Sliding Vs. Pivot Shower Door – Which One is Right for You

1. Sliding Vs. Pivot Shower Door – Which One is Right for You? Shower doors are an essential part of every shower enclosure installation (Sliding) . It offers many advantages like prevention from cool or breezy air, the illusion of larger bathroom space, making your enclosure appear more luxurious, etc. So, having the right shower door option is important. However, there are multiple shower door options available in the market. For example, the most common are sliding shower doors, bifold shower doors, and pivot shower doors. A pivot door may go well with a quadrant enclosure but not with a rectangular shower enclosure. Not every enclosure can be a perfect fit for your enclosure. Therefore, it depends on your personal preference, available bathroom space, and the type of shower enclosure you choose. But sometimes, you have multiple options

2. to choose from. So, what should you do in such situations? It is not possible to choose the better option unless you know the pros and cons of these options. In this blog, we are going to compare sliding doors with pivot doors to help you choose the better option for you. Advantages of Sliding Shower Doors Sliding doors are the type of door that slides to open and close. These have sliding runners that make them move back and forward. So, these are actually two panels fitted on one another. That means there will need a bit more piece of hardware, but you can also find the frameless design as well. Here are a few advantages of sliding doors for a shower enclosure. 1-Cost Effective Most of us have limited budgets, and that makes the price a big concern. The great thing about sliding doors is that they are cost-effective or cost less in comparison to the pivot door option. So, if you have a limited budget, then you should prefer it. 2- No Water on the Floor One of the biggest disadvantages of a pivot shower door is that when opened outwards makes the bathroom floor out of the enclosure wet. It is due to the water splashes on the glass door surface that end up on the floor. That makes the floor messy, and you cannot force everyone in your home to dry the floor every time they come out of the shower. So, want to avoid this trouble, install a sliding shower door. 3- Space Saving Bathrooms trends to have less space. Therefore, utilizing it wisely should be your top priority. Where pivot doors require clearing space outside the enclosure, sliding doors don’t have any such needs. These are compact and take less space in comparison to other types of shower doors. That makes them a preferred choice for a small bathroom. Therefore, it may not be a suitable option for a rectangular shower enclosure. 4- Wide Opening Sliding doors have wider openings as you can open them from either side. Generally, there are two panels slightly overlapping each other that can move right and left. If you want, you can use either of the glass panel to open and enter the shower area. 5- Seamless Looks The sliding shower doors can give your enclosure a seamless look as there is no obstruction in the light. It looks completely like a part of the enclosure that can be a great option for small bathrooms. You have an option to choose frameless to make it appear even more seamless.

3. Disadvantages Besides advantages, there are a few disadvantages of sliding shower doors as well. The first can be that these are difficult to clean and maintain. The track on which the door moves, and rollers may easily accumulate dirt and soaps, which can be hard to clean. Moreover, although the door can be open on both right and left sides with two panels, it may still be congested and difficult for the elderly or anyone with mobility issues. Advantages of Pivot Shower Doors Before we discuss advantages, it is important to understand what a pivot door is. A pivot shower door is a type of door that swings outward. This is useful for creating a larger opening for an entrance. It is mounted on hinges that pivot the entire door, not just the outer edge, so it can swing in either direction. This allows for a door to be opened wider and remain secure. You can fit this type of door into a rectangular shower enclosure. 1-Easy to Clean and Maintain The first advantage of this type of shower door is that it is easy to clean in comparison to all other types. With pivot glass shower doors, you can clean them quickly and easily without a lot of effort. 2-Completely Enclosed Pivot glass shower doors have a special type of seal that prevents water from getting in and dirtying the glass. That means it completely encloses your shower enclosure. 3-Larger Opening Another advantage of the pivot door is that it, due to its shape, offers a wide and larger entrance to your shower enclosure which perfectly complements large-size shower cubicles. 4- Simple Working The pivot door works on the hinged and, in comparison to the sliding door, does not require much-sophisticated hardware. You will only have hinged on which door moves forward and backward. Final Thoughts We have compared the pivot shower door and sliding shower door in terms of their advantages. The type of shower door that you can install highly depends on the type of shower enclosure you are using. For example, a sliding shower door is a space saving option and will perfectly complement a quadrant shower enclosure which also saves you bathroom space. On the other hand, a pivot door can be a suitable option to use with a rectangular shower enclosure.