Good luck with your new shower remodel project, AND enjoy your new shower niche! Shower niches are a great addition to any bathroom, offering a convenient place to store body wash and organize your shower essentials freeing up the floor space. Whether you are bathroom remodeling, building a new home, or simply upgrading your current shower, there are many reasons why it is a perfect solution. How can we tell if there is a problem behind this niche? This post is for information purposes only and should NOT be interpreted as professional advice. This installation is often a BIG shower niche install mistake because moisture can easily condense behind your niche if you dont do this install correctly. Any advice would be appreciated. Yes, it is possible to add a shower niche to an existing shower. Thoughts? Recently my bathroom was remodeled with a niche installed. Ive attached photos. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Other than that, it has been a fun project? Besides this problem, the angle is terrible and things often slide off the shelf. Some of the most popular and highly recommended materials for shower niches include ceramic tile, porcelain tile, acrylic, and stone. The best type of sealant to use will depend on the specific needs and conditions of your bathroom and shower niche, as well as the materials used in the niche itself. I think you know what Im going to say.. You should not be installing your niche on a 3-1/2 outside stud wall not even in northern California. The only way I would install the EZ Niche or the Redi Niche is if a liquid waterproofing membrane (like RedGard) was first applied to its surface. Best to get rid of it. It will be on an inside wall. The problem is that the hole is there ready for the niche but all the tiles have been put down already around it. 1/2 thick) acrylic solid surfacing materials? Choosing the shower niche height in the freestanding shower unit depends on the people who will use the bathroom regularly. However, problems can arise if not properly installed, maintained, and protected. In general its always the best idea to mount / build your tiled or finished shower niche in a wall that is not an outside facing wall. The niche was on the outside wall but I built a second wall against it to give me the depth of the niche without disturbing the existing outer wall insulation, except for where I added another 24 for the rear wall of the niche for added support. What about horizontal placement in the long wall?Vertical placement on the long wall? Im assuming from your description that your contractor did not do this, but if he installed the back framing I described above, the niche could still be attached, the gap sealed, and a strip of waterproofing membrane applied. Im doing a shower at the moment. The shower environment is harsh due to its constant exposure to water and fluctuating temperatures. A Complete Guide to Smart Shower Pros and Cons, Essential Oils in the Shower: 5 Simple Hacks to Revitalize Your Shower Routine, Goodbye Boring Shower: How to Use Shower Steamers. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. Chances are that you will destroy the niche in the process. In a tall rise building, the steel studs maybe 2.5 inches deep and you should consider this. It becomes a much bigger problem when the wall studs are 24. Sometimes this is a bearing wall that the structural integrity of your home depends on, and sometimes its not. I was wondering two things: The niches were not built with the proper tilt to drain forward. The perfect shower niche for your bathroom: an insight | homify Here are some ideas on how to make sure that you get the most out of your shower niche so it doesnt become a source of frustration. The shower niche inserts generally come 16" wide so they fit directly between your wall studs, which are spaced out 16 on center. I speak english and french so translating it directly I believe he said an L-angle edging trim ? And please let me know if you have anymore questions. Checking the grout lines regularly and addressing any issues promptly can also help to maintain the integrity and functionality of the shower niche over time. But I would be grateful if you could let me know what would be the best way to do this? Now some of that grout has broken. Make sure the new membrane overlaps the old one by at least 2 inches. Regardless, its difficult to predict what will happen if its installed over the membrane before the wall is tiled. This just introduces a condensation surface into the wall and you dont want that. By following the tips and guidelines outlined in this guide, you can enjoy a beautiful and worry-free shower niche for years to come. You can also check out my Shower Niche Guide if youd like to see an example of a tiled niche and the tile edge trim that your contractor was likely referring to. Just make sure you seal the grout well so you can more easily clean off any mold and soap scum that may collect. Also, it is not necessary to insert a single niche divided into shelves; one may have more than one niche in the shower. This is Steve from SKG Renovations with another RedblockRead More How to Build a Custom Shower Niche Step by Step. Otherwise, you can place your shower niches wherever you want. If my above assumptions above are incorrect, Im sorry to say there may be no good solutions to this problem other than starting over and doing it correctly. Super helpful post! I have a niche install on an outside wall and now is bad condensation, I have the builders coming back to rectify. I know that this is probably not what you wanted to hear (sorry about that), but I wanted you to know what youre getting into when you mess with an old shower wall. Concerns? I am hoping that there is at least a framed box in the stud cavity behind the wall so theres a solid surface to apply this tile. Is It Worth It to Convert a Tub to a Shower? OUR GURANTEE - 100% waterproof and leak-proof guaranteed. We use hydro ban and laticrete sealant and water proofing. We were wanting the most storage possible for our items we use for our son as well as for our guests to put their items in there as well. Does a shower niche have to be sloped? - DoItYourself.com Maybe I am not understanding your situation correctly, but if you wanted a finished niche and you want it to be completely waterproof, Im just wondering why you didnt purchase one thats designed to integrate with the waterproofing membrane. Yes, it is possible to add a shower niche to an existing shower. Contractor screw up - off center shower niche Without a waterproofing membrane, this movement almost always causes grout line cracking in your shower niche. All of our cavities we use 3 inches of foamular rigid foam board giving an r value of r15 before tiling. Its great to hear that you were not deterred by the sometimes intimidating prospect of tackling your own bathroom remodel project. https://www.rona.ca/en/double-shower-niche-16-x-20-white-65595330?viewStore=41450&cm_mmc=-_-1697454409-_-65797565026-_-pla-789828216667&gclid=CjwKCAjw4NrpBRBsEiwAUcLcDAruYjqrXkjrAeHtFSlvPDKOxDTXp7kFtnt49WGO_GIerPjBFBflfxoCYe0QAvD_BwE. Schluter makes some very nice ones! You say that youre hesitant to do this, but it is the most common place to install a standard shower niche (other than horizontal). Bathroomaholic.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We are upgrading a bathroom on a bungalow we both. Its time to take control of the situation and restore your shower to its former glory. Required fields are marked *. I have chosen to avoid the uncoated plastic niches in my installations simply because of the mortar bonding problems they seem to have. If horizontal tiles are installed first, the water would have to move upslope under the wall tile in order to make it to the wall, which is much less likely. This new wall allows you to build / install your custom shower niche with only minimal support above the new niche opening because the entire wall is anchored to the stud wall behind it. If your new horizontal niche will span more than a couple of wall studs, the safest way to build your shower niche into this wall is to construct a new wall adjacent to it, to contain the niche. Can you tile right on the concrete wall, use the waterproofing membrane all around and have good results? They didnt fully grout so there was a few missed tile that they just caulked instead of re grouted should I be concerned? With the high volume of users in this particular shower, practicality should really be your highest priority in my opinion. Planning Shower Niches- Eight Essentials to Keep in Mind I dont really understand how you are going to get a 2 space behind your niche in a 3-1/2 stud wall but if your niche was super narrow and the shelf protrudes, I guess you could pull that off. 9 Reasons You Shouldn't Build a Tile Shower They said its too difficult to do . The niche is placed into this hole, and the outer flange on the niche is pressed against the tile. How much water vapor will move into the stud wall is entirely dependent on whether or not a waterproofing membrane has been installed on the shower wall and how well your shower niche resists moisture penetration. I think it would be reasonable for you to ask them to replace the frameless glass panel and door if it bothers you. I would be more concerned with the use of Kerdi Board to replace the 5/8 drywall of your shower wall. We live in San Diego so very mild climate and the wall is a north facing wall that is in eternal shade and because its on the side of the house closest to the neighboring house it doesnt even ever get wet. A modern, practical, versatile, and easy-to-install recessed shower storage shelf or niche for your bathroom or wetroom. Understanding the most common problems, such as warping, poor installation, and mold and mildew buildup, is the first step in avoiding them. Ideally, extending the stud greater than 4 would have been best, but it is a really small powder room with a closet being converted to a shower and every inch counts. Then tile and grout! One possibility is that the grout or caulking around the niche isn't properly sealed. When tiling a shower niche, you will have a ninety-degree outside corner where your shower wall meets the niche. If you said no, you would be correct. In other words, you should definitely ask a trusted local contractor before you decide to build a shower niche into an outside wall to avoid this potential shower niche install mistake. Knowledge Center Its great to hear that people like yourself are getting some useful info from my posts. Additionally, there are commercial mold and mildew cleaners available that are specifically designed for this purpose. These options offer similar storage and organizational benefits to a shower niche but do not require cutting into the shower wall. Although this niche should be totally waterproof, I would also suggest that you apply a good quality waterproofing membrane to the interior of the niche when youre waterproofing the shower wall, just to be safe. Theres nothing like the satisfaction of doing a job correctly! Carefully! Thank you! If youve not yet committed to a shower niche, check out my Complete Shower Niche Guide. There were so many things done that we now realize were probably not done well/correctly. The Truth About Shower Water, Our Guide to the 14 Types of Shower Heads: How To Choose, Shower Tech Showdown: Smart Showers vs Digital Showers, The 8 Surprising Shower Filter Benefits for Skin Hair & Health. But it really has to do with the thickness of your outside wall. Just a thought. The general rule is to install the horizontal finished surfaces in the shower before the vertical. layer of mortar in the bot-tom of the niche, and use a level to make sure it has a slight pitch. We are worried someone might decide to drill through it to hang something on the wall behind. Instead, I recommend going for a shower niche that is almost invisible to the eye. We are having a shower head with diverted valve for a separate shower wand installed which is limiting the location of the niche on the wall with the shower head and I am not a fan of placing the niche along the back wall in direct line of the shower spray.