About the niches....how to edge?

14 years ago

I am writing this against the background noise of plumbers installing the tub. That's the good news. I thought all my decisions were made, but the contractor just left, leaving me with yet another dilemma. Par for the course, I guess.

So I have a soaking tub/shower combo, the walls will be tiled with 12x12 porcelain that looks pretty much like honed calacatta. There will be an accent strip of glass & marble mosaic. I had planned to have two niches built into the wall, one on top of the other, with the mosaic put on the back wall of the box. I assumed that the sides of the box would be done with a bullnose version of the field tile. Now the contractor says that the boxes are 14x14, so there will be cuts in the tile around the box (meaning the tiles won't line up nice and square with the boxes -- okay). But he also says that there will be wider grout lines around the bullnose than in the field tile, which won't look as nice. So he suggested a wall-mounted shelf instead. Which presents its own problems, as there is not a matching shelf to either of the tiles that I'm using.

Now I have looked at many of your tiled niches around here, and I have not noticed that the grout lines are bigger. Is there something that I'm missing? Is there something that I should be telling the contractor? I didn't want to make a "picture frame" edge around the niche because the look is pretty modern & unfussy, with straight lines and metal strip edging, etc. So what are my other options?

Grateful, as always, for you insight & opinions!

Featured Answer

MongoCT

14 years ago

I design the niches and place them so they fall where I want them to on the wall. Was your niche sized and located without regard to the tile that you'd be using?

Along those same lines I keep grout joints uniform through the niche and the wall.

Even when coming late to the design party, most tile designs and layouts can be tweaked here and there to acheive a desired layout. There might be some cutting of tile involved to make it happen. But I'd do most anything to avoid fat grout joints where they're not expected.

Does your tile guy lack a sense of design and/or creativity, or does he just want to "get it done"? That's not a slam, that's a sincere question.

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Comments (9)

hudsonleigh
Original Author
14 years ago
Mongo,

Yes on both counts. I also think he is trying to save both of us extra labor by using the pre-formed box rather than framing something himself.

I'm sure when I sit down & draw it out I can finagle something between the 12x12" tile and the mosaic, which would make the 14x14" box work. It just requires being a little creative and actually working it out, right? I assumed (apparently mistakenly) that the niche could be 12" wide and would line up with the tile, or at least some width that would work nicely. The tiles are to be set straight on, not offset or diagonal, so I figured to essentially punch back a 12x12" square for the niche. I shall have to pull out the graph paper.

What I really don't understand is why the grout lines would have to be any bigger around the niche....it seems to me the sloped edge of the bullnose would just butt up against the flat edge of the field tile, and the grout line there would be just as uniform as everywhere else. What am I not seeing there?
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bill_vincent
14 years ago
I assumed that the sides of the box would be done with a bullnose version of the field tile. Now the contractor says that the boxes are 14x14, so there will be cuts in the tile around the box

He's right about the 14x14 box. But in almost every instance, I overhang the tiles on the sides and top to full tile, and then backfill the tiles with stiff thinset, so by the time I'm done, the niche is a finished 12x12, and lays out perfect.

As for the bit about bigger grout lines, I think that's his way of telling you he just doesn't feel like going through the hassle of installing the niche. Either that, or he's admitting he's not good enough.
hudsonleigh
Original Author
14 years ago
Bill, I'm not sure what you mean by "overhang the tiles". Can you please give me more details? I am supposed to be sitting down with GC tomorrow to work on the tile layout, and I'd love to be able explain this to to him. I've gotten him to the point of saying he'd try to do the niche since I don't want protruding shelves, but if I can show him how, so much the better. Thanks, once again, for your expertise!
bill_vincent
14 years ago
Bill, I'm not sure what you mean by "overhang the tiles". Can you please give me more details?

I wish this thread was the end of last week-- I could've taken pictures and showed you. The niches in the following pictures ALL started as the same 14x14 niche your contractor's talking about. In each case, think about the last inch or so of each tile around the niche being hollow (which accounts for the 14x14"). Once the tiles set up, I then took stiff thinset, and backfilled that hollow part, allowed it to set up, and then tiled the rest of the niche so as to show a 12x12 opening.
hudsonleigh
Original Author
14 years ago
Oh, I get it. So, when my GC is talking about a thick grout line it's because he's thinking of how much thinset it would take to adhere the side tiles to the box itself (I think). And by doing it your way, because the stiff thinset is holding the side tiles on, you wouldn't have to have a thicker grout line, right? Have I got it?
bill_vincent
14 years ago
Almost. Quite frankly, I don't know WHY your GC is talking about a thicker grout line, unless he just doesn't want to do this and is trying to discourage you.
hudsonleigh
Original Author
14 years ago
Bill, I always appreciate your honesty! Funny, but yesterday I happened to be in a different tile store (not my usual place) and the guy there said pretty much the same thing about my GC (who he knows personally).

Yesterday my dilemma was, not only did they not want to do the niche, they "really couldn't" do two niches, which is what I wanted (3 daughters + 1 bathroom = MANY shampoo bottles, etc) because it "just wouldn't lay out right". So they brought me three marble shelves to choose from, none of which looked good with my tile (nevermind that I've been saying all along that I don't like the shelf idea). Soooo, after beating my head against the wall I stopped by this other tile store to get some ideas, and they HAPPENED to have a 14x24 box with an acrylic shelf that just may solve the problem altogether....if I can get them to just DO the niche.

Just another day in reno paradise!
bill_vincent
14 years ago
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! :-)

About the niches....how to edge?

MongoCT

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About the niches....how to edge?

MongoCT

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