As a design consultant, one of the greatest challenges is working with the glass trade. Many design magazines feature glasswork from the European market; yet the product available overseas is not widely obtainable here in the States- creating confusion for homeowners (and professionals alike) who fall in love with these conceptions. In addition, there appears to be a great amount of room for interpetation from region to region on how a particular glass system works or how it should appear. With any fine trade, there are those who follow trends, those who are trend-setters and those who sort of lose touch with advances in design. Not all glass and shower door companies are offering the same designs, so it can appear unclear for the layperson who may be lost with industry jargon when consulting with these said firms.
Shower doors seem to propose the widest range of muddiness. Especially with the frameless sort. Often plans which are shown in architectural magazines are in fact designs that are installed in Europe, where they are fondly called "screens". The European bath varies drasticly from the American bath. Lets look at the European bathroom. Simply put it is a room designed to be exposed to water from showering. You have your drain in the shower area and often you have a drain in the center of the bathroom itself. Everything is tiled (or covered with another "waterproof" material). The American bathroom is quite different. We want to bring our luxuries with us everywhere- including the bathroom. There are baths with wood floors, baths with TV's and stereo systems. And above all, we like to see water "kept in it's place"- and it's this definition that has established fitting the European styled door into the American bathroom a bit like placing a square peg in a round hole. The European photos show curbless designings with sleek glass appearances, but these enclosures will leak, nonetheless in Europe they expect this, whereas in the States we oppose this point. To work around this employment of polycarbonate strips are used to deflect the water from leaking. With that stated, a small shower area, where the person's body encompasses more than 2/3 of the shower space a frameless door is not recommended as water will likely cast from the person's body to the voids in the shower hinges and cause water to escape. This is not avoidable. Consequently it is important to understand that a frameless door is designed after the "screen" that appears on the European market with a very different function.
The most sought look for the frameless enclosure is the system that uses glass clamps versus the older and more dated channel installation method. The clamps are composed of brass constructed hardware, versus the lighter and less functional aluminum construction that appears with the channel method. In addition the higher end companies have actually rebranded the channel installation methods as semi frameless as these enclosures do appear to be framed- with the exclusion of the door itself. Every frameless shower enclosures should only be put in using either brass construction fittings or stainless fittings. A company who is advising use of aluminum fittings - such as in hinges- is offering a lower end product with less safety existing.
In seeking for the optimal glass companies to use in the Westchester-Connecticut region, there is an abundance of glass and shower door agencies providing architectural glass services. However, very few of these agencies are really up to par with what would be viewed as preferable trends and potentiality. Even fewer matching the prerequisites of being declaired as exceptional. The company that appears to receive the higest praises in function and capability is ATM in Northern Westchester. They are one of the few companies in the area that have invested in technology and advancements within their trade. Of the companies I had sought, they provided the widest variety of specialty glass, housed an extensive amount of production machinery and offered the greatest array of specialty hardware. ATM also appears a great deal in international publishings with insight and consult, making them an actual resource for architectural glass within their industry. ATM offers a distinct service and from what I have found, there is not a comparable firm in the county.
Of the other companies in the area, various others are acceptable of employing as well. But I would contract any with caution as glass can be dangerous if not installed by a qualified agent. Always ask for a list of referrals and when possible arrange a jobsite visit to see completed projects. You can often get a sense for the type of work that a company delights doing simply by visiting their website. If you have a extensive project, seek a bigger company and vise versa. A small company will not have the capability to handle a large project within a sensible time-frame. A larger company may see a small job as something to place on the back burner. However, frequently the larger companies will possess assigned faculty members to serve the smaller jobs, whereas a smaller company is only operating with a set group of employees.
Always ask questions, seek referrals and see who offers the best fit for your design. Knowledge is key and with the advent of the internet, there is quite a bit of junk science being put forward. If you can ask a company a question and receive a sound answer to your satisfaction, you are off to a great start!
ATM Mirror & Glass, Westchester County-NY 
