BEMA Members Discuss Standard Development and Volunteer Opportunities; Recognize Design Winners During Annual Meeting

The Bath Enclosure Manufacturers Association (BEMA) met recently in Atlanta for its annual meeting. BEMA president Mark Rowlett of Coastal Industries began by welcoming those in attendance and announced that the association has two new members: Waterfall Bath Enclosures of Carrollton, Texas, and Eastern Glass in Monroe, N.C.

The first order of business was BEMA’s efforts toward developing an ASTM standard that, once completed, will be a guideline for safe shower enclosure installations. The document has been submitted to ASTM and balloted twice. The group is currently addressing negatives and Rowlett said those concerns are being worked through.

“We’re expecting to do another ballot in the near future with these changes made so hopefully in three to six months time we will see approval through ASTM,” he said.

In addition to the standard development, Rowlett also stressed the importance of volunteering time to help the association.

“We need people. The organization is only as good as the people in it and who are involved,” he said. “Become involved to help direct BEMA because there is lots that we can do for it in the future.”

Members also discussed setting future goals and plans.

“The standard development has been our primary focus for the last few years,” said Chris Birch, BEMA’s executive director. “Now we need to look at where we want to go from here.”

Rowlett mentioned working toward developing a training/certification program for installers.

“We need to move toward more goals as an organization,” he said.

Also as part of the meeting, BEMA recognized the winners of its 2009 Design Awards. There were four entries in the under 3/8-inch glass category and 11 entries in the 3/8-inch glass and over category.

Don Bielawski, vice president of Easco Shower Doors in Trenton, N.J., accepted the award for the under 3/8-inch category. In accepting the award he said their goal had been to “remove as much metal as possible” from the enclosure.

“The installation was of our Expressions series, which features a fully frameless door with through-the-glass hinges and a low profile aluminum channel and header to provide a frameless look at a semi-frameless price,” said Bielawski. “The typical aluminum post was replaced with a glass-to-glass wet-glazed corner to further accentuate the frameless look. This unit has ¼-inch thick clear glass and brushed nickel finish.”

In the over 3/8-inch category, Jim Arnold of GlasSource in Grand Haven, Mich., accepted the award. He explained that the homeowners wanted the views of the outside to extend throughout the house, which is located on Lake Michigan.

“We constructed not just a shower door, but a glass wall that separated the bathroom from the bedroom,” he said.

To accommodate the owner’s desire to break up the rooms and prevent unwanted moisture flow, while not obstructing the natural forest and lake views, large size panels of ½-inch clear, tempered glass were utilized as floor-to-ceiling dividers. Clips were used to maintain clean lines and expose glass edges, while joining the outer wall with the inner stall. Due to the large scale of the project, oversized C.R. Laurence Atlas commercial hinges and ladder pulls were used to prevent the hardware from being lost in the design.