Glass Blocks & finishing edge or trim

yop

Lads,
I have built a wet room "shower door" out of glass blocks. It is 5 blocks wide and 9 high.
Only one end of the wall is attached to the main wall of the house, this means the othe end is exposed and unfinished.

I would have thought getting a trim would have been easy but this is not the case, place in UK told me that I had to also purchase the blocks of them :rolleyes:

So anyway, any suggestions on what I might do to finish it?
Maybe a steel plate from floor, I presume that a stainless steel plate up tight against the edge of the block might work?

Thanks in advance

squire1

Would tiles be an option? It would be waterproof and tidy. A piece of stainless steel might be hard to source and cut/bend to size. I came across some metallic looking tiles on one of the tile shop chains if you are after the "steel look".

yop

That is a good idea, i never thought of that, I have seen them tiles myself alright, they could make a nice finish.

CJhaughey

I would try and get a structural type of edge, that fixes the wall to something solid like the ceiling and floor, to give the wall strength in case anyone fell against it.

yop

Ya CL, I was thinking of that alright, a pole attached to the blocks, floor and ceiling.

tribesman

Yop,

I'd like to see how this turns out. Would you mind posting a picture?

CJhaughey

How about a length of stainless rod? That would provide a rustproof reinforcement. Finish with glass tiles.

yop

tribesman wrote:

Yop,

I'd like to see how this turns out. Would you mind posting a picture?

That makes 2 of us!!

When you say rod you mean something the width of the glass block, that fits in tight to it?

CJhaughey

No I mean a 8 or 10mm rod that sits in the middle of the block.
You could use flat bar but I think it would be more expensive, it would definately want to be stainless though, mild steel will rust and discolour, even galv will break down over time.
Flat bar will be easier to fix and hide though.

ScottishDanny

There are companies in the UK that manufacture Acrylic blocks that look exactly the same as the glass ones but lighter. They may have the bits you need. One is called polarlight. Obviously there is a weight issue but the fittings should be the same.

aka_Ciaran

Hi - not sure if this is exactly what u want but I put a wooden frame on the edge of mine.....

yop

Cian,
Thats is nice, could you get me a better pic please, hard enough to see!!

What did you do exactly, get a piece timber, shape the sides of it, paint it with gloss paint and glued it up?

dras

I have a catalogue for vetroarredo (.com) an italian firm who make finishing kits and modular build kits and supply all sorts of nice glass blocks. I got if off "architectural hardware" who have offices in Dublin, Belf astand Galway (I think - I was in Galway one). They have pvc edge strips for outside or humid areas and also kits for building them.

Not sure of prices and order time/shipping though.

tribesman

If you are going for PVC then how about a length of square section drain pipe? You'd have to find one as thick as the blocks and put something solid through the centre to make it rigid but it would be easy to clean and it would be cheap.

aka_Ciaran

yop wrote:

What did you do exactly, get a piece timber, shape the sides of it, paint it with gloss paint and glued it up?

Hi Yop - basically built the frame first then cemented the blocks in place then painted with gloss paint. Took some more pics last night hope they're a bit clearer....Ciaran

dras

Looks like a good way to do it Ciaran. How did you start it at the bottom? Did you have a single course of concrete bricks or soapbar that you have tiled up onto from the floor?

yop

Ciaran, thanks for that, I grouted the blocks with a white grout, left a very clean look which you coud do and it would highlight your glass blocks

aka_Ciaran

Yep absolutely...looking back I'm not sure why I went with grey!

aka_Ciaran

dras wrote:

Looks like a good way to do it Ciaran. How did you start it at the bottom? Did you have a single course of concrete bricks or soapbar that you have tiled up onto from the floor?

Started at the bottom after putting in the shower tray. Then had a single row of concrete blocks followed by the bottom piece of the wooden frame, then the rest of the frame

emese

Your shower wall looks great, well done! i like the wooden ceiling too!

Would anyone know where i can get some glass blocks - for not too dear?