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Frequently Asked Questions
Why do the rollers need attention?
They run in a track that collects everything the shower produces — soap residue, hair and limescale — and they are the only thing between the door and a very heavy pane of glass.
A door that has become stiff, jumps, or drags at one end is nearly always telling you the track needs cleaning rather than that the rollers have failed.
Where they have genuinely worn, most ranges sell roller sets as a spare, and replacing them is far cheaper and quicker than replacing the door.
Top-hung or bottom-rolling - does it matter?
It changes what the track has to do. A top-hung door carries its weight from the upper rail and uses a light bottom guide only to stop it swinging.
A bottom-rolling door carries its weight on the tray-level track, which is exactly where the water and debris collect, so it needs cleaning more often to run sweetly.
Top-hung is generally the better arrangement in a shower for that reason, and it also leaves the tray edge clearer for cleaning.
How wide is the actual opening?
About half the overall width on a standard two-panel slider, because one panel is fixed and the other travels across it.
Three-panel arrangements improve on that by stacking two moving panels, giving a wider entry for the same overall width, at the cost of another track and more parts.
As with enclosures generally, the clear opening rather than the nominal size is the number to compare when access matters.
Does a slider seal as well as a hinged door?
Differently rather than worse. There is no closing edge slamming against a strip; instead the moving panel overlaps the fixed one and a seal runs down the overlap.
That overlap tends to leak only when the door is off its runners or the seal has hardened, both of which are visible on inspection.
A drip strip runs along the foot of the leaf as it does on any other door, and it wears in the same way, so it is a routine replacement rather than a fault.
Can a sliding door be fitted where a wall is out of plumb?
Within limits, and less forgivingly than a framed hinged door, because the track has to be level for the leaf to run without drifting.
The wall profiles take up out-of-plumb at the ends, but the rail itself must be set true, and a door that slides open or shut on its own is usually a rail that is not.
Checking the rail with a level during installation, rather than following the line of the tiles, is what prevents that.