A measurement visit is the point where a rough idea becomes a fixed quote. Your photos on WhatsApp have already done the first part — they produced a preliminary estimate from photos, based on the system you want and the rough size of the opening. The visit replaces “roughly” with “exactly”: the opening is measured as it actually is, the system you have chosen is checked against the real room, and the quote that follows is fixed to that specification rather than estimated around it.
None of that requires much from you. But a little preparation decides whether the visit ends with everything needed to cut glass, or with a second visit because something could not be reached, seen or decided. This is the whole checklist: what to clear, what to check, and the three decisions worth making before we arrive.
At a glance
- Measurement happens after tiling is finished — the glass is measured against the surfaces it will actually meet, and unfinished tiling changes those surfaces.
- Clear the room: loose items out, both sides of the opening reachable, and building access (parking, lift, permission) sorted if you are in a tower.
- Decide three things beforehand: the system (hinged, sliding, fixed or bath screen), the door swing, and the hardware finish — the visit then confirms each against the real room instead of starting the conversation.
- Leave the old glass alone: clearing means toiletries and mats, not removing an existing screen — that is part of the install work, not preparation.
- What you receive afterwards: a fixed quote based on the measured specification.
Why measurement happens after tiling
Glass is cut to the finished opening — the tiled wall, the tiled floor or tray edge, the surfaces the panel will be fixed to and sealed against. Tiles, adhesive and grout add real thickness, and a wall that is still to be tiled is a different width from the same wall finished. Measuring before tiling means measuring a room that will not exist when the glass arrives.
So if your bathroom is mid-renovation, the useful sequence is: tiling complete, grout cured, tray or floor finished — then the visit. If tiling is not finished yet, a visit can still be useful for advice on the system and layout, but the final measurement has to wait for the finished surfaces, and any quote before that point stays preliminary. The same applies in new-build handovers around Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi: measure the finished room, not the developer’s drawing. Drawings describe the bathroom as designed; the visit describes the one that was built.
One check worth doing before you book: run a hand along the walls and floor the glass will meet. If anything is still moving — a flexing tray, loose tiles, unfinished silicone from a previous screen — tell us when you book. It does not cancel the visit; it changes what the visit needs to look at.
Clear the room: access and protection
The measuring itself needs very little space, but it needs reachable space. Everything on this list takes ten minutes:
- Out of the shower and bath area: shampoo bottles, razors, caddies, bath toys, scales and mats — anything loose that sits in or around the opening. The tape and level have to run along the walls and floor the glass will meet.
- Off the floor around the opening: the floor line is checked as well as the walls, so a clear floor on both sides of the opening helps.
- Access to the room: if the bathroom is off a bedroom that doubles as storage, a clear path through is enough — nobody needs the whole flat emptied.
- In towers and managed buildings: check whether your building management needs notice or a work permit for a contractor visit, and whether the service lift has to be booked. Al Reem Island, Al Marjan Island and plenty of Dubai towers all have their own rules; a measurement visit is short and quiet, but arriving to a security desk that has never heard of us wastes your slot. Mention it in your first WhatsApp message and we will supply whatever job details the building asks for.
- Pets and small children: a bathroom being measured has tools, a level and people moving backwards with their eyes on the wall. A closed door for half an hour is the whole ask.
What not to do: do not take down an existing screen or door yourself to “help”. A glass panel is heavy, its fixings are under load, and removing it safely is install work — it happens as part of the job, with the new specification already measured. Clearing the room means everything except the glass.
Decisions to make beforehand: system, door swing, hardware finish
A measurement can be taken in a room where nothing has been decided — but then the visit produces numbers, not a quote, because the specification is incomplete. Three decisions turn it into both. None of them has to be final to the last detail; all three should be settled in direction.
1. The system. Hinged door, sliding door, fixed walk-in panel, or a screen over the bath. This is the shape of the whole job, and it is decided by your room — its width, what the door can swing past, how the shower is used. If you are still between the two door systems, our comparison of hinged vs sliding shower glass works through exactly that choice. This article sits under our custom shower glass installation service, where each system is set out in full.
2. The door swing. For a hinged door: which way does it open, and what has to stay clear of its arc? A door that swings into the room needs its arc kept free of the vanity, the toilet and the towel rail; a door that swings into the shower needs room inside the enclosure. Walk the arc yourself before the visit — open an imaginary door and see what it would meet. The visit will check the swing against the real clearances, but knowing which way you want it to open is your decision, not the installer’s.
3. The hardware finish — and the glass itself. Hinges, handles, channels and clamps come in chrome, black and gold; the finish should be chosen to sit with your taps and fittings, because the hardware is the part of the glass you look at and touch every day. Alongside it: the glass. We install 10mm as standard — the reasoning is in our guide to 8mm vs 10mm shower glass — and if privacy matters (an ensuite open to the bedroom, a bathroom overlooked by the neighbours), the finish decision includes whether any panel should be frosted, fluted or tinted rather than clear. You do not need the final answer at the visit; you do need to have raised it, because a privacy finish is part of how the glass is made, not something added at the end.
Decisions you do not need: exact handle styles, seal colours and the small fittings. Those are confirmed at the visit, against the room, with the hardware in hand.
What happens at the visit
From your side of the door, the visit is simple. The installer measures the opening — the widths, heights, levels and clearances the glass will be cut to. How that measuring works, and why no opening is ever truly square, is its own subject; what matters for you is that it happens on the finished room and takes the room as it is, not as it was drawn.
While in the room, the installer also checks the things a photograph flattens: whether the walls are plumb enough for the system you have chosen, whether the floor falls the way the drainage needs, whether the tray flexes underfoot, and whether the swing or slide path you want is really clear. Your three decisions are then confirmed against all of that — or adjusted, with the reason shown to you in the room rather than reported afterwards. If something about the opening rules out the system you wanted, this is when you hear it, with the alternative worked out on the spot.
Before leaving, you will know exactly what happens next and when your quote will reach you.
What you receive afterwards
A fixed quote, built from the measured specification: the system, the glass, the hardware finish and the fitting, resolved around your opening as measured. That is the difference the visit makes — the preliminary estimate from your photos was an honest range around rough dimensions; the quote after measurement is a number tied to glass that will be cut to fit your room, and it does not drift because a wall turned out to lean.
If the visit found a problem — an opening that needs making good before glass, a tray that flexes, a previous installation that has to come out first — the quote says so plainly, as its own line, rather than burying it. You can then decide with the whole picture in front of you.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a measurement visit take?
Most visits are short — the opening is measured, the room is checked and your decisions are confirmed against it. A large ensuite or a bathroom with several panels takes longer than a single bath screen. Sorting building access beforehand (below) is what keeps the visit itself brief.
Does the measurement visit cost anything?
No — the measuring visit is free, and the quote that follows it is fixed to the measured specification. You are never charged for finding out what your shower glass would cost.
My tiling is not finished yet. Can you still measure?
We can visit and advise on the system and layout, but the final measurement has to wait for finished tiles — glass is cut to the surfaces it will meet, and unfinished tiling changes them. Book the measuring visit for once the grouting is done.
I am in a tower. Do I need building permission for the visit?
Many managed buildings ask for notice, a work permit or a booked service lift for contractor visits. Check with your building management when you book us; tell us in your first message and we will provide the job details they need.
Should I remove my old shower screen before you come?
No. Clearing the room means loose items only — toiletries, mats and caddies. Taking glass out is part of the install work, done with the new specification already measured, and a panel under load is not a DIY removal.
I have not decided between hinged and sliding. Is that a problem?
No — it is one of the normal decisions the visit settles. Arrive with a preference if you can, and the visit checks it against the room’s width and clearances; if the room argues for the other system, you will see why in the room itself.
Talk to us about booking your measurement
If your tiling is finished and the room is ready, message us on WhatsApp on 052 443 2655 with a wide photo of the shower or bath, your area, and — if you have them — your rough sizes and the system you are leaning towards. We will book the visit, tell you anything specific your building needs, and the fixed quote follows the measurement.
This guide is part of our Shower Glass Installation series. Next: Separating the Shower from the Rest of the Bathroom with a Glass Partition →
