Every shower cubicle, bath screen and panel within 2.1 m of the floor is a wet-area glazing application under SANS 10400-N. Frameless enclosures add a structural requirement on top: the glass itself carries the door.
The wet-area rule
SANS 10400-N treats wet areas as human-impact zones. Any glazing within 2.1 m of the finished floor level in a bathroom or shower must be toughened safety glass of at least 6 mm to 8 mm, with 10 mm required for a frameless installation, or laminated safety glass. The 2.1 m figure is deliberate: it is the zone a person's body can reach in a slip or fall, which is exactly when a bathroom becomes dangerous.
Specification by enclosure type
| Enclosure | Glass | What governs it |
|---|---|---|
| Sliding shower door | 6 mm toughened minimum, 8 mm typical | Minimum wet-area thickness plus a track that carries the panel weight |
| Hinged frameless door | 8 mm minimum, 10 mm standard | Hinges are point loads; the panel must resist the bending they introduce |
| Fixed frameless screen | 8–10 mm toughened, 10 mm for a walk-in span | The panel is braced only at the wall and the floor |
| Bath screen | 6 mm toughened minimum | Wet-area rule and the reach of a person entering the bath |
| Full frameless wet room with a fixed return panel | 10 mm toughened, with a stabilising bar or floor channel | The panel is unsupported along one full edge |
Where a bathroom install fails
A 15 kg or 20 kg door hung on hinges specified for a lighter panel, fixed into plasterboard with no backing, and sealed with a bead of silicone to make it look finished. The sealant hides nothing: the load path from the hinge to the wall structure is what keeps the enclosure standing for the life of the bathroom.
Site conditions that decide the fixing detail
- 01Behind the tiles: a stud, a noggin or a masonry substrate. A hinge bolted into tile alone will fail.
- 02Floor level against the tray lip: base-channel systems need a plumb, level and square setting-out.
- 03Water drainage and weeps: the enclosure must drain the track, not trap water against the aluminium.
- 04Door swing and clearance: a frameless door needs the swing swept before the glass is cut.
- 05Sealant selection: neutral-cure and mould-resistant, and never used as a structural element.
Why we cut to the site, not to the drawing
A bathroom is rarely square, and a frameless enclosure has no frame to absorb the error. Every opening we manufacture is measured on site at the finished wall, with the level and plumb recorded, and the panel is cut to those numbers. That is the difference between an enclosure that closes with one finger and one that needs a shim behind a hinge.