secure or stabilize it.
Most of all pre-made frameless shower doors are able to be adjusted up to about a half an inch. If you are experiencing an ill fit, you can adjust your shower doors without worrying about having to trim them down. It’s as simple as mounting a new shower head in your bathroom.
If you want to further improve your shower experience, you can check out our buying guide ranking the best rain shower head available.
Identify the Problem
There are generally two main issues when it comes to frameless shower doors needing to be adjusted.
ONE: The newly installed shower door isn’t matching up correctly with your shower head as either the floor or the tiles are uneven. If it is only slight, you can continue through the steps to adjust the door. If the offset is too much, you may need to consider a smaller door.
TWO: You could also be facing a frameless shower door that fit fine before but is now beginning to drag on the floor. If this is the case, you should be able to fix the door by replacing or simply tightening the clamps.
How to Adjust the Doors to the Frameless Door
If your clasp is loose, you can fix your frameless shower door by following these quick and easy steps.
- Open the door part way and prop it up on a wedge. Make it level where it should be.
- Loosen the top clamp and the bottom one to get to the clamp back to its original upright position.
- You can take the time to remove the clamp completely and apply some Loctite Heavy Duty Threadlocker onto it. This helps preserve the clamp and keep it from stripping.
- Replace the clamp and tighten the screws in it. Make sure you clean up any excess Locktite.
- Once the Locktite is dry, you can remove the wedge that is holding the door up and test the door to make sure it holds.
- Lock and Seal Fasteners: Prevents loosening of metal fasteners caused by vibration on small motors,...
- Prevents Rust and Corrosion: Protects from leaks, rusting, and corrosion and eliminates need to...
- Removable: Can be removed with hand tools
- Easy and Quick: Sets in 10 minutes and fully cures in 24 hours
Adjusting your frameless shower door can be a pretty easy DIY project. If you are dealing with a shower door that continually needs to be adjusted, you may need to install a third clamp to help with the load.
Once you’re done adjusting the doors, make sure to do an entire bathroom clean up to avoid getting in contact with harmful substances once you take a shower.
Dealing with the Catch
For frameless showers, there can be a final fix if the clasps are tight and the floor is level. The catch is where the door closes and is held closed while you are showering.
If the catch mechanism is running slack or feels too tight, you can adjust it by loosening the screw. You can also lubricate the catch, so it reduces or stops any sticking during opening.
Make sure you are inspecting the hinge areas and any rails or other parts of the moving area. Check to make sure the door and your shower is clean and not being affected by any build up, such as hair or soap scum.
How to Put Shower Doors Back on Track
If you feel like your door is adjusted properly, but it keeps falling off of the track, here are a few suggestions to combat that:
- Double check that the roller on the top track is properly in place. Often times, symptoms that show up at the bottom part of the door are a result of the roller at the top.
- Slowly slide the door while observing the roller on the top track. Is it catching on anything, or getting knocked off the track at any point? If so, you’ll need to rectify where it is catching.
- Try spraying the track with a lubricant, preferably one that is silicon based.
- Make tiny adjustments to the door height, following our instructions above.
More than likely, one of these suggestions will get your shower door back on track.
Conclusion
When it comes to learning how to adjust shower doors it can be a task that is as easy as cleaning and lubricating the rails or hinges. Or, you could be looking at a more intense job of removing doors and adjusting rails or hinges to give you a better fit.
Adjusting shower doors is a fairly easy task to take on. It will take time to disassemble the area. It will also take some problem solving skills to figure out why the doors are not working the way they should.
You could skip doing it yourself and hire a professional to come in and fix the problem for you. But with a DIY project this basic, you should opt to pocket the money and spend it on your next project.
