Add Blocking for the Shower Door While the Walls Are Open

The Problem

The shower door is the last thing installed and the first thing forgotten. Framing goes up, backer board and tile go on — and months later the glass installer's mounting screws land in nothing but tile and drywall, because nobody put wood where the hinges and clips would need it. A frameless glass panel hanging on hollow-wall anchors is not a comforting thought.

The Technique

One stick of blocking during framing solves it.

1. Find the centerline of the shower curb — that's the plane the glass door or panel will sit on.
2. Set a 2x4 vertically in the wall on that centerline.
3. Anchor it into the bottom plate, the top plate, and the adjacent stud using 3-inch construction screws — tied off at three points so it can't rotate or drift when it's fastened into later.

Now everything about the door installation lands in solid wood: hinges, clips, and channel screws all bite into the blocking through the tile.