Shower niches are a handy way to keep
everything in your shower neatly organized.
With the right tile and trim, they can also be
stunning design elements within your bathroom.
Schluter®-Systems offers pre-fabricated shower
niches made of KERDI-BOARD that are fully sealed, quick to install, and integrate with KERDI
and KERDI-BOARD shower assemblies. They come in a variety of sizes, or can
be customized to fit your design.
“Please refer to our Schluter®-KERDI-BOARD
Custom Niche video for all of the details on how to create and install your own custom niche!”
To finish it all off, a variety of
Schluter profiles are available to complete your tile shower to perfection.
Schluter® Profiles can add bold or subtle elements of design, while ensuring the
integrity of your tile installation.
First thing’s first—tile layout!
We start by placing the wall tile on the floor to mimic the layout on the wall with
spacers to simulatethe grout joint width.
Tile layout can be an important factor in
determining the position of the niche…and ultimately the aesthetic of your
tile and profile installation.
In general, there will be a practical range for
the height of the niche for user convenience.
Within that range, we will attempt to position
the niche so that the opening aligns with the wall tile installation to minimize tile
cuts and produce even grout lines.
Keep in mind that you need to consider your
grout joint width, shower base thickness, any perimeter profiles, and thin-set
mortar in your layout measurements.
In this installation, our tray
and perimeter profiles are already installed. So we will calculate our wall
tile layout from the top of our profile, which will determine our niche placement.
If your tray and profiles are not installed, you will have to adjust your calculations
to include these elements since they will all influence the layout and can
affect the placement of your niche.
Another consideration is that the KERDI-BOARD-SN
has a two inch wide flange around the perimeter that will fit where the wall board is
cut away for the niche installation.
Our plan is to install the niche so that the tile
and profile installed on the bottom of the niche aligns with the top of a row of wall tile.
One tip on placement of the niche , it is better to install the niche a bit lower than
necessary, say 1/8”, rather than installing the niche too high. When the niche is lower, you
can raise the tile in the bottom of the niche up by adding more thin-set mortar.
If you install the niche too high, you will not be able to make adjustments
to the tile inside the niche and will end up with slivers of tile on the wall.
Place the niche in the desired location, making sure it is level and plumb, and trace
around the flange onto the wall board.
Install the niche and make sure all waterproof
connections to the shower assembly are completed with KERDI or KERDI-BAND.
Please refer to the “How to install a KERDI-BOARD-SN Shower Niche video for all
of the details on installing your niche”
Tile and profile installation can now begin.
There are different options when installing profiles in shower niches. The profile
anchoring legs can be installed on the inside surface or the niche, or the anchoring
legs can be installed on the wall surface.
Schluter®-QUADEC-ANCHORING LEGS
on the INSIDE of the Niche
In this first example, we will be installing the
Schluter®-QUADEC profile in a 12 x 12 niche.
QUADEC provides a modern, square edge.
Universal inside/outside corners help to easily frame the niche.
Again, remember, we figured out tile layout so that the top of the 2nd row of tile
on the wall aligns with the bottom of the niche.
It is best to set the tile at the same
time as your profiles to allow for any adjustment that may be required while
the thin-set mortar is still workable
Ideally, any tile cuts will be
equal on each side of the niche.
We skim coated the inside surface of the niche
with thin-set mortar to help provide a secure bond. This can be done using the flat side
of the trowel or a dry wall taping knife.
Next, we install the tile on
the back of the shower niche.
This will allow us to hide any cut tile edges.
Spread thin-set mortar on the back of the
tile with the flat side of the trowel, and then apply additional mortar using an
appropriate sized notch for the tile format.
Firmly embed the tile on to
the back of the shower niche.
Next, we’ll prepare and install the profiles
and tile on the sides of the niche.
Keep any corner pieces for the profiles in
mind when determining your measurements.
Measure and cut the profiles to
the dimensions of your niche.
Since we are using aluminum QUADEC, we
will use a chop saw with a non-ferrous metal cutting blade for quick, clean cuts.
“Check out our Tips & Tricks Video on the best practices for cutting all profile materials”
Apply thin-set mortar to the area where the QUADEC will be installed.
Install the universal corner piece in to the end of the cut section
of the profile with thin-set mortar.
Press the QUADEC into the thin-set mortar.
Installing the anchoring legs on the inside of the niche allows us to adjust the profiles
so they are flush with the wall tile.
Continue installing the remainder of
the QUADEC and tile inside the niche.
We install the top tile first in order
to allow the side tiles to support it.
Align the profiles as you go.
Keep in mind that the bottom piece of tile may be set with additional thin-set
mortar such that it is sloped to prevent water from pooling in the finished application.
Using small tile wedges or spacers behind the profiles can help to make sure
everything is flush and precise.
Clean any excess setting material immediately
from the profiles and inside the niche.
Finally, allow the tiles to set and then grout
the assembly to finish the installation. Again, make sure to immediately clean any
grout from the face of the profiles.
This installation example is complete.
Schluter®-JOLLY Anchoring Legs on the OUTSIDE of the Niche
Now let’s take a look at installing Schluter JOLLY with the anchoring
legs on the wall, in a custom niche.
JOLLY provides a discreet, thin reveal.
For this installation, we will begin with installing the wall tile.
We figured our tile layout so that the 6th row of wall tile and the JOLLY profile
end up flush with the tile inside the niche.
Install the wall tile using a notch
size that is appropriate for the format to achieve full coverage, stopping one row
from where the profile is to be installed.
We skim coated the inside surface of the niche
with thin-set mortar to help provide a secure bond. This can be done using the flat side
of the trowel or a dry wall taping knife.
Next, we install the tile on
the back of the shower niche.
Installing this piece first will
allow us to hide any cut tile edges.
Spread thin-set mortar on the back of the
tile with the flat side of the trowel, and then apply additional mortar using an
appropriate sized notch for the tile format.
Firmly embed the tile on to the back of
the shower niche. Then the side pieces, and finally the top and bottom.
Once again, keep in mind that the bottom piece of tile may be set with additional thin-set
mortar such that it is sloped to prevent water from pooling in the finished application.
Next, we will prepare the profiles for installation.
We are installing the JOLLY with the anchoring legs on the outside of
the niche and will abut the adjacent pieces.
If you install the JOLLY on the inside of
the niche, you need to miter the profiles.
Measure and cut the profiles to
the dimensions of your niche.
Since we are using the aluminum JOLLY, we will use
a chop saw with a non-ferrous metal cutting blade for quick, clean cuts of the profile.
Apply thin-set mortar to the area where the JOLLY will be installed.
Press the JOLLY into the thin-set mortar and align such that the profile will be flush
with the surfaces of the tile inside the niche.
Apply additional thin-set mortar over the
anchoring leg and solidly embed the wall tile.
Align the profiles as you go.
Install the remaining pieces of JOLLY and the surrounding wall tile in the same manner. .
It is best to set the tile at the same time as your profiles to allow for any
adjustment that may be required while the thin-set mortar is still workable.
It’s important to make sure they are flush and even to provide a clean finish.
Clean any excess setting material immediately from the profiles and inside the niche.
Using small tile wedges or spacers along the profiles can help to make sure
everything is aligned properly.
Finally, once the tile has set, grout the
assembly to finish the installation.
Again, make sure to immediately clean
any grout from the face of the profiles.
This installation example is complete.
Conclusion
With proper planning and execution,
a niche tiled with Schluter® Profiles can provide not only functional storage,
but enhance thedesign of your shower.
