When undergoing bathroom renovations, some of the main decisions you'll need to make centre around the shower enclosure, its shape and its position within the space. Another important factor is the material of the screens. If you're installing a glass design, several types of glazing are possible. Here are several—some are mandatory for safety reasons, while others are more decorative.

Toughened Glass

Regulations dictate the types of safety glazing you can use within a shower enclosure. A frameless design must use toughened glass. A tempering process heats an ordinary pane to extreme temperatures before it undergoes rapid chilling. Treating the glass in this way produces specific qualities. It's four to five times stronger than ordinary glass, and so breakage is unlikely. In any case, rather than shattering into pointy shards, it crumbles into many regular rounded pieces which are relatively harmless.

Laminated Glass

A fully framed shower enclosure can use laminated glass. A plastic interlayer between two glass sheets bonds together after a heat and pressure procedure. This creates a sturdy glass panel within a shower. Upon strong impact, while it may crack in a spiderweb pattern, the plastic middle layer tends to hold everything together. With no loose flying glass pieces, the likelihood of injuries is less.

Frosted Glass

Other types of glazing provide decorative options. While a glass shower creates an expansive, open feeling in a bathroom, you may prefer more privacy when taking a shower. Frosted glass is perfect for this reason. Acid etching or sandblasting are two processes that creatively erode the glass to produce different cloudy impressions. You can pick the transparency, so the shower enclosure is more or less secluded. Decorative possibilities include an even satin sheen or ornamental etchings. Install a running water pattern, a geometric motif or an assortment of other designs, depending on the look you're creating. If the bathroom has a hexagon mirror, you could repeat that shape within the glazing for a bespoke design.

Tinted Glass

Another decorative treatment is tinted glass in hues such as grey, bronze, blue and green. Minerals, like iron, cobalt and selenium, produce the various tones. For an integrated look, pick up a hue from the tiling and repeat that within the shower. Alternatively, contrast complementary shades: blue tiles against bronze glass, for instance. 

Low-Iron Glass

Rather than tinting the glazing, you may prefer yours absolutely clear. The iron content within standard glass generates a faint greenish haze. For a shower screen that sparkles with absolute clarity, install low-iron glass. Bear in mind, though, that this shower will provide less privacy than other options.