Tile guy pushing back to shower niche in a pony wall
We are planning a 32" L x 40" H pony wall in our shower. The shower valve will be in the pony wall. I wanted to do a small niche but my tile guy said there isn't room for one, but here is a photo of a valve and niche in a pony wall that looks to be a similar size. He uses the Wedi system so I am assuming I'd use a small square shower niche.
He discouraged using the 4x12" tile that I'm using on the pony wall and curb as a border around my 2x2 shower floor tile because borders "never look good". Scroll down for my inspiration photo.
Does he have good reason to pooh pooh my ideas or does he just want to keep the job as simple as possible? He is very busy, but he's my GC's tile guy and both of them did our kitchen six years ago.
Comments (6)
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6 years agoRelated Discussions
shower niche using subway tiles
Comments (32)Are your tiles white or cream? I'm glad you said that! I wasn't sure which pic you were talking about, and the white one just above your post is NOT one of mine. It was posted in here about two years ago, and was MY inspiration for the one I posted at the beginning of this thread. As for that one, it's Dal's Salerno series 12x12 ceramic tile with a 3/16" grout joint. The chair rail around it is real travertine (although I can't remember which one) set with a 1/16" grout joint, and the shelves are (I believe) dakota mahogany granite 12x12 tiles cut down, radiused, bullnosed, and polished....See Moreplumber vs tile guy. Distance of wall from stud to set valve depth
Comments (31)quartz is man made from real stone, crushed and compressed with resin material. carrara is a type of marble. you can use regular cleaners w/quartz and most granites. marble requires a specific cleaning safe material. just keep trying at the fabricators shop or a stone yard. I'm sure every place has a 6" leftover piece after cutting! what are you doing for your countertop? any extra material from that? or, just see if you can purchase a ready-made backsplash piece of quartz. ( i think the big box stores also sell these) (check over w/their kitchen center and see if they will let you purchase one long enough. but if they charge you a few hundred for it, tell them to pound. shouldn't cost you more than $60 for a 6' long strip. they (home depot) have this 36" long threshold for your curb, but it's not long enough this is quartz on the curbhere too. In a pinch, just get a 24" tile in the white ceramic to match your subway tiles and cut a few of those. you'll only have 2-3 grout lines on the curb. use a schluter metal strip for the border...See MoreNeed advice for tile on shower niche
Comments (59)Catlady999 the light over the shower was installed by a licensed electrician who was doing a bunch of other work in the house but thank you for bringing that up! *Update* good news: my mom said she's going to tell the guy to stop working in the bathroom area and just focus on getting the other things (painting, drywall) so hopefully this means we'll be getting a real professional who knows what they're doing!...See MorePerfect subway tile shower niche
Comments (33)Ahhh, the niche dilemma.... It's personal preference as to whether to "niche or not to niche". In custom builds it is preferred about 90% of the time. The other 10% would be built in shelves (and usually having to do with the ability to place a niche in an optimal location), or good quality metal (non corrosive) corner shelves (most often preferred, Kohler Large, K1897, usually 2) planned in advance and installed by us. The example Mittens posted is a basic design by a qualified pro, but very basic as any qualified pro would execute a good lay out and miters would not be a problem. Hopefully that tiled base is sloped slightly downward (according to standards). Couple things about that niche, if we want to get technical. While the mitered edges are well executed, I wouldn't want that base tile edge for water to collect (especially if it is grouted rather than the to standard silicone match). This is one reason why we primarily install a solid surface base that extends slightly outside of the niche (and sloped) for drainage. There are preformed niches of course, but we don't use them as we do our own framing for niches and prefer custom for the sizes and location. That being said, all pros have their own methods and homeowners have their own needs and budget. As for cost, while it varies by region, Mitten's niche example, framed ourselves, prepped to standards, and tiled, would probably add about $500 to the shower. We would prefer a trim element for a niche in many cases as it adds a quality aesthetic detail, such as a coordinating pencil liner or molding, style dependent. A minimalist or more contemporary design, for example, might not require this as we would stream line it with fewer elements. And if you have a pony wall (half wall tiled with glass above), consider placing the niche in the pony wall if away from direct water flow. A custom niche with multiple solid surface shelves could run $1000-$3000 in our market, depending on size, number of shelves, trim options, etc.. Most importantly, PLAN for your niche, shelf, basket, or nothing, in the design phase for optimal choice and cost. This is the conversation we would be having with our clients....See MoreJane
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoIf you have to go with a visible niche, here is what I did. I went to Bath and Body Works and bought several bottles of shower gel. The shower gels come in clear plastic squirt bottles with silver chrome-looking tops. I emptied a couple of shower gels into spare bottles, removed the labels, and put my other products in the empty BBW bottles. Then I marked them on the bottom with a sharpie to identify: B for body gel, F for face wash, S for shampoo, C for conditioner. You can’t see the sharpie marks. The bottles look really nice in the niche.
BTW I have a custom niche that was sized to work seamlessly with the tile I chose.
EDIT: I would consider doing the border on the bottom of the walls like a baseboard to make the shower floor look bigger.
Re the niche: I was warned about water seepage as well, so I towel dry the niche after every shower. It’s not a big deal. Also, my custom niche was framed out inside the wall so I could put it where I wanted. (My shower is small: 30x 60)
Also think about how much water will be hitting the niche. In the pic with the pony wall, there might be a lot of water coming at the niche. My niche sees hardly any water because the shower spray hits the floor several inches before it gets to the niche wall.
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6 years ago
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