Materials for shower window sash?

[Will Rowland]

I need to build a window sash to hold an 18 x 28 piece of obscure, tempered glass. This sash will be mounted in the side wall of a bathtub (which also will serve as a shower). The window will be fixed in place, recessed in the wall 3", and the bottom of the sash will be 55" from the bottom of the tub (so the sash will get wet). I plan to tile up to the sash on all sides of the opening. The bottom rail of the sash will be approximately 3" wide, while the sides and top will be 2", in order to match the existing (circa 1926) windows on the house.

The window will be fixed in place (non-opening) so rigidity/stability is not a huge concern.

Any ideas on the best material to use for the sash to help stave off or elminate the possibility of rot? I've been considering making it out of a lamination of Azek, or possible a lamination of Azek on the inside and cypress on the outside.

[Lee Schierer]

I would make it out of vinyl.

[David Thompson 27577]

I need to build a window sash to hold an 18 x 28 piece of obscure, tempered glass. This sash will be mounted in the side wall of a bathtub (which also will serve as a shower). The window will be fixed in place, recessed in the wall 3", and the bottom of the sash will be 55" from the bottom of the tub (so the sash will get wet). I plan to tile up to the sash on all sides of the opening. The bottom rail of the sash will be approximately 3" wide, while the sides and top will be 2", in order to match the existing (circa 1926) windows on the house.

The window will be fixed in place (non-opening) so rigidity/stability is not a huge concern.

Any ideas on the best material to use for the sash to help stave off or elminate the possibility of rot? I've been considering making it out of a lamination of Azek, or possible a lamination of Azek on the inside and cypress on the outside.

+1 on PVC -- you'll probably need to glue up to get the necessary thickness. And plan your design so that no cut or routed surfaces are exposed -- such surfaces are not as smooth, and will show dust, dirt, and soap scum differently.

And be sure to waterproof behind the tile. I like Kerdi.

[Jamie Buxton]

I was looking at a stripper kayak this week, hence this suggestion: fiberglass. Those kayaks are built from thin cedar, covered with fiberglass. They are completely waterproof. The resin+glass layer is nearly transparent, so the kayak looks like it is built just from wood. (For instance, http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...d-Strip-Petrel)

[Jim Matthews]

I used an offcut from a granite backsplash.

It required a little masonry prep (blue board substrate plus mortar) but it worked beautifully. Just make sure it tips in to the bath for drainage.

Vinyl is soft, and likely to show wear in a few years.

[Damon Stathatos]

I've done backsplashes in cocobolo. Actually, I've done a lot of wet-type applications with cocobolo and it's held up very well. It's incredibly dense and naturally oily and if you use a thick enough piece, relatively stable. If you ever get to where the surface is getting weathered looking at all, sand it down a billionth of an inch and it looks good as new.

[Chris Ricker]

From my research, Azek is a superior product that should suit your needs very well. I'm building a deck this year using Azek and have used the product on several outdoor projects with great results.
Best of Luck
CR

[scott vroom]

Have you considered a glass block window? No wood, no sash, no worries. Cements in place, no worries about rot or mold. Here's one we installed for a customer last year.

[Dave Winters]

Trex? They make it in several thicknesses...

[Neal Clayton]

i wouldn't laminate azek on to real lumber. the amount they'll move between seasons is different, so the joint will be subject to fail quickly, i would think.

if you go azek do it all out of azek (frame, jambs, parting beads, sash). if you go with wood the trick is not to finish all sides, leave the edges bare, so that the wood can breathe. it's the edges that take on the most water, laminating the faces and finishing the edges just serves to help trap it, thus causing said rot.

typically there's a 14 degree slope for water to channel away on the sill, in this case you'd probably wanna do that both inside and out.

[Don Bullock]

Either Lowe's or Home Depot has pieces of white marble in the tile department for a decent price. They are designed for bathroom thresholds. I just used one for the widow sill in my wife's new dog washroom. The reason I used it was that it was easy to grout around the edges to form a watertight area where she could put her shampoo bottles, etc. when she's washing the dogs. On course in the attached picture she didn't use it for the bottles, but since this picture was taken she puts at least four bottles on the window ledge while she's shampooing the dogs.

Marble Window Sash.jpgWashing Dod.jpgWashing Dog2.jpg