10 Things Nobody Tells You About Frameless Shower Doors Before You Buy

Most shower door guides start after you've already made the mistake. This one starts before. What the glass shops know. What the showrooms know. What nobody mentions until the door is installed and the return window is closed. 1. "Frameless" doesn't always mean frameless — truly frameless requires 3/8" (10mm) glass with no aluminum channel on any edge. Semi-frameless uses 6mm glass with a frame compensating for the thinner panel. Ask before you buy. 2. Glass thickness almost never appears in the product name — if it's not stated upfront in mm or fractions of an inch, assume 6mm. The difference in feel and durability over ten years is not subtle. 3. Showroom price includes four layers of markup — distributor margin, regional rep commission, showroom overhead, showroom retail. The same door costs $650 factory-direct vs $950–1,200 at a showroom. The extra $300–550 buys nothing structural. 4. Free shipping on glass is not always free — a 60-inch panel weighs 80–180 lbs. Real free shipping covers LTL freight, crating, and liftgate. Liftgate fees of $35–75 added after checkout are not free shipping. 5. Sales tax adds $50–100 depending on seller nexus — Unikoo collects tax only in NJ and CA. Orders to the other 46 states ship tax-free. That's $45–90 that stays in the budget, not a promotion. 6. Measure after tile, not before — tile adds 3/8 to 1/2 inch per wall. A 60-inch rough opening becomes 58.25–59.75 inches finished. Measure at three heights after grout cures 72 hours minimum. Use the smallest reading. 7. Coating determines 5 minutes vs 20 minutes of weekly cleaning — factory-applied EnduroShield raises water contact angle to 100°+. Most products coat one side. Unikoo coats both sides of every panel. The exterior surface accumulates deposits too. 8. Hardware grade matters more than hardware finish — zinc alloy with chrome plating looks identical to stainless on day one. By year three, plating wears at high-contact points and base metal corrodes. Ask for the grade number: 304 or 316 stainless. If the supplier can't give you a number, it's zinc alloy. 9. Finished opening is never the nominal size — nobody has a true 60-inch opening after tile. Measure three times at three heights, use the smallest reading, order to that dimension. 10. Door height should match ceiling ratio, not just tile height — a 72-inch door in a 9-foot ceiling room leaves 36 inches of unresolved space. An 84-inch door leaves 24 inches — the same proportion a 72-inch door achieves in an 8-foot room. UKS04 is available in 84-inch height at the same price as 76 and 80-inch. Unikoo frameless shower doors: 10mm SGCC glass, EnduroShield both sides, 316/304 stainless hardware, free nationwide shipping including liftgate. From $650. Custom dimensions quoted in 2 hours. Contractor wholesale for 3+ units. unikoogroup.com — 888-404-5533.