Steps to Remove Sliding Shower Doors

Not everyone is a fan of sliding glass shower doors. If you are not a cleaning devotee, glass shower doors can be difficult to keep clean and sanitary. Whether you like sliding glass shower doors or not, they do not last forever. The day will come when the doors need to be replaced. These doors are relatively easy to remove with a few simple tools. A screwdriver and a scraper may be the only items that you need to uninstall sliding glass shower doors.

Start by removing the doors themselves.

Slide the outermost door over a few inches. Grip both of the edges of door firmly. Lift the door upward. The small rollers on the top of the door will come out of the track. By pushing the top of the door toward the tub, you will be able to free these rollers from the top completely. At the same time, ease the bottom of the door over the bottom rails by pulling the door slightly toward you.

Hold on to the door tightly so that you do not drop it.

If you are concerned about dropping the door when it comes out of the frame, you may want to enlist the help of a friend. The doors are not heavy, however, and one person can usually do the job unassisted. Set the first door aside in a place where it will not be damaged or will not have the glass broken.

Slide the other door to the side a few inches.

The second door will be removed in the same way as the first door. Set it alongside the first door once you have removed it. All that should remain of the sliding glass door assembly is the frame work. This will consist of the top and bottom rails and the side rails that run along the walls connecting the top and bottom.

Inspect the inside ends of the top rail.

On most sliding shower door assemblies, there will be one or two screws on each end of the top rail that fastens it to the two upright rails. Remove these screws with a screwdriver. Once the screws have been removed, or if there are no screws, push up on one end of the top rail to dislodge it from the side rail. Repeat this process on the other end. You should now be able to pivot the rail and remove it from the shower and tub area.

The easiest part of the sliding shower door removal is over.

The bottom and side rails are always bonded to the wall and tub with some type of silicon or other sealant to prevent water leaking out. When you start to remove these pieces, you need to decide if the door assembly will become scrap metal or be reused at some future point. If you plan to reuse the pieces, you will need to take extreme care when removing them so that they do not get bent.

Each of the side rails with have several screws going through them and into the wall.

Use a screwdriver to remove these screws before attempting to dislodge the rails from the wall behind them. Once the screws are out, use the scraper or putty knife to begin the process of loosening the rail from the wall. To remove the rails without damaging them, you will need to work your way up and down both sides of each rail until the seal is completely broken. Lift the rails up and out of the bottom rail. There may be a screw holding each rail to the bottom rail that will need to be removed on some installations.

You will need to use the same process to loosen the bottom rail before removing it.

When the bottom rail is loose, you have completed removing the hardware associated with the sliding shower doors. It is a good idea to go ahead and complete the job by scraping away the remaining residue from the sealant. You may need to purchase some type of solvent at the home center to finish cleaning up the area where the rails were bonded to the walls and tub.