Sliding Shower Doors

Sliding shower doors are the ones to fit when you can’t swing a door outwards, because they open along their own track instead of needing clear space in front of them. That makes them the sensible pick for a smaller bathroom, or for a layout where a hinged door would open straight into the loo or a wall.

The range includes 1000mm and 1200mm widths, with finishes in chrome, matt black and brushed brass, and the guide below covers sizing, adjustment, glass, finish and cleaning. If a sliding door isn’t right for your space, the full shower doors range covers hinged, pivot and bifold too.

What to look for in a sliding shower door

A sliding door runs on rollers along a track and opens sideways, so it needs no clear floor space in front of it. That’s the whole reason to buy one: it suits a tight bathroom, or a layout where a door swinging outwards would clout the basin, the toilet or a wall. The things to weigh up are width, adjustment, glass, finish and how easy the running gear is to keep clean. Here’s how to read each one.

Size: match the door to the opening, not the room. Sliding doors are sold by nominal width, and the ones picked out in this guide come in 1000mm and 1200mm. The door closes off an opening between two walls, or between a wall and a side panel. Measure the gap at the top, middle and bottom before you buy, because older walls are rarely dead straight, and it’s those three measurements, not the number on the box, that decide which door fits. The Litchfield Glide Black 1000mm at £179 suits a smaller opening, and the Litchfield Glide Black 1200mm at £189 covers a wider one.

Adjustability: the bit most people forget. This is the spec that saves a bad install. A decent sliding door has an adjustable fitting range, so it can be set to suit an opening that isn’t perfectly square. Check which way that range runs, because it doesn’t always include the nominal size. The Glide 1000mm doors, in black or chrome, fit an opening of 950mm to 990mm, and the Glide Black 1200mm fits 1150mm to 1190mm, so these Glides are made for a gap a little under their headline width. The Litchfield Glide Chrome 1000mm at £169 is the cheapest of the four doors in this guide, with the same 950mm to 990mm range as the black version. The Litchfield i6 Brushed Brass 1200mm at £219 works the other way, adjusting from 1200mm down to 1160mm, so it’s the one to look at if your opening measures right on 1200mm. Either way you get 40mm of adjustment, and your narrowest and widest measurements both need to sit inside it.

Glass: 6mm toughened does the job. All three Glide doors here use 6mm toughened safety glass, and it’s perfectly solid for everyday use. Toughened glass is built to break safely if it ever does, which is the whole point of it. Thicker 8mm glass feels weightier in the hand, but don’t pay extra for thickness before you’ve sorted the fit, because a door that suits your opening and runs smoothly matters far more day to day.

Finish: pick it to match your fittings, not in isolation. Finish is the easy bit to get wrong, because a door looks great on its own and then clashes with your taps and shower valve. Match the door to the metalwork already in the room. We carry sliding doors in chrome, the safe all-rounder that goes with almost anything, black for a modern matt look, and brushed brass for a warmer, more characterful finish. If you’re doing a whole black or brass scheme, buy the metalwork from one family, such as the Litchfield range, so the tones have the best chance of matching rather than nearly matching.

Cleaning and running gear: look for quick-release access. The one real maintenance job on a sliding door is the track and the rollers, where limescale and soap scum build up over time. The Glide Black doors run on smooth glide rollers with quick-release cleaning access, so you can get in behind them and clear out the gunk instead of poking at it with an old toothbrush. It’s a small thing that makes a real difference a year in, when a door you can’t get behind becomes a job you keep putting off. All three Glide doors here are also backed by a lifetime guarantee.

Quick answers

Are sliding shower doors good for small bathrooms? Yes, that’s exactly what they’re for. A sliding door opens along its own track and needs no clear floor space in front of it, unlike a hinged door that swings outwards into the room. In a tight bathroom where a swinging door would hit the basin, the toilet or a wall, a sliding door is usually the right call. The only space it needs is the width of the opening itself.

What sizes do sliding shower doors come in? The doors in this guide come in 1000mm and 1200mm nominal widths. That’s the headline size, and the opening a door actually fits is set by its adjustment range, which can sit below it. Measure your gap at the top, middle and bottom, then check every reading falls inside the range: the Glide 1000mm doors fit 950mm to 990mm, the Glide Black 1200mm fits 1150mm to 1190mm, and the i6 Brushed Brass 1200mm adjusts from 1200mm down to 1160mm.

Are sliding shower doors adjustable for uneven walls? Yes, and it’s one of the main reasons to buy a decent one. The adjustment lets you set the door to suit a wall that isn’t perfectly square. Every door in this guide gives you 40mm of it: the Litchfield Glides are built for an opening a little under their nominal width, and the i6 Brushed Brass 1200mm adjusts down from 1200mm to 1160mm. That slack is what lets the door still fit an older, out-of-true wall.

How much do sliding shower doors cost? Of the four doors in this guide, the Litchfield Glide Chrome 1000mm is the cheapest at £169, the Glide Black 1000mm is £179, the Glide Black 1200mm is £189, and the Litchfield i6 Brushed Brass 1200mm tops the list at £219. Side panels are optional extras, so if you’re adding one to make a corner enclosure, the total depends on the panel you choose.

Is 6mm glass thick enough for a sliding shower door? Yes. 6mm toughened safety glass is what all three Litchfield Glide doors here use, and it’s plenty for everyday use. Thicker 8mm glass feels heavier and more solid in the hand, which is nice if you want the door to feel substantial, but it won’t rescue a door that’s the wrong size for the opening. Get the fit right first and 6mm does the job.

Do sliding shower doors come with a side panel? Not by default. On the doors in this guide the side panel is an optional extra, and the door on its own closes off an opening between two walls. If you want a corner enclosure, all four take an optional side panel, in 700mm, 800mm or 900mm on the Glide Black doors and 700mm, 760mm, 800mm or 900mm on the i6 Brushed Brass 1200mm. Always check whether the price you’re looking at is for the door only or the door plus a panel, and read the product page for what’s in the box.

Sliding or hinged shower door: which should I get? Sliding if space is tight or a door can’t swing outwards safely, because it opens along its track and needs no clearance in front. Hinged if you’ve got the room and you want the widest possible opening to step through, since a hinged door swings fully clear. If you’re not sure a sliding door suits your layout, the full shower doors range covers hinged and bifold options too.