Originally I was going to use the same tile as the rest of the shower - Philadelphia Travertine. The width of the niche is 20" so I was going to cut down 2 of my 12" pieces and have a seam. Decided I didn't want a seam, and my tile didn't come in 20", so I decided to go with custom cut granite. It wasn't cheap. I got 2 niche shelves - 5"x20", a curb - 5"x36", a 12"x12"x17" triangle for my small better bench, and a thicker 5"x24" threshold for the bathroom door and it cost $600! which I thought was ridiculously high, but decided to get them anyway. I'm very happy with that decision and the niche, along with most of the shower is tiled, and looks fantastic.

Granite works.....seal it.

Me I have ALLERGIES, HAY FEVER, CONGESTION and SINUS Problems.. I AM 59 NOW BUT i was 55 when I had my home remodeled and was initially going to put a Jacuzzi 48 '' shower thingy in with a bench. When my framer said let me build you a real shower..Something that 5 years from now you will be happy I put it in for you. So he put in a 5 ft by 6 ft by 7.5 ft framed in shower with a 3 ft bench. I followed the John Bridges forum [online] and bought a kerdi kit online from EBAY . The I helped direct my master carpenter into putting up cement board and then Kerdi. Then got a plumber involved and finally then the tile contractor came in and did his thing as well. I got an appropriately sized Thermasol Steam Shower Unit from Craigslist.. believe it or not .. for only 200.00 That user was remodeling his bath and wanted the faster on model call Thermasol- PRO which is an instant on/always on model. I found the older Steamer controls from Clearance sales at plumber supply stores on ebay/Internet. All IN I think I spent 2000.00 more then if I had just done a regular shower. that includes the cost of the 500.00 kerdi kit and floor. Now fast forward to 5 years later.. that was the best 2000.00 I EVER spent too... no more SINUS HEADACHES... It is the perfect next step after being on the treadmill and bicycle exercise to wind down. It only uses 2 gallons of water as opposed to our Jacuzzi which uses 67 gallons of water to take 1 bath..Meanwhile the least often used Jacuzzi cost 4500.00 then and is not used as often now. We got the extra thermasol control unit [outside the door] that allows us to cut the steam unit on 10 minutes before I get in it so it is at a temperature around 80 degrees upon my entrance. I have it on a 'cycle' that goes up to 100 degrees for 10 minutes and the unit cuts off in 30 minutes. [Enough for me...] had a tight fitting glass door 34 '' X 72'' and a 4inch vent glass above the door. [These door measurements are items your framer needs B4 building one.and whether it will have a vent] Ours has the fan outside the vent door. We chose the PANASONIC fans that are almost commercial use.. They get the moisture out in 10 minutes when humidity is 50 percent or lower. Found the fan on EBAY for 200. We are happier with the steam shower then the 6 ft JACUZZI we purchased and installed at the same time. NO MOLD PROBLEMS EITHER... Pre planning and careful reading of that John Bridges website is the information I got right here off of GARDEN WEB. i'd highly recommend you see what other DIY'S are doing and saving money doing it..

SHOP ANY WHERE ELSE. Marble.com is an awful place. And, getting your countertops is a really momentous and joyous occasion, don't let this company ruin the experience for you. They are neither fast nor cheap. First off, they are dishonest, they will give you one quote up front and another charge when you're stuck with them. Secondly, there is one representative in particular "Matt" who is unprofessional, incredibly aggressive, and has no sense of ethics. He is who you will deal with the moment the company messes up some aspect of your order or if you have a question. In our case, we went to their NJ location and looked at the marble slabs (they have a good selection of slabs, but so does any other quarry and you can always get your sample from here and take it to a reputable marble provider). We selected our stone, received a quote and agreed. The company sent over someone to measure our counter needs (who was professional). After we paid our deposit we were told that the stone we selected was actually in their "gold" line now and the price we were quoted was readjusted by an additional $4k. You can imagine how the situation progressed from there. In our case, "Matt" (who we were not initially working with) took over and advised that there was a telephone recorded conversation documenting our quoted price. When we asked for the audio file of this alleged conversation we were emailed a blank .wav file. When we asked to communicate with a supervisor or the staff member we had initially started this process with we were told by Matt, "No, you communicate with me, I am not putting you through to anyone else." This was not an experience unique to us. I wish I had read their reviews before ever engaging with this company. Moral of the story, trust all of the other homeowners who have made the mistake of working with Marble.com and save yourself the headache, especially on such a fun part of the dream kitchen journey.