A proposed new ASTM International standard will place reasonable design and load limitations on glass shower enclosures and hardware. The proposed standard, WK14502, Specification for Tub and Shower Enclosures, is under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee C14.08 on Flat Glass, which is part of ASTM International Committee C14 on Glass and Glass Products. The proposed standard will establish minimum requirements for the performance features of bath shower enclosure products used in tub and stall showers.

“The continued growth of bath enclosure usage and the mounting number of product failures have combined to dramatically emphasize the need for construction and installation standards,” says Christopher Birch, Committee C14 member and executive director, Bath Enclosures Manufacturers Association. Birch notes that in recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the use of unframed heavy glass, with no limits on size, in shower enclosures. At the same time, he says, many of these enclosures have been poorly designed, constructed and installed.

Birch says that the proposed standard will be used by heavy glass shower enclosure fabricators, hardware manufacturers, glass shops, installers and building code inspectors. With continued education, consumers would also find WK14502 useful as a reference.
All interested parties are invited to participate in the continued development of WK14502. //

CONTACT

Technical Information: Chris Birch, Bath Enclosure Manufacturers Association, Topeka, Kan.
Phone: 785/273-0393

ASTM Staff: Thomas O’Toole
Phone: 610/832-9739

Upcoming Meeting:
Oct. 9
Corning, N.Y.