What Is Shower Glass Repair?
Shower glass repair fixes a glass enclosure without replacing the whole thing. Frameless and semi-frameless showers are built from 10mm tempered glass panels held by hinges and clamps, sealed to the tile with silicone, with sweeps and seals on the door. Each of those parts can fail on its own, and each can be replaced on its own.
In Toronto ensuites, the most common calls are a door that leaks at the bottom, a door that has sagged and rubs the curb, mouldy silicone along the base, and a chipped or cracked panel.
The Parts That Fail
- Door sweep. The flexible strip at the bottom of the door. It wears and splits, letting water onto the floor.
- Vertical seals. Magnetic or soft seals where the door meets the fixed panel. They harden and shrink.
- Hinges. Wall-to-glass and glass-to-glass hinges carry the door’s weight. Under-rated hinges sag.
- Clamps. Hold fixed panels to the wall and curb. They can loosen and let a panel move.
- Silicone. The wet perimeter along the base and walls. It cracks, discolours and lets water behind it.
- Glass. Tempered panels can chip at the edges or, rarely, shatter.
Repair or Replace the Enclosure?
| Problem | Repair | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Leak at the door bottom | New sweep, adjust door | $420-$560 |
| Mouldy or peeling silicone | Full wet perimeter reseal | $450-$680 |
| Door sags or rubs | New hinges | $560-$980 |
| Chipped or cracked panel | Single panel swap | $950-$2,850 |
| Dated design, green glass, wrong layout | Full replacement | $1,850-$5,500 |
If you are renovating, or the enclosure is a dated framed unit with green-edged glass, a new frameless enclosure may make more sense. See shower glass replacement.
Why We Use Dow Corning 795
Shower silicone sits in water every day. Cheap bathroom caulk breaks down and grows mould within a year or two. Dow Corning 795 is a structural glazing silicone designed for long-term adhesion and movement. It costs more per tube, but it lasts, which is why it is what we use on wet perimeters and why the seal work is covered by our 2-year warranty.
Water Damage Is the Real Cost
A shower leak rarely looks dramatic. A little water past the sweep each day, a little behind the silicone, and nobody notices until the ceiling below stains or the floor tiles loosen. By then the subfloor may need replacing, which in a finished Toronto bathroom easily costs $3,000-$10,000. A $420-$680 repair now is cheap insurance.
Send a photo or short video of the leak or the sagging door, and our Toronto glass repair crew will tell you what it needs.
Written by The Elite Glass Repair Toronto Crew. Last updated .
