The Ultimate Guide to Building a Preformed Custom Recessed Shower Niche
Part 4: Building a Custom Shower Niche from Scratch
This post covers:
Cement board, foam board, and Hardibacker
Cutting into wall framing
Waterproofing
LOTS of photos!
Sometimes there’s no good way around it. Building your own custom recessed shower niche from scratch can be the best way to add much needed storage in your shower. Not every shower works out perfectly to be able to put in a standard sized preformed niche. Sometimes it makes more sense to start from scratch rather than make modifications to standard sized foam niches.[box type=”shadow” align=”alignright” class=”” width=”225px”]Other niche building posts:
Modifying a prefab niche[/box]
So let’s start at the beginning. What material do you want to create your custom shower niche with?
Building material
Foam Boards: Most of the time when I build a custom shower niche I end up using Wedi board. I save my scraps so I always have some on hand. The nice thing about Wedi board and Kerdi board is that it comes in different thicknesses. This can be an advantage when trying to get a niche to layout with the tile. I may end up going with 1/4 inch thick board on one side and 1/2 inch on the others.
Another advantage to foam board is that it’s easy to cut to size and doesn’t create any airborne dust. Also the board itself is waterproof so once it’s installed and the glue is dry it’s ready to tile.
It does need to be installed like the instructions. With lots of glue. Schluter requires additional banding over the seams and penetrations for their Kerdi Board products.
Cement Boards: Niches can also be made out of cement boards like Durock and Hardibacker. These products are not waterproof so they will need an additional waterproofing membrane over them.
Kerdi vs Redgard: To waterproof over the cement board I recommend either a sheet membrane or a liquid waterproofing membrane. A liquid waterproofing is much easier to use for this than trying to hassle with all the cuts and folds of a sheet waterproofing membrane. Examples of sheet membranes are Kerdi, Durock, and Valueseal. Examples of liquid waterproofers are Redgard, Hydroban, and Aquadefense. More on these below.
Building your custom shower niche
Much like the other niches types of niches you’ll need to have these steps done:
Tile backerboad installed (at least most of it)
Tile layout and niche placement figured out
Niche location framed in with blocking on all four sides.
Cutting studs in shower
Sometimes there’s a temptation to cut the wall studs in a shower wall to accommodate a custom shower niche. After all it is custom, right? Before you do this here’s some things to keep in mind:
I don’t recommend cutting any studs on an exterior wall. Same thing for a load bearing interior wall. Load bearing walls are interior walls that are holding up your house. Not all interior walls are holding up your house. In fact, most of them are just there to divide the space up. Oftentimes when you see an interior wall that is 2×6 construction it’s a bearing wall. With non-load bearing interior walls sometimes you can cut a section of a stud out and have it be no big deal.
If you decide that you know what you are doing and want to modify the framing of an exterior and/or bearing wall for a recessed shower niche then the niche should be framed in like a window would be framed in. Or a door. And it probably is proper to get a permit when doing this. This is a tile blog though. I’m not going to give out advice on framing other than this:
If you don’t know what you are doing then don’t cut any studs!
Hire a professional for that aspect of it.
Cutting the wall board to fit the niche
Assuming the backerboard is already installed on the wall around the niche then this is how I typically go about it.
Cut a piece of backerboard to install in the back of the niche. This can be either 1/2 inch like the wall board or you can go thinner with 1/4 inch thick board for example. The advantage of a thinner board on the back wall is that it give you a little bit deeper of a shelf.
Then cut some pieces for the top, bottom, and sides. So if you are using 3ft wide backer board you might cut a strip at 3 3/8″ by 3 ft long. Then cut the top and side pieces to length out of that.
Installing the wall board
You’ll need to mix up a small amount of thinset. Put some thinset on the back of the backerboard for the niche. Use a 1/4 x 1/4 inch square notch trowel for this. Comb the thinset all the same direction. Install the backerboad on the back wall and wiggle it so the notches on the thinset collapse. Don’t screw or nail this piece in! Usually you would be sticking it to the back of a sheetrock wall.
If you are installing this on a deeper wall, such as an exterior wall, then you’ll need to frame in some blocking to attach the back piece to. Assuming that’s the case then you can forego sticking it on with thinset and screw it into the framing blocks. For an exterior wall that you are installing this niche in you may want to read my post on this.
Installing a Recessed Shampoo Niche in an Exterior Wall of a Shower
Upon installing the back piece the side and top pieces can be installed. No thinset is necessary under these pieces. Just screw them in. If you’re using Wedi board or Kerdi board then I usually just put screws and washers down the middle of the strip. If it’s cement board then I will screw a row of two screws in: one screw towards the front and one in the back.
note for Wedi board users: You’ll want to make sure to put some sealant on all leading edges of the board before screwing it in. Just like if you were installing walls. If you miss a spot then don’t take any chances. Pull the board back out and use more glue.
Slope the bottom
The bottom of the niche needs to slope slightly so that water will run out. But not so much that nothing can sit on the shelf. The rule is 1/4 inch per foot minimum so I usually slope the bottom of the niche 1/8 inch. One way of doing this is to plane the bottom 2×4 that you install for the niche. This means removing 1/8 inch of material from the front of the 2×4. Obviously this would be done prior to installing it.
If you don’t want to plane the board then here’s an alternative way of doing it:
- The bottom piece of backerboard on the niche should be thinset and screwed down no matter what.
- Typically I will apply thinset to the bottom 2×4 in the niche with my 1/4 inch square notch trowel.
I’m using 1/8 inch horseshoe spacers to pitch the bottom piece of the niche. - Then I put some tile wedges or spacers along the back. Maybe every 3 inches or so. Right in the thinset.
The bottom piece of cement board needs to be pitched. The cut up spacers are used as shims so it slopes from back to front - Notch thinset on the back of the backerboard.
Additional mortar is added to the back of the bottom piece to make sure that it is fully embedded in the mortar. - Install the backerboard in the thinset and wiggle it. The back should wiggle down until it touches the wedges. Wiggle down the front and be sure it slopes.
Installing the bottom piece - Screw in the bottom backerboard.
Use cement board screws to fasten the bottom piece 
Make sure to actually check that it slopes in the right direction 
Proper slope is 1/4 inch per foot so about 1/8 total for a niche.
Sealing the seams
If you are installing foam board in the niche then you’ll want to apply more sealant to all of the seams and smooth it out. This is where the plastic Wedi corner tool comes in handy [Amazon link at bottom of page]. Do the entire inside and outside around the niche.
If you’ve installed a cement board then you’ll want to thinset and tape all the seams. Alkaline resistant 4 inch mesh tape is nice for this. You’ll want it in every inside and outside corner. Fill in all the gaps with thinset.
Note for Kerdi membrane users: When installing a waterproof sheet membrane in the niche you can forego the mesh tape step. The membrane will act as the tape for the seams.
Waterproofing your custom shower niche
Wedi board users: You’re already done! Your seams should be waterproof and you’re in business!
Sheet membrane users: Precut the sheet membrane for the niche. Make sure to overlap all seams by 2 inches minimum. I would apply a dab of sealant(Kerdi fix, Nobleseal 150, etc) in the corners for good measure.
Liquid waterproofing people: Scrape down any high spots in the thinset that has dried from the last step. Apply a thick coat of liquid waterproofing over the entire niche. A paint brush is usually the best too for this job. Pay special attention to the bottom shelf of the niche. Make sure the membrane soaks in to any pinholes.
Once this layer is completely dry (including all the corners) you can apply a second coat.
Thickness: A common mistake made with liquid waterproofing is people put it on too thin. However it can be too thick also. A general rule of thumb is to apply it “drivers license thick.” If you want a more exact way of determining the thickness then a wet film gauge is best. The exact thickness for each liquid is different and can be found in the installation instructions.
Once it’s waterproofed you’re ready to tile. For more on this step see
How to Build a Recessed Shampoo Shelf
Les says
Hi Jim,
Thanks for this fantastic tutorial — the pictures are especially helpful! I have built a custom niche, but in my excitement to get everything put together, I forget to thinset the bottom piece of Durock to the supporting 2×4. Can I just be extra diligent in my waterproofing (thinset and mesh tape, followed by a generous coat of Redgard)? Or is this a huge mistake that I need to take apart? I ran the bottom piece of Durock underneath the side pieces, so I would have to dismantle most of my work.
Thanks in advance for your guidance!
diy tile guy says
I’d say it depends on how you sloped the bottom. If the 2×4 underneath is pitched forward then you’d probably be ok. If you pitched it like I’ve shown, with plastic spacers, then I think the mortar would be a good idea because it would take out any voids that would be underneath the bottom piece.
Les says
Thanks for your quick response, Jim. I didn’t use spacers between the 2×4 and the Durock, so there is no gap. I plan to use spacers to get the bottom piece of the tile at the correct pitch. Does that sound like a reasonable plan?
diy tile guy says
What you want is the slope to be at the waterproofing level so that any water that gets down to the sill- underneath the tile- will still have an escape route to the drain. So, unfortunately, this would mean going backwards a little bit before going forwards.
paul says
Do you have recommendations on waterproofing the area around a vinyl window in a tub surround? Seems like a similar situation to the niche but with a joint to the window frame at the back instead of a wall. Current plan is to install backer board sides, top and bottom (sloped), leave ~0.25″ gap between board and window, waterproof with liquid membrane, caulk between backer and window frame, and cover with thinset+tile.
Is this correct? Is there a better way to set up the joint around the window? I’m worried that if the outside caulking has to be replaced, the backer-to-window seal will also get broken when the old stuff is getting removed. Backer rod between the 2 layers? Thanks in advance, I would appreciate any advice.
diy tile guy says
Yes, it’s similar. Use whatever waterproofing that you are using- in your case it sounds like a liquid. Then backer rod and caulk the gap between backerboard and the vinyl window frame. The caulk can be either silicone or urethane.
The steps that you’ve outlined sound exactly right.
Simon says
Hi there
First of all, what a great website! I really like your way of explaining how things are done and your pictures. I’m soon going to be tiling my new bathroom and will visiting here a fair bit during the process!
Anyway, just a question about shower niches. I have two relatively large ones built in (600mm x 300mm) and was wondering if there’s a particular sequence to tiling a shower with niches? For example, do you do the walls and then the niches? Niches first and then walls? Or simply tile them as they come up as you do the wall tiling?
Also, I’ll put in a glass shelf in each – would you put the shelf holders into the grout line and grout them in?
Pretty simple questions I guess, but useful to know the techniques the pros use for this sort of thing.
Thanks
Simon
diy tile guy says
I do the walls first, then the sill, and let that dry so I can stack tile off of it later. Then I install tile in the niche. Usually top, back, then sides. There are a lot of ways of doing things but that’s how I usually do them.
The glass shelf you can put in a grout joint if you like where that lays out. Typically, I caulk them in but grout would probably work as well. You might test it first and see if the grout scratches. Usually, it won’t.
Thanks for the comments!
Zayd says
Jim,
Any guidance on cutting clean miters in porcelain tile for corners? I saw a picture of a beautiful gray tile niche that you tiled with mitered corners and it was outstanding.
I’ll be renting a wet saw for my installation but wanted to collect tips from pros like yourself first. Thanks!
diy tile guy says
There’s a few ways to do it but probably the easiest way if you are renting a wet saw is to get a saw that miters. This means the head will tilt.
But you’ll be dependent on whatever the rental store has so if it doesn’t tilt then you can make a wedge out of wood, or something, so the tile itself will be at a 45 degree angle.
They do make special wedge products for this purpose but they are saw specific.
If you have a lot of bevels to cut them I would use an old blade or buy a cheaper one to use for this purpose. The reason being is that you’ll wear out one side of the blade faster than the other and the blade won’t cut straight after a while.
Zayd says
Good advice — thank you.
I’m throwing around the possibility of using Schluter edge trim also, although I think it will be more noticeable than I’d like. For that reason, I’m leaning towards the bevel approach.
diy tile guy says
FYI, Schluter does have some options besides just aluminum and chrome. There are some colorful choices that may be appealing if you don’t want the metal look.
Larry Gray Jr. says
Good morning. I’ve never seen backer board placed directly to drywall. Is it safe to assume that this done quite a bit?
I am about to remodel our bathroom and will be making my own niche. We’re actually turning the tub area into a walk-in shower.
Any suggestions on prefab shower floors. I’ve been thinking about using the Schluter Kerdi kit.
diy tile guy says
Typically, 1/2 inch backer board is installed in place of drywall and not in to of it. I’m not sure if that’s what you are referring to, or not.
I haven’t used all the different prefab shower trays. In fact, the only one I have much experience with is the Wedi system and it’s one that I would recommend.
But the Kerdi system is good, also Hydroban and the USG Durock system have all had good reviews. With Kerdi, you have to attach the membrane to the pan but they have probably the best videos and instructions.
So I don’t have an individual product recommendation but the ones that I’ve mentioned above have good track records and are good choices.
paul says
Have you ever used corian as the bottom shelf in a niche? Would you attach it with thinset or silicone? Would you put it over cement board and membrane or just attach it to the supporting blocking directly?
diy tile guy says
I haven’t used Corian before but have used products like quartz. I’ve installed them with mortar and siliconed around them.
Always attach after the board is installed and after the waterproofing is done.
paul says
Why not achieve the slope of the bottom of the niche by ripping the wood blocking piece at a slight angle? Or do you just not have the tools for that with you on site?
diy tile guy says
Nothing wrong with it at all! In fact, it may be a better way of accomplishing the same thing. I typically have a skill saw available and that’s about it. Plus, I’m a tile guy and shouldn’t be allowed to handle carpenter’s tools. 😉
Dennis Pedersen says
Jim, thanks for all the helpful information! With regard to where the window ledge meets the window frame, should the gap be caulked with silicone before or after application of Redgard or Laticrete?
diy tile guy says
Yes, it’s a good idea to caulk that area around the window. I recommend doing it after waterproofing as the liquid waterproofers will not want to adhere to the silicone. You’ll have to keep the gap clean though.
Marshall Brown says
if you put cement backer board around a shower wall do you have to water proof with the liquid on the entire shower before thin set and tile ?
DIYTileGuy says
You need to manage the water in some way and there is more than one option. I recommend taking a look at these two posts which I think will answer your question. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.
https://www.diytileguy.com/durock-cement-board-waterproof/
https://www.diytileguy.com/shower-waterproofing/
paul says
Do you do anything with shallow niches? The best wall for a shower niche is 2×3 construction. I’m going to shim it out some but it still leaves only about 2-1/4″ which would hold a shampoo bottle but would look funny and doesn’t seem worth it. I could extend a ledge but that would also look funny and seems a bit dangerous. Wife doesn’t like the idea of corner shelves. Might need to just hang up some narrow glass shelves on metal hangers attached through the tile. Are there some options I might be missing? Otherwise we might be shamefully hanging a caddy on the shower head.
DIYTileGuy says
You could put a piece of quartz or granite on the bottom of the niche and have the piece extend past the niche just a bit. I’ll see if I can find a photo as an example tomorrow.
For non-niche options I would look into a company called Tileware (Tilewareproducts.com). They have some corner shelves and baskets that look good and attach without puncturing the waterproofing on walls.
paul says
Thanks, those do look good. That might be the winner. But $200 for a shampoo basket? Damn.
If I want to mount something like a grab bar by drilling and putting screws through the tile, is there a good way to waterproof the attachment points if I’m using redgard over cement board? The Tileware bar mounting system looks good but I wanted to keep the wallboard in one piece where the bar would go.
DIYTileGuy says
The thing to do is usually just to fill the hole full of silicone before you mount. That’s what shower door guys do.
Kelly says
Thanks so much for your site, it’s very informative and I have already learned so much. I’m hoping you can help me to plan for a project that I’m researching. My shower has an old aluminum crank-style window in the back wall, which I plan on removing and thought it would be a perfect spot to build a niche. I have a couple of issues I’m trying to figure out .
First, this window is set in what used to be an exterior wall. I added a utility/mud room on the other side so now the window opens into another room. As far as the wall construction goes, it doesn’t really matter in this house. The entire house is built with cinder block walls covered with a thick layer of concrete-like material that I think is mortar. Interior and exterior walls are all built the same way, with the walls being about 10 inches thick.
The window is 17-3/4″ wide x 36-1/2″ tall and 44″ from the floor. The “frame” is concrete, 18″x37-1/2″ The top and bottom ledges slant horizontally, with more of a slant on the top than on the bottom. The top slants up and is 4″ wide, the bottom slants down and is 3-3/4″ wide. The vertical sides are straight, 3-3/4″ from the window. The opposite side is built the same way, with about the same measurements.
I’m trying to figure out how to frame this in (after I figure out how to remove the window!). As I understand it, I don’t need to do any backer board for the rest of the shower, the concrete is basically my scratch coat. But obviously, I will need to build the blocking – attach it somehow to the concrete – and then create the niche with some sort of backer board. I’m leaning toward your suggestion of using Wedi board.
Would you recommend I fill in the hole in the wall with concrete block and then attach wood framing to make the niche (finishing with Wedi board as you suggest)? What sealant and glue would I use? Can you think of a better way to do this, or would you recommend that I scrap the niche idea altogether and just fill the hole and tile?
Secondary question, not really niche-related, but one of the walls in the shower is bulging. I’ve had new plumbing installed, so the cause is fixed, but to level out the wall it was recommended that I could save some money by using pieces of cement board to fill in any deep areas, then build out the wall to a smooth finish with mortar. Would you recommend this as well?
I really appreciate any help or tips you can give me in dealing with this problem. I’m forced to diy this one myself, and although I’m fairly handy and have completed a lot of different home reno projects myself, I have only tiled with LVT. I’m fairly confident in my abilities to pull it off, but the condition of the walls and concrete are making me really nervous. The previous owners had apparently just glued the tiles to the concrete, and once the shower started getting regular use, the tiles literally just fell off the walls. I need to be sure that doesn’t happen again.
DIYTileGuy says
If you have the money for a foam board I think that is the solution to all of the problems.
Structural foam is changing our industry and they are even using it for freeway offramps and that sort of thing.
I don’t like the idea of you tiling over the concrete directly. You should have walls that are waterproof and this waterproofing should tie into the shower floor which should tie into a drain.
A normal basement floor drain isn’t going to work either. You’ll need either a bonding flange drain (Kerdi drain) or a 3 piece shower drain.
But to answer the questions: the niche can be framed in with foam panels. Use Wedi or Schluter or whichever but use the sealant that goes with their product.
You can cut up their panels and construct the opening to your liking.
You can also use the foam panels to go over the wall with a hump in it. By using the glue you can flatten the wall out.
Wedi and Schluter put on local classes all of the time. I would encourage you to look into their systems and see what you think of them.
There’s also Hydroban board, GoBoard, Probably board, and Durock foam panels. They are all competitive of each other and perform essentially the same function.
It’s a little more money for the materials but it’s a much easier DIY then trying to incorporate wood framing into a concrete structure.
Colleen says
Just curious, does your bathroom have a ventilation fan or is that window the only available ventilation? Because if it’s the only way for moisture to exit the bathroom, you might think twice about removing the window.
Kelly says
Hi Colleen, good catch. Yes, it’s the only ventilation at the moment, but I am having a pro install a light/fan combo in the ceiling. Part of the problem with the shower was lack of ventilation in the first place. Let’s be honest – I like getting away with not installing any other ventilation, but no one opens a window in the shower in the middle of winter in Michigan 🙂
The bathroom had mold and mildew everywhere. I had a mold remediation and cleanup company do the whole house last month. Trying to make sure that never happens here again. Thanks for the comment, it’s a great point.
Kelly says
Thank you so much for taking the time to give your speedy reply! You are a godsend – watching your videos and reading all the information here has given me courage with this project. Please keep up the great work; your tutorials and explanations are the best. So many diy blogs that you find either skip over relevant information, or answer questions with a canned answer that doesn’t really answer the question.
The structural foam board does sound like exactly what I need. I found some Wedi kits on HD, and I see what you mean – they are pretty pricey, but it sounds like they will save me money because I don’t have a lot of time to mess around with the other options. They have a 1/4″ underlayment kit that includes five 2x4x1/4″ panels and a tube of their sealant (plus some screws and washers that I wouldn’t need). I was told that 1/4″ cement board is appropriate for floors only, for walls you use 1/2″. Is it ok to use 1/4″ of the foam for the walls, too?
Of course, the same guy at Home Depot that told me I could just tile directly on the cement is the same guy who told me about the thicknesses of the cement board, so I’m not sure I believe anything he said at this point.
Also, thank you very much for taking the time to go over the drain, too. I obviously have some more research to do, but any tips or hints like that are very welcome. The shower currently has a regular shower drain installed, but the floor is not sloped correctly. I don’t suppose I could attach the foam board to the floor and use the sealant to even out the slope, could I? This house was built in the 1940’s and as I mentioned in the earlier post, every wall – interior and exterior – is cinder block with a concrete coating.
I had to pay a good deal of money to get the faucet and shower head replaced, mainly because the plumber had to cut and chisel the pipes out of concrete and metal mesh in order to replace them. He was able to raise the shower head from around 5.5′ to around 6′ tall, which is still too low lol. The floor drain isn’t centered, either – and I do not want to uncover any additional problems under that floor, which is why I’m re-tiling instead of trying to fit a tub and surround into this teeny space. So I’m hoping I can unscrew the current drain head and replace with one of the options you recommended.
DIYTileGuy says
I’m not sure about 1/4 inch foam board over walls. If the 1/4 inch board is completely supported underneath (behind) then I think it would be fine. But if you did blobs of glue every so often then I think 1/4 inch board would have too much flex and 1/2 inch would be better. 1/2 inch is designed to span 16-inch center spacing (14.5 inches unsupported).
For the shower drain I think you would have a couple of different options. The first three involve foam shower trays.
1. Schluter makes an adapter for a standard 3-piece shower drain which you have. It’s not the cheapest but it would allow you to incorporate one of their foam shower trays.
2. A company called KBRS makes foam shower trays also and I’m pretty sure that they are designed to fit with a 3-piece shower drain. That might be an option.
3. You could cut out your current shower drain and put add a 2-inch drain pipe to extend up above the concrete. This would allow you to use a Wedi shower tray. This may not involve cutting out concrete as you only need to reach just below the current drain.
With foam shower trays, I understand there is additional cost and if you don’t have a centered drain then you will have to cut the trays and add extensions onto them which adds further to the cost.
Another option would be to get a custom-made foam shower pan. There are several companies that make these. I think the companies mentioned above will all make custom foam trays.
Finally, you can do a mud pan shower pan where you mix a sand topping mix and make your own shower base. I think the best way to do these with foam panels is to use what’s called a drain flashing. Here’s a link to the one Noble Company makes and I’ve used several times.
http://noblecompany.com/products/nobleflex/
You would install foam panels on the walls, install a “mud” shower pan with a “divot” drain. Then put a waterproof membrane on the top of it with the drain flashing. Wedi makes a membrane called Subliner dry. I’ve also used Noble ValueSeal and Kerdi fabric works just fine also.
I know this is a lot of info. Here’s a link to a thread that goes over the “divot method”. This talks about doing it with a liquid waterproofing but it can easily be done with a sheet membrane with a drain flashing described already.
https://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=72403&highlight=divot
This might be too much info but let me know what path you are inclined to take and we can go further from there.
Kelly says
I am so very grateful for your help, you just don’t know! No way to thank you enough. I still need to read through the links so I understand exactly what you’re saying. I read through the divot thread, but really need to go over it again to understand the process. KBRS looks awesome, but really pricey. If this were my home, I might be more inclined to spring for it. Ugh – balancing price vs labor is hard! lol
Again, thank you so much for your help. I will ping back when I’ve done my due diligence on this.
DIYTileGuy says
I understand. I have a couple of photos on my Instagram page of a divot in use but don’t know if that’s helpful, of not.
All the high tech products are expensive but they are problem solvers.
Marti says
Is it okay to leave the underside of a shower shaving shelf made of a waterproofing wedge exposed? The top and sides are tiled and grouted.
DIYTileGuy says
Assuming the bottom side is waterproofed it made of something that won’t deteriorate, such as aluminum, then yes, it’s ok to not tile it.
If it’s wood then answer would be “no” it shouldn’t be left like that.
Liz says
Hi John,
I’ve got my niche built, sloped and waterproofed. I now realize that for the wall tiles to be nicely spaced around the niche I need to add another thin piece of hardiebacker to the top of the niche. Should I treat that piece of backer board like a tile and thinset it in, then install my tiles over that once it’s dry? I’m thinking I wouldn’t want to screw the additional piece in and make holes in my nice waterproofing.
Thanks,
Liz
DIYTileGuy says
I’d rather see you screw it in, tape the seams with mesh tape and thinset, and waterproof over it.