apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I actually just did this myself recently. You definitely need two people to remove the doors as they are heavy!

We unscrewed everything and then had to hammer the top rail off and then lift up the doors. The metal side trays and bottom rail had alot of caulking holding them in place so we took a plastic scraper and hammered it very slowly underneath to remove without scratching the tiles or tub. An arduous process indeed!

And then you are left with a bunch of caulk that you can remove using caulk remover, goof-off or some other such product and the scraper. You should be left with a few small holes in your tiles on the side but once you hang up the shower curtain they are really not that noticeable. Hope that helps!

I did it in my last rental, but there wasn't much caulking and I didn't have to do any hammering at all. If I did it, anyone can, because I'm not a DIY person at all.

It made a *huge* difference in the bathroom.

I removed my shower doors several years ago and it was quite easy. I would not hesitate to say do it yourself to even the greenest DIYer.

My experience sounds much easier than Justine’s. Unlike Justine’s, my doors were not at all heavy and I was able to remove them without help (and I am not strong or handy). The frame was held in place solely by an adhesive/caulk. I removed the doors first, took off the top rail, then used a pry bar to remove the remainder of the frame. I did not have to use a hammer, I was able to work the pry bar under the frame without damaging the tile or tub. Since I was not reusing it, I did not care if the rails bent. There were no screws or other fasteners used to secure my frame, so that was not an issue for me.

I removed most of the caulk using a tool that holds a modified razorblade. It holds the blade at an angle and allows you to slice the caulk off at the wall/tub. Multiple passes and differing angles removed 90% of the caulk. The remainder of the caulk rubbed off using the scrubber side of a sponge or abrasive cleanser. The Goo Gone is a good idea. I wish I would have thought of that! There was no damage to my tub or walls.

FYI, after living a few years with a shower curtain, I’m contemplating installing some sort of frameless shower door enclosure. I love that look and think it will be easier to keep clean than the traditional shower door.

I did this at my house, and Be warned! Don't be a dummy like me and get in a hurry. I tore off six or seven tiles on either wall, and now it looks even worse than before. If I just would have taken my time and used a decent glue-remover, rather than a crowbar, I'd have a perfectly lovely tub area.

Oops! Franny's comment reminded me, I did slice through as much caulk as possible with a utility knife prior to and while I was using the pry bar.

We seem to do this everywhere we move...

Usually you can sort of lift the doors up off the top track and work them out, and that's generally toward the inside of the tub.

Check for screws, cut caulk, but for the most part it's all pretty easy.

The hardest part for us was disposal... Glass doors was not something they picked up at our place. I also couldn't find a neat use for the doors since there was swans forming a heart shape etched into them. We ended up finding an open space and shattering the doors so that we could sweep them up and they would fit in our garbage can.

i JUST bought a condo and i HATE the glass doors, so i took it out!... unscrew de-caulk... tada!

the only issue for me was the porsceline had disappeared under the metal sill that connected to the tub. I was a little upset about that....

Speaking of the porcelain or enamel wearing off a bathtub, does anyone know of a good way to resurface a tub without having to have a professional (or someone relatively handy) strip/sand and reglaze?

I found a DIY site which seems reasonable.
http://www.refinishingonline.com/diy.htm

Has anyone done this themselves? Also, is there an ecologically sensible way to do this?

Thanks in advance!

When I pulled my ugly shower doors and tracks out, I found that there were chip marks in the tub under the track. It looks like the idiot who put the track in roughed up the surface to make the glue stick to the track better. Still, the shower cutrain covers those tracks so most people won't see it. A shower cutrain makes the bathroom much nicer than that ugly wall. Good luck!

that do it yourself tub resurfacing looks sketchy. the site says "not available in Hawaii" but they are based in Hawaii, that seems like a bad sign to me.

D'oh! Thanks for spotting that Todd.

hi there

a place i rented a few years back had glass shower doors. my landlord wouldn't allow me to remove them. i went out and purchased a shower curtain rod, installed it about 2" above the shower doors, and purchased a shower curtain. I leave my shower curtain closed most of the time anyway, so no one knew glass doors were beneath.

just a tip for renters...

holly

Remove the doors FIRST. Then unscrew the frame. Did it myself. Easy, except one screw tried to strip.

Better solution might be to put in clear glass doors. :-)

This website really helped me with this job. I had conflicting advice from Home Depot and Ace Hardware about whether this was an easy job or whether I might cause damage I would regret. After reading the comments on this website, I decided to go ahead.
It was really easy. The doors lift off fairly easily (I'm not strong). The screws were rusty and one was tough, but all came out. After that, the side bars almost peeled off -- slicing the gel-like caulking was almost unecessary. No marks were left aside from the screw holes.
You might feel daunted at first by the sight of what's left when you pull up the lower track. It's pretty ugly. Buy a scraper (like a wide razor blade on a handle). I was surprised to find that nothing seemed to damage the tub or walls contrary to the warnings I got. After scraping or knocking off as much of the stuff as you can (some is fairly thick and can be knocked off with a putty knife and a hammer), apply some liquid remover (Silicone Latex Caulk and Foam Sealant Remover is what I used). The caulk will soften in a couple minutes and scrapes off fairly easily then, although you may need to apply it a couple times.
After that, I just used some steel wool and the tub rim looked great! What I had thought was rust along the lower rim was actually soiled caulking that came off when I ran the scraper
at an angle.
I might get a little sandpaper to finish the job, although I'm not sure I need it. There are tub paints at Home Depot, but I won't need that either.
I just hope no one sees me when I take the shower doors to the community dumpster.

P.S. The shower curtain rod I bought at IKEA is a fixed length, not adjustable. I suggest checking to make sure your shower curtain rod is adjustable. I'm still not sure how to mount it (to the wall? to the fiberglass shell?) but that's a topic for another post.

I removed the shower doors and the track. I still have the caulk removal ahead of me. Anyways to fill in the screw holes. I found one under the bottom track and am afraid of water getting through.

Anyone remove a framed shower enclosure in a showere space- not over the tub? I have a framed shower sitting atop tile, not enamel tub.
Is it hard to take off the frame/ screws/glass?

I am now doing the same thing in our bathroom. We have dingy, 30-year old bathroom with ugly brass fixtures and an ugly, ugly mirror/glass shower door. I want to take it out and put in one of those big curved shower rods that enlarges the shower space. My only concern is the screw holes. Is there any type of rubber plug out there that could be use to cover the holes?

Thanks for the great advice! I just removed my shower door by myself with my husband and baby sleeping. I wanted to see if I could do it without any help and since it was so easy, I just finished up the job. Not much clean up except for under the bottom rail. It was pretty nasty under there. But it was a sinch!!! Now I just need to plug the holes in the tile and I'm all finished. I have already put up the shower curtain to make the bathroom more intimate.

what if the side rails of the shower doors are rivets and not screws?

I removed the doors and found that the tub is discolored from where the bottom track was. My tub is blue and now I would like to change the color to white. Does anyone know if the paint for tubs sold in home depot work well? I would like to do it myself to save money but I don't want to mess up the tub.

The screws holding my door are....stuck? They aren't stripped, but seem to have a ton of "scum" on them. What can I do to loosen them? vinager?

This site has been very helpful. I have a folding accordian shower door mounted on a fiberglass molded blue shower/tub. I have been working on taking the caulk off and was going to recaulk and now wonder if I just want to remove it all. Some have made it sound like maybe I could handle it, but I am worried on what I might find under the frame. The fiberglass tub under the bottom rail is what I am worried about the most. Anyone worked with something like this? Thanks!

For those looking to dispose of old shower doors, there may be a Habitat for Humanity store in your area that you can donate them to rather than throwing them away. Just look for Habitat for Humanity in your local phonebook.

I'm probably on the wrong website since I don't have an apartment, but just wanted to share a "fixit" that I came across. I took my glass shower doors down and the frame was attached to my fiberglass tub surround with screws that had to be removed leaving holes. I searched the internet trying to figure a way to inexpensively repair the holes. I was taking a shower in our RV one day, when I happened to realize that the tub surround was attached to the wall with plastic anchors, consisting of a round plastic plug that after inserted into the fiberglass hole, a plastic peg could then be gently hammered into the plug. I called my RV dealer and ordered some of them in the color of my tub fiberglass, which luckily was almond. They worked beautifully and I did it all for less than $4.00. Oh and if the holes are too small, just drill them a little larger, the plug covers it. Hope this helps someone!