A window in shower walls can work. But the glass near the water and the wall around the opening have to be settled on the plan before the wall is built. The county’s reading of the code counts too. One Minnesota city’s building department page says safety glazing is required in enclosures for bathtubs and showers wherever any glazing sits within 60 inches measured vertically from any standing surface. So the glass isn’t a finish pick. It’s a plan question.
That matters, because a window kept or added as a detail can end up needing different glass, a rebuilt wall or a privacy fix after the plan is set. A designer can settle it on the bathroom plan first. Then the shower gets drawn around a decision you’ve already made.
A Window in Shower Walls Starts as a Wall Question
A window is an opening in a wall, and in a shower that wall has water on one side. So, as a general rule, the plan has to cover the glass, the wall around the opening and how the window gets covered for privacy. Leave one of those for later and it can push the other two around. That’s the reason a window belongs on the drawing early.
Shower glass and the wall behind it are planned as one decision. It’s the same reason a frameless shower door needs a wall built for it. A window is glass in a wall too, so it asks the same question in a different spot.
The finish on that wall is its own choice, and it comes after the opening is settled. If you’re weighing surfaces, start with what to ask before you choose shower wall panels over tile. The opening gets decided first.
What Glass Does a Window in a Shower Need?
One Minnesota city’s building department page summarizes the International Residential Code. It says safety glazing is required in doors and enclosures for bathtubs and showers whenever any glazing is within 60 inches measured vertically from any standing surface. That page adds that this includes windows next to bathtubs.
The types of safety glazing named on one city’s building department page are tempered and laminated. That page also says each pane of safety glazing is required to be permanently labeled. Both are details to settle before the wall is finished.
That page is a short summary written by one Minnesota city’s building department, so it isn’t a rule for your bathroom. It doesn’t name a code edition. It doesn’t say how the 60 inches gets measured from a tub or a shower, and it doesn’t say how the rule treats a window in a bathroom you already have. Those are details to confirm with the county and your designer.
What Does Anne Arundel County Say About a Shower Window?
Anne Arundel County publishes a list of the codes it has adopted. That list includes the 2021 International Residential Code, for new residential construction of one- and two-family dwellings. The page doesn’t say how that code applies to a window in an existing bathroom. That question goes to the county’s Inspections and Permits office before the plan is final.
You can read Anne Arundel County’s list of adopted codes yourself. It’s a list and nothing more. There’s no guidance there on windows or on bathrooms you already have.
What you ask that office is a plan question. Ask whether keeping the window, moving it or closing it up changes what the county needs to see, and ask while the drawing can still change. Bring it to your designer too. The plan and the county’s answer should match, and you line them up while the drawing is still open.
How Does a Shower Window Change the Shower Plan?
Where the window sits can decide where the showerhead, the niche and the shower glass end up. As a general rule, a designer works those around the window or moves the window to suit them. One opening can reset the whole wall. That’s why it belongs on the plan early.
The wall around the opening gets planned with the shower, not after it. Ask your designer to show you how the wall around the window is built and finished, and ask before anyone picks the finish. You don’t need to know the method. You do need to see that it was decided.
There’s a reason that window is in the wall. If the view and the light are part of why you want to keep it, say that early. A plan can protect the glass and still lose what you liked. Settling the window first keeps both on the table.
How Do You Keep a Shower Window Private?
Privacy is a design choice, and it gets made with the glass and the placement. You can ask a designer about obscured glass, about where the window sits on the wall, or about a covering. Each option then gets checked against the water and against the county’s reading of the code.
The order matters. The glass and the wall around the opening can be settled long before anyone picks a finish, and a privacy fix added at the end has to live with whatever those two decided. Ask early and the choices stay open. Ask late and the wall may have to change.
Frequently Asked Questions About a Window in a Shower
Can you have a window in a shower?
Yes, it can work. The glass and the wall around the opening get settled on the plan, and the county’s reading gets confirmed before the wall is built. One city’s building department page says safety glazing is required in shower and bathtub enclosures wherever glazing sits within 60 inches measured vertically from any standing surface. Confirm your own window with the county.
Does a shower window need tempered glass?
There isn’t a flat yes or no. One city’s building department page names tempered and laminated as types of safety glazing, and it says each pane is required to be permanently labeled. Whether that rule reaches your window, and which type suits it, is a question for the county and your designer.
How do you cover a window in a shower?
Privacy is a design question, not a shopping trip. Obscured glass and where the window sits on the wall are both worth asking about, and so is a covering. Each one gets checked against the water before it lands on the plan. A designer can weigh them with you.
Can you waterproof a window in a shower?
The opening is part of how the shower wall gets planned, so ask your designer how the wall around it is built and finished. As a general rule it’s planned with the wall, not added once the finish is on. That’s a drawing-stage conversation.
Can Solstice help me plan a window in my shower?
Solstice’s designers take time to understand how you use your bathroom day to day, and they create a plan that optimizes comfort, function and style. Once the design is set, the installation and project management team brings it to life. The window is part of how you use the room, so it’s a fair thing to bring to that conversation.
Settle the Shower Window Before the Wall Is Built
Solstice’s bathroom design process starts with how you use the bathroom day to day: the designers build a plan for comfort, function and style, and once the design is set, the installation and project management team carries it out.
If a window sits in the shower wall you’re about to redraw, contact Solstice about your bathroom project and bring that question with you. Settle it on paper. Then build the wall.
