Shower window - what kind?
We are going to replace a window inside a bathroom that will be right next to the bathtub/shower. Unless we get a shower curtain to cover the window, this window will be getting very wet with every shower.
Given the moisture, what would be the best material for a new window – wood, aluminum, vinyl? I’m worried that a wood window would rot quickly, so maybe vinyl is best? Any other tips on windows inside showers??

Guest User | 4 years and 6 months ago
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Guest User | 4 years and 6 months ago
string(1) "3" string(6) "200737"
Cool idea, @brokelin… coincidently I saw a similar idea on Youtube the other day so glad to know it worked for you.

brokelin | 4 years and 6 months ago
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If you want a wood window, it is a simple matter to install a second shower curtain rod and on that side and hang a shower curtain over the window. I did this once in a rental when I had to go buy a shower curtain and shower curtain rod when I moved in (I hate tension shower curtain rods, I prefer them to be securely installed, and installing rods in easy, even drilling into tile – just use a tile bit), and since there was a wood window smack in the middle of the long side of the tub, I bought two rods and shower curtains.
I used clear vinyl shower curtains with a bumpy raised pattern, so they provided privacy, while still allowing natural light into the bathroom. This had some advantages over a frosted window, as when I wasn’t showering I could push the shower curtain aside, have a view out the window, and let in even more light. I could also leave the window open while showering and not get water into the window workings and into the wall. I left the shower curtain whole, as I didn’t know how long I’d be living there, but you could always cut it to just a bit large r than the size of the window, just large enough to keep shower water from getting behind it, like a window shade or curtain. Using a long shower curtain rod and shower curtain hooks allows it to be pushed to the side easily.
It is not the conventional solution today, but as someone who prefers wood windows, who likes a non-frosted window for more natural light and for views outside when I want them, and who doesn’t like having water pour out the window when showering, and leak into the wall to disintegrate the ceiling of the bathroom below (both of which happened there because the tenants in the apartment above mine in that house put nothing at all over the window in their tub – the landlord’s handyman, when he finally deigned to call one when I started getting irate about the potential of the wet plaster ceiling falling down on me someday when I was in the shower, implemented a solution similar to mine upstairs, though far less elegant looking than mine), I think I would seriously consider this window curtain solution, if I wanted a wood window, even a new renovation, as this both looked and functioned very well.
Of course, if you don’t want a curtain set-up, I’d say get a vinyl window.

Guest User | 4 years and 6 months ago
string(1) "3" string(6) "200737"
Our GC actually recommended aluminum so I hope that’s what we’ll be doing. It’s actually a rather large window, not a small bathroom window as I guess the room was originally not a bathroom.

stevecym | 4 years and 6 months ago
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i wanted aluminum windows when we moved in here and bought the vinyl ones we have. we ordered a better brand product and have had no issues and that is 15 years ago. the only thing i wish we had done was gotten thicker window sash so we could install triple pane in the bedroom on the front of the house.
just this past weekend i was at a customer’s house on Monroe st and this person had some really good looking vinyl windows in his house. these looked like a qulity product, i had never seen anything like them and if they perform like they look, they will be very good. He posts on here and often reads what i say here and i told him he should be sharing his experiences with the windows on here.
i worked for a window contractor a long time ago and also after college for 6 months and the guy who did my windows here is a childhood friend (so i listened to what he had to say when he recommended a product). my take on the vinyl is like anything else, if you are going to get something, do your research and get the more expensive product. if you buy home depot, you get home depot.
all this said, i am a purist and would rather old fashioned wood.

MDR | 4 years and 6 months ago
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Vinyl windows are the worst. Aluminum is much stronger and more durable, even Andersen’s fibrex frames would be better.

cate | 4 years and 6 months ago
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Why not aluminum? Generally they hold up better than vinyl, which warp. Though maybe with a small window in a shower, that won’t be a big issue.

stevecym | 4 years and 6 months ago
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ok, here is what will happen with wood. i suppose if you kept it well finished, it might be ok, for a little while. but the finish may not hold (and an interior finish won’t) because there is a lot of steam and then drying so the wood will move. eventually the caulking will fail and mositure will get in around the frame and that will be that. the vinyl has really been great in the sense that if water gets into places it does not belong, it is not a worry.

Guest User | 4 years and 6 months ago
string(1) "3" string(6) "200737"
But do you think a wood window would be a mistake? That’s what our architect suggests…

stevecym | 4 years and 6 months ago
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We did the same as mr hancock and that was 14 years ago, no issues. No blind in front, just the frosted glass. The window is high enough that we open the top sash quit a few inches and still have privacy.

JohnHancock | 4 years and 6 months ago
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I have a frosted vinyl window in my shower and a blind in front of it.