There are many instructional videos and articles on how to install a shower screen freely available online. Any DIY enthusiast will, thus, confidently feel a shower screen replacement is something they can do on their own and save some money in the process.

Admittedly, there are jobs the average homeowner feels they should be able to do without having to call in professional, paid help. Think painting a wall, hanging a door, changing a lock or faucet, or flushing a blocked sink.

But there are jobs that are better left to the experts, like shower screen installation. Here is why:

Benefits of Hiring a Professional for Your Shower Screens Installation

As in other cities and states in Australia, there are codes governing specific technical trades. Glaziers aren’t exempted and have their own standards they must satisfy in order to qualify and to practise.

Specifically, when you decide to hire a professional glazing contractor to do your shower screen installation over doing it yourself, you are protecting your investment.

It may seem a simple job, but it really is easy to mess up. As well as that and other reasons, here is why you should hire a professional:

• Installing glass shower screens takes skill. Yes, you can ask yourself, ‘what could go wrong?’ Well, it turns out a lot can go wrong.

First you are dealing with glass, which is a very fragile material that will break if mishandled. Needless to say, you can hurt yourself if that happened.

• Mistakes are often costly. Shower screens must be made from toughened glass that meets AS-1288-2006 standards for safety. As you can guess, this glass is not cheap. Any breakages and installation mistakes are thus going to be costly, and because it has to be safety glass in bathroom as required by the code, it needs to be millimeter perfect. Toughened safety glass cannot be re-cut once baked: it just pops/explodes (as it is designed to so nobody gets badly cut if they go through it).
• Different spaces call for different types of shower screens. If your bathroom space is small, you are going to need a frameless shower screen with clear glass. These will maximize space and look good.

And if you have the advantage of space, then you can go with framed screens and frosted or colored glass, which will not overwhelm your bathroom space.

• Professionals have the benefit of experience. An experienced shower screen installer has probably made and learned from the same mistakes you are going to make installing your shower screens on your own.

They have the benefit of experience, which they will show by advising on which type of screen fits your space, which screen meets both your budget and the quality and safety standards the local law expects.

Yes, you will save some money by doing it yourself. But are you really saving money? Have you considered the cost in aesthetic appeal and potential damage of leaks due to poor workmanship? Not to mention losses due to breakages caused by a lack of skill.

You are better off dealing with the experts.