Yeah right now it is probably safe. But in 10 years? I prefer a cleat fastened into a stud like I saw in the installation instructions. If the contractor had not left I would have had him continue after I got the answer from Wedi. But he did, so now I have the option to cut out the bench and put in solid surface wall panels. If he had been confident in his installation he could have said go ahead and call them. They will tell you this is compliant with their recommended installation.

You may think it is no big deal to have a foam corner glued into your shower with heavy tile on it. But the price of failure could be it falling on a bare foot while showering or crashing down when sitting on it. To me that is a concern so I wanted to be sure it was installed in a safe way.

The contractor abandoned your whole project? Keep careful notes and save all emails and texts. We had a contractor abandon because they didn’t want to fix wrongly done waterproofing. They quit. Then months later, after we hired a real pro and paid to fix what they did wrong, they sued us saying we fired them. Ended up in District court and we won, but it was a year of stress and a PITA. Keep all your records, emails and texts. You might need them.

If you already paid for work not done, send a request for a refund of that amount.

Yes he abandoned it. But it was amiable and he put in writing that we owe him nothing. Which is fine. Things are so stressful right now that I totally understand. He said he it was too stressful to continue. We had used him on a previous tile project and he does a very nice job cutting and setting tile. And I think he is ethical.

We just got a shelter in place order today so he would have been breaking the law to continue. We were hoping to get a drywall guy in tomorrow but after the order came out from our governor saying it was against the law and the right thing to do to for people to stay home I felt too guilty to ask someone to be exposed buying supplies on our behalf and working at our house. So that is off also.

I talked to Wedi who told me only their products work with their foam boards and that the adhesive for the solid surface panels might not adhere to it and caulk might not also because it is foam.

I had not seen a Wedi product before this and the foam crushes pretty easy. We have a void in one of our wall panels (manufacturing defect) the I was going to just fill with caulk. And some dents from the contractor putting it up. So still comfortable with switching away from the glued in shower seat. But I still think we can adhere the solid surface panels to it. However Wedi doesn't think so which is a concern. If we can't use construction adhesive on it I don't really understand how the tile adheres to it strongly but they know best.

We have some scrap Wedi in our trash cans so we will test the adhesive on it before installing the solid surface panels.

I wanted to update this for anyone researching in the future. The weigth limit numbers from the Wedi rep. I talked to are probably not accurate. When I looked on Home Depot's web site for prefabricated corner shower benches, the Wedi one with screw through the wall fasteners has the Wedi rep answering (in writing) it has a 350 lb weight limit not 500 lbs like the guy told me on the phone. Since they don't publish anywhere what the weight limit is for a glued on shower seat do not take the 250 lb number as accurate. We are going to cut the shower seat off and replace it with a non-wedi brand one that screws through the wall. These seemed to all have a 400lb weight limit. My guess is the foam construction of the wedi one is what makes it weaker than the other models.

I had asked the contractor to let me know when the framing was done so I could take pictures and know where the blocking was for my grab bars. When I took the pictures I discovered this new cut which hadn't been in the stud before.

I asked why the stud was cut. He said it bowed inward and he wanted to bend it outward so he cut it and wedged wood behind it to make it straight. I think a better solution would have been to sister the stud with a good one. Then that would have made the wall straight and stronger, not weaker and more likely to result in cracked grout and tile.

I also didn't like wedging wood in the wall cavity putting pressure on the wall behind it, that faces into the bathroom. It could result in cracked drywall.

I was so shocked that I didn't have a solution right off the bat so I went back in the house to think about it. We were keeping social distancing so not looking at the work when he was there, mostly going in at lunch and the end of the day unless he called us to look at something.

The cut stud made us both uncomfortable so we had him go through the plumbing wall and add this short sister piece. In the upper left corner of the picture you can see the wedged piece of wood, now putting pressure on the opposing wall.

Hopefully this remedies the weakening of the stud. I kind of want to take out the wedged piece to avoid the prospect of cracked drywall. But then the stud might bend back. <sigh> I full length sister would have been fool proof. This is hokey.

Another issue is there is a piece of wedi board that is glued to the piece above it but has no backing whatsoever. And it is in a vulnerable place to get kicked or hit by the vaccum cleaner. Practially guaranteeing cracked grout in this location.

Notice, no fastner on the seam as required by Wedi.

"This is hokey."

No, it's not. You should be glad you had a contractor contentious enough to straighten a bowed stud. If this installer has any brains in his head, he'll head for the hills like the original Wedi installer had the sense to do. With all the second-guessing he's getting, Swami Joe predicts a poor internet review is in his future. His stud altering is fine, however, he needs major work on his client selection skills.

Your mechanically fastening a seat into framing is going to create a penetration in the waterproofing. The adhered seat did not. Good luck.

Joseph, we do not have a second installer. This work is all from the first. So you think that instead of sistering the stud, cutting it and leaving it cut was the right thing to do? You do know that tile and grout crack from not being set on solidly secured surfaces right?

He cut the stud so that he could bend it out by hand and put a outward pushing board behind it. So what exactly is to keep it from continuing to bend out when it has heavy tile installed on it?

I feel sorry for your clients.

So your saying this one by Wedi is bad.

https://www.amazon.com/Wedi-Corner-Seat-17/dp/B01180JGTG#customerReviews

But gluing a triangular piece of foam is good.

Yeah, right. As you said above you would install a corner seat but never expect anyone to sit on it so therefore it doesn't matter (in your mind) whether it can support a person. Very illogical and potentially dangerous assumption.

I don't mind if you don't respond to any of my posts. Ever. You likely have alot of problems with your clients and are trying to take it out on me.

Now this is interesting. We thought we could cut the shelf off and there would be a solid panel behind it. Not so. The panel was cut, the shelf was inserted and then mesh tape applied around the perimeter with waterproofing stuff applied over it. There wasn't even any of their bonding adhesive to weld the panel to the back panels. Those seams are clean.

Then we will hang solid surface panels over the to and use the provided adhesive to bond them to the wedi. The corner of the shower seat area will be the only area there is a penetration of water potential from the solid surface panels so we will make sure it is super water proofed.

Found this on the wedi web site.

Do not add mesh tape into the wedi Joint Sealant. This may only put the
waterproofing performance at risk and will not strengthen the sealant’s or system’s resistance against movement related stresses.

So we aren't going to use mesh tape on the patch seams. However the installer used it with the joint sealant to attach the foam seat to the wall. But I could see how forces pulling on the mesh tape would open holes in the joint sealant.

Also the joint sealant is permanently flexible and rubbery so not much of a holding force.

Once we get it all patched up, really looking forward to using solid surface panels and putting this all behind us.

Wedi tape.

Thanks. On the wedi website I saw two methods for patching. One was with the joint sealant and the other was with the tape and modified thinset. Since we don't have thinset I decided to go with the joint sealant. This is what wedi had to say about the two methods:

All excess wedi sealant is spread flat over all joints using a putty knife. Where needed, an extra bead of sealant is applied on top of the joints and spread flat. The joints should be covered a full 3/4” – 1” on both sides of the seam. ... Alternatively, wedi sealing tape can be used instead of the wedi Joint Sealant and applied in modified thinset. .... Please consider: sealing tape is installed in cement based thinset and can allow pressing water to migrate under the tape. The thinset holding the tape can also not provide protection against movement. Both challenges are addressed more efficiently by using wedi Joint Sealant.

Happily I found the wedi fastners, joint sealant and corner putty knife on line so that is headed our way.

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We just heard from the solid panel company and they have a corner seat. But they recommend blocking behind the boards. So we will have to consider if we will remove the wedi, install blocking, and reinstall or just go with out a corner seat. It is a metal frame the screws into the wall and then the material fits over it like a clam shell. We may be able to get the blocking in through the plumbing access panel on one wall and get away with only screwing into the studs on the other wall. Or we could cut a chunk of wedi out, install blocking and then patch.

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On another topic, we found the base distinctly crunchy. The base installation instructions say to set it in mortar and let it cure for 24 hours. The installer set it in the morning and was walking on it shortly thereafter, thus leaving small cavities under the material. Hopefully we won't notice this when the shower is running. I don't think it is structurally compromised so we will leave it in.

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Samples of the solid panels should be arriving tonight. Hope we like the material.

Fantastic explanations which provided so much insight! Really dont understand all the negative comments. You are right in your assumption that no glue in the world can keep any human being (dego not a jumping one!) and the builder ran as he knew the bench wasnt attached well. Good luck stay true to your gut instincts; theyre spot on

*defo not dego

Thanks Floortje!

We ended up going with the Sentrel/Flexstone system. Their corner seat is a metal frame that screws into the wood framing. Very sturdy. I put pictures of it in this post.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5918286/flexstone-sentrel-panels-calacatta-white-pictures

I have been so happy with this bathroom! Every night I am thrilled to look at it. I especially love sitting on the corner seat where the water from the rain shower head falls into my lap.

For informational purposes, I wanted to add to this old thread. When installed properly, Wedi corner benches will hold quite a bit more than stated. That number is for liability reasons. Here's a couple pics from a training class, that Wedi does often in addition to their Pro certification classes, of corner shelves just about 12hrs after they were set. Keep in mind that after tile is added to bench and walls, there is even more support. I've been installing for over 25years and have been doing almost exclusively Wedi installs for years now. Their warranty is one of the best, and for installers that take the time to educate themselves, their training is not only great, but to b 'Pro Certified' you have to continue to take new classes every 4 years to maintain that certification, allowing you to always keep up with the latest products and installation methods.

Wedi also has new options for corner benches that include mounting brackets that are rated for, I believe, up to 500lbs, and are included in their 10 and 20 year warranties when installed properly