Framed Shower Door Installation
Handis framed shower door installation puts an aluminum-perimeter 3/16 inch tempered-glass door on a tub alcove or walk-in shower up to 60 inches — shimmed to plumb up to 3/16 inch of tile-opening offset, anchored into the studs behind the tile-backer, sealed with magnetic strike and full-perimeter sweep, water-tested before sign-off — from $600. A framed door is the budget-conscious bathroom update that does not need a custom-measure lead time or a perfectly plumb tile opening. The aluminum frame absorbs the small offsets that frameless glass cannot. Install runs 2 to 3 hours and the door is ready to use the same day. Best fit for tub alcoves, older tile work, and rentals.
Service
What Does a Framed Shower Door Install Include?
A framed shower door install is the residential mounting service that sits an aluminum-perimeter tempered-glass door on a tub alcove or walk-in shower up to 60 inches — covering opening plumb-and-level measurement, shimming of up to 3/16 inch of out-of-plumb through the aluminum frame, hardware anchored into the studs behind the tile-backer (with a backing plate added when no stud sits at the planned anchor), magnetic strike and full-perimeter clear vinyl sweep seal install, finish-matched perimeter caulk in 100 percent silicone, and a final low-flow water test against every seal. Handis covers framed installs from $600 on the most common configurations. Most-forgiving door type for older Seattle tile work and rentals where the existing opening is not perfectly true.
Plumb-and-Level Measurement First
Before any door is ordered, the tech measures the opening plumb (left wall to right wall, top to bottom) and level (the top track plane) with a 4-foot level and a laser plumb. The framed-door tolerance is up to 3/16 inch — within that, the aluminum frame and the shim kit included with the door absorb the offset cleanly. Outside that, we say so on arrival and recommend tile-leveling work first before the door is ordered.
Shimming Through the Aluminum Frame
The framed-door advantage is the frame itself. Side jambs include adjustment slots that take a shim kit (the tapered plastic shims that ship with the door, or a custom-cut aluminum shim on the worst openings). The tech inserts shims at the top and bottom of each jamb until the side rail reads plumb against a 4-foot level, then anchors the jamb into the substrate. The door drops into the framed jambs already plumb against the opening.
Anchored Into Studs Behind the Tile-Backer
Side jambs anchor through the tile face into the substrate behind. Drywall behind tile without backing holds nothing — the anchor pulls within months. We locate the studs with a borescope check at the planned anchor points before drilling; if no stud sits at the anchor location, we install a backing plate before the anchor lands. Tile gets carbide-drilled with water cooling at low RPM so the porcelain or ceramic does not crack on the drill-through.
Magnetic Strike and Full-Perimeter Sweep Seals
Bottom sweep is full-perimeter clear vinyl sized to 3/16 inch glass — never the wrong sweep thickness from a different door's kit. Magnetic strike runs the full height of the door close, magnetic catch on both the door and the jamb. We finish the perimeter with a thin bead of 100 percent silicone in the matching finish (white, clear, or color-matched to the tile grout) so the seal-to-tile transition is clean and water-tight.
Water Test Before Sign-Off
After the door is hung, sealed, and the perimeter caulk has skinned, we run a low-flow shower test against the door — handheld showerhead at low flow directed at the strike, the sweep, the perimeter caulk, and each jamb anchor location — and watch for any visible leak. Anything that fails the test gets adjusted on the spot. Framed doors are ready to use immediately after the test passes.
How a Framed Shower Door Install Works
Six sequential steps from opening measurement through the post-install water test — the actual sequence we follow on every framed shower door install.
Measure the Opening Plumb and Level
Tech measures the opening plumb (left wall to right wall, top to bottom) and level (top track plane) with a 4-foot level and a laser plumb. Framed-door tolerance is up to 3/16 inch through frame shimming; anything beyond that is flagged before the door order goes in.
Locate Studs Behind the Tile-Backer
Borescope check at planned anchor points confirms studs behind the cement board. Where no stud sits at the anchor location, we install a backing plate before the jamb anchors land — drywall behind tile holds nothing under sustained door load.
Carbide-Drill the Tile Face at Low RPM
Tile gets carbide-drilled with water cooling and the bit set at the lowest practical RPM so the porcelain or ceramic does not crack on the drill-through. Pilot at small diameter first, step up to anchor diameter, no impact mode.
Shim and Plumb the Side Jambs
Tapered plastic shims (from the door kit) or custom-cut aluminum shims at the top and bottom of each jamb absorb up to 3/16 inch of opening offset. Both jambs read plumb against a 4-foot level before final anchor tightening.
Hang the Door and Install Seals
Door drops into the framed jambs. Full-perimeter clear vinyl bottom sweep sized to 3/16 inch glass installs into the bottom rail. Magnetic strike runs the full height of the door close. Perimeter caulk in 100 percent silicone matched to the tile grout finishes the seal-to-tile transition.
Run the Low-Flow Water Test
After the perimeter caulk skins (30 to 60 minutes), handheld showerhead at low flow directed at the strike, the sweep, the perimeter caulk, and each jamb anchor location. Anything that fails gets adjusted on the spot. Framed doors are ready to use immediately after the test passes.
Framed Shower Door Pricing
Final pricing depends on opening size, hardware finish, and whether the opening is plumb-and-level within the 3/16 inch frame tolerance. Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.
Tell us the opening width and whether it is a tub alcove or a walk-in shower — we will measure plumb on arrival before quoting.
Why Handis for Framed Shower Doors
Framed doors get a reputation for looking dated — and a cheap framed door in white painted aluminum from 1995 does. A current framed door in brushed nickel or matte black on 3/16 tempered glass with a clean magnetic strike does not look like the 1995 unit. It looks like an honest, durable shower door that you put up in three hours and you do not think about for the next ten years. The reason we install more framed doors than any other variant on Seattle older homes is that older homes have older tile, and older tile is rarely plumb within the 1/8 inch frameless tolerance. The framed shim kit absorbs what the tile setter in 1962 left behind.
Most forgiving on older Seattle tile work
Framed doors accept up to 3/16 inch of out-of-plumb in the existing opening through aluminum frame shimming. Older Seattle homes — 1940s through 1980s — almost always have tile work that has settled or was set with margin we would not accept today. The framed shim kit absorbs that offset cleanly. Frameless glass cannot.
Same-week install, no custom-glass lead time
Framed doors ship from stock sized to standard openings (60-inch tub alcoves and 60 to 72-inch walk-ins). Most framed installs happen within 3 to 7 days of the quote — there is no 2 to 3 week custom-glass lead time the way frameless installs require. If the door is on a holiday weekend or in a tight schedule window, we order from a local supplier with same-week stock.
Hardware sized to 3/16 inch glass
Bottom sweeps, magnetic strikes, and U-clamps come in glass-thickness-specific sizes — a 3/8 inch sweep does not seal against 3/16 inch glass and vice versa. We install the right sweep and the right strike sized to the glass thickness, not whatever happened to come in the door kit if the kit was wrong.
Carbide drilling through tile, not impact-driving
Tile gets carbide-drilled with water cooling and the bit at the lowest practical RPM. Impact drilling through porcelain or ceramic cracks the tile on the drill-through — and a cracked tile face under a shower-door anchor is a $500 tile-repair callback we do not want and you do not want. Slow, cool, water-fed.
Backing plates when there is no stud
We borescope-check the substrate before drilling to confirm a stud sits at the planned anchor location. Where there is no stud, we install a 1/4-inch plywood or aluminum backing plate before the anchor — drywall behind tile holds nothing under sustained door load. The backing plate adds 20 minutes to the install and prevents the anchor-pulls-out call six months later.
30-day workmanship guarantee
30-day workmanship guarantee — if a jamb anchor loosens, a sweep pulls, a strike seal comes off, or the door drops out of plumb due to our install, we come back and fix it at no extra charge.
Estimate
Tell us the opening width, whether it is a tub alcove or a walk-in shower, the door configuration you want (single pivot, single hinged, two-panel bypass), and the hardware finish (chrome is standard, brushed nickel / matte black / ORB available). We measure plumb on the first visit before any door is ordered.
Customer Reviews
Framed shower door reviews from real Handis customers.
1962 split-level in Bellevue, plastic-folding door over the master tub alcove. Handis measured plumb on arrival, found the right wall was 1/8 inch out, said the framed door would absorb that no problem. Door was installed three days later — magnetic strike snaps clean, water test passed first try. Best $700 we have spent on the bathroom in 20 years.
Brushed-nickel framed door on our hall bath walk-in. We thought we needed frameless for it to look modern but the brushed-nickel frame on 3/16 glass looks just as clean. Tech was honest the frameless would have been three weeks out and twice the price. Install was 2.5 hours and we used the shower that night.
1940s Ballard Craftsman, original tile in the master bath. The opening was 3/16 inch out-of-plumb on the right side. Handis said only the framed door would absorb that offset and recommended against frameless without leveling the tile first. Framed door installed cleanly, the shim kit took the offset, no gaps in the strike seal.
Bypass sliding framed door on our tub alcove — we wanted both panels because the alcove is in a hallway and a swinging door would have hit the laundry. Tech installed the top and bottom tracks, both panels, the magnetic strike at the meeting stile. Slides smoothly, both ways, no rattle in the track.
Pivot framed door on a tub alcove in our rental. Tenant had been using a curtain for years. Handis installed in 2 hours, brushed-nickel hardware to match the new vanity. Two years in, tenant still happy, no leaks reported. Solid choice for rental property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about framed shower door installation.