Glass Distinction is a frameless Glass Specialist servicing the whole Sydney metropolitan area for the Supply and Installation of 10mm Shower Screens, of Mirrors and Splashbacks.

We are a family-based business and take a lot of pride in our work - in fact, by far the greatest part of our work comes through reference from past customers. Whether working with architects on exacting customised jobs or with builders or home owners, we always maintain the same very high craftmanship standards.
Because of our 25 years' experience in the industry, we can assure you of top quality Product, Service and Workmanship every time from our fully experienced installers. That is why, in full confidence, we can offer you a 5 Year Warranty with every Shower Screen.

If you require it, we can give you expert advice re. the design or positioning of your shower screen so as to maximise both how it looks and how it functions, in your home.

Courtesy and reliability are important to us and because we know how important they must be to you also - we place a high premium on punctuality.

All the 10mm thick glass panels for Screens are safety toughened and available in a Float (natural green tint), Starfire (clear), or Acid-etched (frosted) finish. In the case of Splashbacks, we can exactly match any choice of colour.

1. We are a family business whose aim is to remain a small company employing no subcontractors. Why is this important to you ? - because only then, can we guarantee A-1 staff quality control, assuring a fully professional measure & installation. No matter how large or well-established the Company you choose, your Shower Screen is only ever as good as the Measuring and Installation. In addition, keeping our business small allows us to cut overheads and maintain our Prices at a very competitive level.

2. Particularly important to the longterm looks and functioning of your frameless shower screen is the quality of the hinges and brackets used. We pay more for our fittings, because we insist on a very high standard. Most of our work comes to us through referral by past customers, so it makes sense for us to ensure your ongoing satisfaction with the product we provide.

3. Because we are so confident in the quality of our product and installation, we have extended the Glass Distinction written Warranty on frameless Shower Screens to 5 years.

N.B. the following article is from the New Yorker Jan. 8 2007 by Ian Frazier

Dear Guest: The shower curtain in this bathroom has been purchased with care at a reputable “big box” store in order to provide maximum convenience in showering. After you have read these instructions, you will find with a little practice that our shower curtain is as easy to use as the one you have at home.

You’ll note that the shower curtain consists of several parts. The top hem, closest to the ceiling, contains a series of regularly spaced holes designed for the insertion of shower-curtain rings. As this part receives much of the everyday strain of usage, it must be handled correctly. Grasp the shower curtain by its leading edge and gently pull until it is flush with the wall. Step into the tub, if you have not already done so. Then take the other edge of shower curtain and cautiously pull it in opposite direction until it, too, adjoins the wall. A little moisture between shower curtain and wall tiles will help curtain to stick.

Keep in mind that normal bathing will cause you unavoidably to bump against shower curtain, which may cling to you for a moment owing to the natural adhesiveness of water. Some guests find the sensation of wet plastic on their naked flesh upsetting, and overreact to it. Instead, pinch the shower curtain between your thumb and forefinger near where it is adhering to you and simply move away from it until it is disengaged. Then, with the ends of your fingers, push it back to where it is supposed to be.

If shower curtain reattaches itself to you, repeat process above. Under certain atmospheric conditions, a convection effect creates air currents outside shower curtain which will press it against you on all sides no matter what you do. If this happens, stand directly under showerhead until bathroom microclimate stabilizes. Many guests are surprised to learn that all water pipes in our system run off a single riser. This means that the opening of any hot or cold tap, or the flushing of a toilet, interrupts flow to shower. If you find water becoming extremely hot (or cold), exit tub promptly while using a sweeping motion with one arm to push shower curtain aside. REMEMBER TO KEEP SHOWER CURTAIN INSIDE TUB AT ALL TIMES! Failure to do this may result in baseboard rot, wallpaper mildew, destruction of living-room ceiling below, and possible dripping onto catered refreshments at social event in your honor that you are about to attend. So be careful!

This shower curtain comes equipped with small magnets in the shape of disks which have been sewn into the bottom hem at intervals. These serve no purpose whatsoever and may be ignored. Please do not tamper with them. The vertical lines, or pleats, which you may have wondered about, are there for a simple reason: user safety. If you have to move from the tub fast, as outlined above, the easy accordion-type folding motion of the pleats makes that possible. The gray substance in some of the inner pleat folds is a kind of insignificant mildew, less toxic than what is found on some foreign cheeses.

When detaching shower curtain from clinging to you or when exiting tub during a change in water temperature, bear in mind that there are seventeen mostly empty plastic bottles of shampoo on tub edge next to wall. These bottles have accumulated in this area over time. Many have been set upside down in order to concentrate the last amounts of fluid in their cap mechanisms, and are balanced lightly. Inadvertent contact with a thigh or knee can cause all the bottles to be knocked over and to tumble into the tub or behind it. If this should somehow happen, we ask that you kindly pick the bottles up and put them back in the same order in which you found them. Thank you.

While picking up the bottles, a guest occasionally will lose his or her balance temporarily, and, in even rarer cases, fall. If you find this occurring, remember that panic is the enemy here. Let your body go limp, while reminding yourself that the shower curtain is not designed to bear your weight. Grabbing onto it will only complicate the situation.

If, in a “worst case” scenario, you do take hold of the shower curtain, and the curtain rings tear through the holes in the upper hem as you were warned they might, remain motionless and relaxed in the position in which you come to rest. If subsequently you hear a knock on the bathroom door, respond to any questions by saying either “Fine” or “No, I’m fine.” When the questioner goes away, stand up, turn off shower, and lay shower curtain flat on floor and up against tub so you can see the extent of the damage. With a sharp object—a nail file, a pen, or your teeth—make new holes in top hem next to the ones that tore through.

Now lift shower curtain with both hands and reattach it to shower-curtain rings by unclipping, inserting, and reclipping them. If during this process the shower curtain slides down and again goes onto you, reach behind you to shelf under medicine cabinet, take nail file or curved fingernail scissors, and perform short, brisk slashing jabs on shower curtain to cut it back. It can always be repaired later with safety pins or adhesive tape from your toiletries kit.

At this point, you may prefer to get the shower curtain out of your way entirely by gathering it up with both arms and ripping it down with a sharp yank. Now place it in the waste receptacle next to the john. In order that anyone who might be overhearing you will know that you are still all right, sing “Fat Bottomed Girls,” by Queen, as loudly as necessary. While waiting for tub to fill, wedge shower curtain into waste receptacle more firmly by treading it underfoot with a regular high-knee action as if marching in place.

We are happy to have you as our guest. There are many choices you could have made, but you are here, and we appreciate that. Operating the shower curtain is kind of tricky. Nobody is denying that. If you do not wish to deal with it, or if you would rather skip the whole subject for reasons you do not care to reveal, we accept your decision. You did not ask to be born. There is no need ever to touch the shower curtain again. If you would like to receive assistance, pound on the door, weep inconsolably, and someone will be along.

The Pros

Cost - your average, L-shaped frameless Shower Screen from a company that sells direct ready-made shower screens, will cost you an average of $875. If you then have it professionally installed, it will cost you between $270-$300. This totals min.$1170 . Your savings, compared with having this Screen custom made and installed by a professional compamy such as ours, will be approx. $300-$400. This might sound appealing, BUT:

The Cons

1. A frameless shower screen hinge varies geatly in quality and the savings in this area do not represent money well saved, as problems like: eventual slippage of door, eventual wearng off of chrome finish on fittings - may occur, as doors weigh as much as 35kg.

2. We have, in the past, done work for unhappy past clients of all companies supplying these ready-made shower screens in Sydney and have been called out to install, repair, or in some cases, to replace these often ill-fitting panels because the company supplying them will not give a refund, saying there is nothing wrong with the panels themselves. This of course is true - the problem is that these screens just will not fit in the space in which the customer is trying to put them, as walls are usually not plumb in houses, and floors not level.

3. Please understand that as a professional company, we custom measure to the millimetre, so that gaps between the glass & wall are even and allowing only 2-3 mm gap between panels & between glass and tiles. In fact, the ready-made screens, are not really fully frameless at all for this reason - as they all, because they are not professionally measured, are manufactured leaving undefined gaps between glass. They are all supplied with a necessary plastic strip which on installation, is inserted along front and back edge of the screen door and along the front edge of the return panel. This is not attractive, taking away from the frameless, sleek look you have the right to expect.

4. If you are thinking of doing the installation yourself, of ready-made screens, following instructions, be aware of the following as, again, our installers have experienced the problems first hand: the screws are often too short and threads inside the hinge can strip because of poor quality, causing door slippage in time. An inexperienced person, first of all, will not be able to work alone, as some of the panels are large, heavy and difficult to handle. There are numerous obstacles to overcome to perfectly align the panels e.g. getting the front edge plumb or hanging and aligning a 35kg glass door. There are also many tricks of the trade in fitting this kind of ready-made square Screen well - do you know these? And how are your silconing techniques? Even our installers sometimes have to tell the clients that we just cannot make their screen fit and the client at this point will have incurred even more costs! The savings on a ready-made screen of this type is minimal at best, compared to all the hassles and risks. And - the bottom line - how will your finished product look?

Our advice?

Use a Company who will do the job correctly for you the first time and give you a good warranty with their work - who will come down and professionally measure and install your job so that at the end, all your screen panels are fully frameless, are perfectly aligned and will stay that way. After all - isn't that what you are paying for?