Dreamline Essence Double Sliding Glass Shower Doors

The Dreamline Essence double sliding door available from the home depot. See what tools you need and what you get in the box as well as some things to look out for during installation. See where you can go wrong installing this yourself and don't make the same mistakes i did. I am not a professional or affiliated with any vendor. I'm just a home owner that wanted some new shower doors. If you have any questions please comment below and I will try to answer them the best I can. If you are a professional and would like to share some tips then by all means, please comment below and help out the DIY community.

[@scottsolem277]

Very good job. It helps to have a self acknowledged amateur walk through it and also admitting your mistake. The toddlers voice added to the authenticity.

[@mram7715]

Great vid. Just installed mine. Coupe of things I learned. U MUST measure from bottom of the threshold! Page 16 shows a diagram to measure from the tub/tile bottom.....not the top of the guide bracket. It is a measurement of 71 1/8 exactly. Also, if u have wood vertical support behind your holes, u do not need anchors. Even if drilling through tile. Go right into the wood. Tip: I did not install with silicone the first time around. I held everything on with tape just in case. Once top rail was secure, I went back and silicones everything. Hope this helps👍🏽

[@kevinbaerg]

Thank you @ThatsOneWaytoDoIt! Thanks also to mram 77 for your tips. Just going back to silicone now after getting all the holes drilled and brackets tested. Nice to get it all right "dry" before smearing silicone everywhere! If you already find yourself with the bottom track brackets siliconed down before measuring up from the threshold - the new measurement is close to 70 3/8 from the top of the bracket.

[@victorgonzalez-pw1jx]

Can you add one on how to adjust the doors please .everything you did and showed was awesome and very detailed thank you so so much I will continue and highly recommend your videos

[@marklaw7648]

Had these doors installed by a contractor. They didn’t get the top rail level. This affects everything. Leveled the top rail and the fit on the doors improved significantly.

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

Important note to everyone. The walls need to be straight up and down and the rail needs to be level. If not, you will have water leaks.

[@DT-ui5zg]

Thank you for the help, just finished installing mine and this was super helpful! Make sure you measure twice and cut once is the best piece of advice I could give. I also used NP1 sealant caulk just to ensure no leaks in the future, but all in all it's a great looking shower door.

[@Turbo_Todd]

Great video. Wish I had watched your video first. I actually installed the wall brackets 5/8" to high. I pulled them off and drilled it correctly. In my case the new holes are not visible.

[@biggusbestus551]

I have worked in the trades for 50 years. I found your video very helpful ... There are ways to fill and relocate those holes, but looks like you have it under control. My concern is dropping the glass, which is something I have done. Yes, cleaning up 40 pounds of glass can be fun. I takes a month to find it all ...

[@TC-tw5zk]

Lol I have done the same...barely touched tile and it exbloded....

[@drewjohnson6539]

Great job man! Very helpful! You assisted me bigtime during my installation process. I'm also a first time installer of doors like these and you walked through the process really nicely. One addition that may be helpful to others in the future is include your summary at the beginning of the video as well as at the end. Starting from the top seems to be the way to go and I would have loved to see that early in the video as I saw other written reviews on it but it didn't compute at the time. Thanks again and great work!

[@erichern8078]

Thanks for the tips and tricks. I just finished installing 2 of these in my restrooms. I didnt like the side metal rails so I left them off and ordered rubber strips for the glass edges from amazon. I also didn't want to drill holes on the bottom rail so i just used 3m double sided tape along with silicone. Well see how long it lasts. Thanks again for the video it made the instructions a little easier to understand.

[@lillyandson5551]

This is a good overview video of the Essence, thanks for putting this up. I wasn't going to comment until I saw several of the comments people were making, and some of the comments were recent, so I thought I might be able to help someone by responding to some of the issues raised. TL;DR version: Brackets should be moved but fill the holes with silicone, guides need to be screwed down (don't use glue, VHB tape, or caulk only), and every shower is different so the closer a shower matches the door specs the easier the install. First, regarding the misplacement of the header brackets, should they be fixed so that you can install the top clips that fit in the tops of the brackets? Dreamline would say yes because they are there to prevent the header from moving upward if someone hits the underside of the header hard. Doing so will probably not pop the header out of a bracket, but it might raise one of the doors high enough that it jumps out of one of the guides for a second. If a door pops out of a guide it could come down outside the guide or on top of the guide, and possibly break the guide. Glass will only break if it hits tile (which this shower doesn't have). Also, the glass is very unlikely to jump off the header if the anti-jump knobs are installed correctly. So for this shower it might be fine, but for others it would probably be better to reposition the brackets. The repositioning of the brackets is easy since you have wood backing. You can fill the holes with white silicone, and the bottom hole looks like it will be partly covered by the bracket, so it shouldn't be that noticeable. Since you have wood backing you don't need to strengthen the old holes when you drill the new holes close by. I personally use a white acrylic polymer filler because it dries hard and the repair is invisible (with practice), but that would be unnecessary for this situation. Second, regarding drilling down into the curb, this is typically done for safety. Screws mechanically fasten the guides to the curb, so if someone falls against a door or panel it will have sufficient support to hold. Caulks and glues can fail, and often do fail as they age, whereas a stainless steel screw will last the lifetime of the shower door. Nearly every shower door model that has no curb extrusion requires drilling down into the curb. This is the case for almost every shower door classified as "frameless". If you search images for Frameless Shower Doors you will see thousands of enclosures with panel clamps, channels, and guides. All of these things are screwed down. Occasionally you will see a picture of a shower enclosure with no channel or clamps, only caulk. These shower doors are sometimes not up to code in their area. Someone mentioned possibly voiding the warranty for a pan liner if you drill a hole in it, regardless of where the hole is. Whether this is true for a particular pan liner manufacturer or not, a properly installed guide is not going to be a problem. The hole must be filled with 100% silicone caulk until it oozes out, caulk is placed on the bottom of the guide, and after screwing the guide in place the edges of the guide can be caulked as well, if preferred. I suspect some liner manufacturers will specify acceptable minimum placement of holes from the bottom of the pan, and curbs are typically 4" high. Third, regarding the difficulty some people are having with this model, every shower is different and this model isn't ideal for all showers. The installation in this video looked easy, and that is likely because his curb is level and his wall outages were within the door's specs. This model does not accommodate an out of level curb (increasingly common for "frameless" sliders). If someone is having trouble installing this door, it is most likely because of an out of level curb. Most curbs are out of level by at least 1/16". It's not uncommon to see curbs 1/4" out. The reality is, an experienced installer can install these doors with out of level curbs, to a small degree. However, for a Do-It-Yourselfer following the instructions, they will run into problems if the curb is out of level. The adjustments an experienced installer can make will vary with every shower and depend on the magnitude of all outages (walls and curb), as well as the direction of outages, as well as manually calculating position of both header brackets. This is risky, and it is easy to make a calculation mistake, and it would make the instructions too complex, so Dreamline sells the door for Level Curbs only. Therefore the instructions expect this and are written only for level curbs. The placement of the header brackets are based on measuring up from the curb, but if the curb is out of level by 1/16", then the header will be out of level by that amount as well, using the method in the instructions. An out of level header has obvious problems, so headers always need to be level. Also, when checking the curb for an outage, make sure you put the level all the way up against each wall. Use shims if you have to, but you need to get the outage completely from wall to wall. If you have a 58" opening, but only a 48" level, you can't just put it in the middle. The curb can have a dip in it, or an uneven out of level condition. The guides are placed at each wall and you don't want to bottom out in a guide because the entire curb is level except for one tile. Dreamline has a list of installers in your area that can install this door for you. I do realize that many people who are watching this video are doing so because they intend on installing this themselves, but it's still nice to have options if you think you might have a trickier shower install.

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

Agreed, these doors will only go in easily and adjust to, nearly perfect level/plumb conditions. It's on the first page of the guide. Do not buy these if your house has "settled" if you have doors in bedrooms that are tight to open and close if you can put a marble on the floor and watch it roll. You will most definitely have a problem setting the height and gaps across the bottom and along the sides. Please make sure you have a square and level shower before purchasing these doors.

[@rollingstoner2487]

I had the same problem with the 71 1/8 threshold problem, I did the same thing put some rubber shims and silicone and it work fine,

[@palllllllllll]

Thanks for the detailed vid I was intimidated by the warnings on the directions but with your help I think I can do it. I watched all the pros videos and yours is best!!!!!

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

The pros just have more experience. That means learning from your mistakes or the mistakes of others. In this case, learn from my mistake and measure carefully. It's not hard but I was a fraction of an inch off and had to install a small shim to get the door height. Good luck!

[@JackDaddy0711]

Very helpful, thank you! I've fired my contractor & finishing myself, thanks to you & youtube. Maybe you (OR ANYONE) can answer a few questions: 1) My shower pan is acrylic and threshold is only 2.5". Bottom rail already cut. Will the 1/4" "over-hang" of Guide Block be a REAL issue? 2) Top Rail has notches for rollers. Do those need to be centered after cut? (i.e., if I need to shorten top rail 2", do I need to cut 1" off L & 1" off R? 3) my shower pan has a SLIGHT pitch towards drain wall, match that pitch in top rail? Thank you!

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

1) it won't be a huge deal because you're going to seal the guide fasteners with silicone 2)The notches extend from one side to the other. The doors will slide past each other so there is no need to take 1 inch from each side 3) only match the top rail if your walls are also pitched toward the drain's direction. You need to end up with a perfect square for these doors. They will leak if not squared. You can't seal a trapezoid with a rectangle.

[@jackmahogovv]

Just Curious how your install went. I am in the process of installing my shower and already bought this door after realizing that my threshold is only 2.5 inches. Did you have any issues with the bracket overhanging the threshold?

[@JackDaddy0711]

@@jackmahogovv install went well. No issues 👍

[@millylarz]

Bless you, not all heroes wear capes but you should for sure!!!🙌❤

[@Tom21356]

Great job. I wish you could install mine. I am 74 so I will not even attempt to install one. I just measured my shower space for width and on the top end was 58 1/2 and at the bottom was 58. Can these double sliding doors still be installed? Also. I prefer the double sliding doors which I had in my old place but why most people choose one sliding door and a stationary glass at the other end? Is there something I should know why?

[@Jay-nc4wd]

My shower tile was recently redone from scratch (torn down to the studs and rebuilt) and I'm ready to install this door. The curb/threshold is level from left to right and the walls are plumb but the curb/threshold slopes inward significantly. Is this going to be a problem with the bottom brackets/guides?

[@garyalexander9879]

How far over was the wall bracket from the side rail?

[@victorelizalde333]

To this date how much would you charge to do this job to a costumer home ?? Hope I get some feedback thanks

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

I am not a professional so what I would like to pay and what they need to take the job is different. If it was for a friend I'd probably ask 300 minimum and they help me. It takes a few hours to measure and layout and cut things. Also if their walls weren't plumb/square I would tell them to go get another type of door. This door will leak at the edges if the walls aren't straight. If I was paying I'd expect 600-900 for install, they provide necessary materials.

[@mattfish9]

you can still bring that bracket up and drill the correct hole , fill the bad hole with silicone , the bracket will cover the bad hole.

[@Everclearish]

Out of sight ...out of mind I say.

[@AlexBartalotta-n2b]

How much gap is there between the bottom of the glass door and the threshold?

[@jeffogden6060]

I just installed one of these and your video was very helpful. It’s surprising that Dreamline doesn’t have a video for it but don’t need one thanks to you. Lots of installation steps but easy enough for a DIYer. I decided not to drill into the threshold so I epoxied the little cams instead. Seems to be just fine. I really like the unit overall. How do you like yours one year later?

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

Yup, that's my one regret, drilling into my fiberglass. though I haven't had any water intrusion it will forever be in the back of my mind. I suspect a correct adhesive can hold the guide just fine and if it was a tile shower than there's no harm done if you don't go through the membrane. My doors are holding up just fine. I did adjust the height a little bit to get as close to the threshold as possible but they've been great for me. I also squeege them every shower so I've avoided water spots. On my other shower I went with normal frame sliding bypass doors from DELTA simply because of the simplicity and forgiving nature they offer. I do recommend these doors but only if your walls are straight (plumb) they cannot adjust out of plumb very well which was the problem in the other bathroom.

[@jeffogden6060]

@@thatsonewaytodoit5006 I decided not to install the plastic splash guards. My walls are very plumb and I don't think much water will escape but I have yet to actually use the doors. If there is leak problem I'll go ahead and install them. I would be very reluctant to make a hole in any horizontal surface. If the tiles are thick enough, it's possible to drill a very shallow hole and epoxy a screw into the hole without puncturing the membrane, but I think silicone caulk is excellent "glue". I installed custom cut shower doors on a different shower about 15 years ago. Original silicone still holding everything in place. Thanks again for the great video.

[@setag54321]

Great video Brother & thanks for being honest & taking the time to share your knowledge on this product. It will make my installation easier as well. Peace

[@coachingangels]

Dude, this is amazing. I'm off to install one of these next week and even though I'm very handy I was also nervous until I saw your video. Great work.

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

How did it go? Any more tips people should be aware of? It's not the hardest thing in the world but an extra set of hands helps a lot.

[@nessamarie003.]

Yes!! How did your install go? Mine comes in 2 weeks and I’m so nervous! 😣

[@amarfarooqi03]

How do you like this shower door?Does water leak from the bottom or sides?

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

Given the chance again I would not get these doors for my house. My wife and sometimes the kids like to use the shower wand and if they aim it at the door, even by accident, the bottom will splash a little. It could be due to me not being a professional but i have the bottom gap as close as possible and it still gets by. The walls do ok but they're not in the line of fire. That will come down to the walls being plumb/square/perfectly straight up and down. If your walls are not straight the bottom cannot be straight. The glass is a perfect rectangle. Your walls need to be also. It's why a frameless design is so luxurious. It's the quality in workmanship. You will not leak if your walls are plumb and your floor is level. And you're not blasting it with a shower head. I like the doors but your space needs to be perfect for them to work right.

[@tonyfonts5999]

Do the brackets require a 2x4 stud behind them for support or can you just get away using their supplied plastic anchors?

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

I don't recall it saying that it had to be a 2x4 but they are very heavy doors. The plastic anchors are meant for you to use in tiles. Definitely NOT DRYWALL!!

[@randycaldwell6609]

Thank you for your video, Super helpfull !

[@650gerald]

Did shimming up your bracket where you messed up get your out of level?

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

No because I added the same size shim to both sides

[@faz3169]

Hi ThatsOneWayToDoIt, I like that shower stall kit, could you please let me know what brand it is and where you got it? Thank you!

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

The shower kit is Flexstone. They have different colors and different options for shelving. I had to buy some things from Home depot and some things from Lowes. Easy to install, goes onto a backing board. The kit comes with adhesives and corner strips. Pretty solid product but once its attached to the wall so I dont think theres any way to save it if removing it.

[@richcosgrove4540]

Is your threshold pitched towards shower?

[@billhamilton7524]

ok so i am confused ,,{it dont take much },,, so in regards to the top rail we saw it in the bracket with a level and it was spot on ,,then at the end of video you had to jack it up about 3/8 ,,i dont get it what happened

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

I shimmed both sides the same amount. I had it level but the doors were too low. Even adjusting the cam, I couldn't get clearance on the bottom of the sliders. And it wasn't 3/8 it was about 1/4 inch. My advice would be that you need to be really precise with your mark and your drill. Maybe start with a tiny bit to make a pilot hole and prevent drill bit wandering

[@tonyburry9036]

These shower doors are stupid the measurement are dumb and that’s why we had to shim it now would I buy another one like this no! Definitely way more headache then you think

[@mariomartinez598]

Thank you so much really appreciate for you tips

[@ronaldsaavedra3592]

Great explanation thanks so much 👍

[@brianpinedo6468]

Is the bottom middle guide installed before or after doors are in place?

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

You probably already figured this out but I don't think you can install it after the doors are in place. There won't be enough room to get the alignment piece in and then slide the guide on over it. The guides are all set before the wall edge strips are laid in.

[@jimd9387]

Great video!!! Thank you.

[@GoaWay...]

Are the doors the only thing that are from dreamline? Are the shower panels from there as well?🤔

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

The walls are from flexstone. Super easy to put in but with the frameless doors, super easy to mess up. Walls have to be plumb and not differentiate more than a quarter

[@GoaWay...]

@@thatsonewaytodoit5006 I thought they looked like flexstone but wasn't sure. Thank you for telling me. 😊

[@GoaWay...]

@@thatsonewaytodoit5006 it looks really good. Is that the Beaumont, Calypso or something else?🤔

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

@@GoaWay... Everest.

[@GoaWay...]

@@thatsonewaytodoit5006 Oh really. Cool. I liked that one too. I just forgot the name. 😊 I am actually quite jelly. 😄 And you did that by yourself. Wow! 😃 I need to find someone who can put one in as well as you did. 🤗

[@andruandu7632]

Amazing!!! Amazing!!!

[@wehausavideo]

About how long did it take you to do the install?

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

It took me about 3 hours total. Not including letting things dry and kid getting in the way. Including unpacking, measuring, cutting drilling. 2 people definitely easier. I dint think you need to let things dry in between steps but I did.

[@tonyburry9036]

Took us 2 guys 4 hrs! Not as easy at looks make sure you know what your doing!!

[@theobserwatorz88]

How to fix leaks on the bottom and on the connection doorwith the walk?

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

It is critical that the shower walls are completely plum meaning the wall are straight up and down and the threshold be completely level. The way these doors hang and the lack of a large frame means there isn't much room for adjustment at the sides or the bottom. The only way to close up gaps is with the cam adjustment on the rollers but it's very limited.

[@kerrygamache307]

How did you determine height of top rail?

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

In the instructions it tells you where to drill the holes. It seems like a lot of people are ending up with the holes too low. I measured from the threshold up the wall and @mram77 says the measurement of the bracket should be 71 1/8 exactly. If you go too low you can shim the rail up like i did. If you drill too high you'll have a gap at the bottom of the door and hopefully you can drill just a little bit lower. This shower door set is very sensitive to walls out of plumb, base not level, and alignment not square. It's the price you pay for having extremely thin frame.

[@johnbellavia273]

By lifting the rail with the spacer you will not be able to intall the top locking piece. That means the rail could be lifted up if someone were to lift the door handl. Very dangerous.

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

Yes, very true. The glass holds onto the rail with upper and lower guides. If someone were to lift the 2 doors and hardware they could fall. Me and the wife wont be lifting on them any time soon but I have been thinking about redrilling it. It nags me that it has the spacers.

[@johnbellavia273]

you sholud redrill the holes higher and just cover the old bottom hole if it even shows

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

Yep, that would be the cleanest install. One day I'll get around to it.

[@lj6079]

I only have 8 fingers

[@ernst7704]

Right after making holes in that curb you killing the warranty of your shower

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

I see, any recommendation for other people watching so they can maintain their warranty?

[@billhamilton7524]

@@thatsonewaytodoit5006 on those mud pans cut the screw and molly short,, no longer than tile thickness so you dont penetrate the membrane ,,fill hole with sealant before installing screw for sure

[@2005StangMan]

@@thatsonewaytodoit5006 realistically, those on the curb are just to guide the doors and all the weight is on the top bar...you'd be fine using silicone and two sided tape (the thick 3M ones) on the bottoms to keep them in place

[@ronzahursky7018]

This thing is a pile compared to the others I’ve installed. Basically gluing the guides and seals on is a horrible design. But, this fella should’ve dry fit all the bottom pieces instead of busting out the calipers. Not his fault. He followed their crappy instructions, but could’ve set the guides and bottom rail in place, then carefully lifted them, leaving the blocks in place to drill and silicone. On my current project, the fiberglass tub doesn’t really have enough space without chamfering the edges of the guides to fit the round contour so they’ll sit flat. I’d avoid buying this model and get something that attaches with some sort of fasteners. Especially if you’re going against tile that isn’t completely flat from top to bottom. Seriously, spend a few more bucks and get a better system. I do a lot of installing products my clients purchase. This thing is a big pain. Also, would’ve been no big deal to lift the top rail bracket and re attach it in that enclosure. There’s no need for those anchors when screwing into a stud. A little silicone would’ve done the trick if the old holes even showed.

[@amarfarooqi03]

What do you recommend thatnis similar to this product? Also one that preferably you dont have to drill holes into the shower pan?

[@ronzahursky7018]

@@amarfarooqi03 I haven’t come across any that you don’t have to drill into the pan. Let look through my notes to see what the client previous to this used

[@excelerater]

instructions were terrible,dreamline should have install vids.I have installed many a doors ,i loathe the side rails here,much better doors out there

[@lyles253]

This door not recommended at all

[@thatsonewaytodoit5006]

Do you have any reasons? I love the look and it runs very smoothly. I do not like the fact it requires a very exact tolerance on the plumb of the walls. Also, if you don't squeege after every shower and you have hard water you will start to see spots. Other doors with patterns on the glass and large frames will hide both of those issues.

[@ethanjames82]

Excellent man thank you very helpful