Shower Niches: Sizes, Placement and Getting Them Right

A shower niche is a shelf recessed into the wall of the shower, usually tiled to match. It replaces wire caddies and bottles lined up on the floor, and because it sits flush with the wall it takes no space from a tight shower. It has become a standard item in most bathroom renovations.

It is also a hole in the wettest wall of the house. Done well, a niche is neat, easy to clean and completely watertight. Done badly, it is a common source of leaks and cracked tiles. This guide covers the decisions you need to make and the details your builder, waterproofer and tiler should get right.

Why a niche works

• It keeps products off the floor and out of the way of feet and cleaning.
• It sits flush, so it will not catch shoulders or elbows in a small shower.
• It can be aligned with the tile layout to look deliberate rather than tacked on.
• It is planned in during the renovation, so there is no drilling into finished tiles later.

The trade-off is that a niche adds framing, extra waterproofing detail and fiddly tile cuts. It has to be decided early, before the wall is sheeted.

Typical sizes

There is no single standard size, because a niche is shaped by the wall it sits in and the tiles around it. These are sensible starting points.

Width. In a timber stud wall, the easiest niche fits between two studs. With studs at common spacings, that gives an opening of roughly 400 to 550 mm. Wider niches are possible, but a stud has to be cut and a header framed in, which is a structural decision for your builder.

Height. A single-shelf niche is commonly 300 to 400 mm high, enough for tall bottles. A double-height niche with a shelf part-way up might be 600 mm or more.

Depth. Depth is limited by the wall. In a standard stud wall, once the sheeting, membrane, adhesive and tile are allowed for, the usable depth is usually around 75 to 100 mm — enough for most bottles standing up. For more depth, a false wall or nib can be built out.

Before settling on a size, measure the largest bottles you actually use. A niche that looks generous on a drawing can be too shallow in real life.

Where to put it

Height. A comfortable position for the base of the niche is roughly between hip and chest height for the main users. Too low and you bend; too high and shorter family members cannot reach it. Some families add a second, lower niche for children or for use while seated.

Out of the direct spray. A niche on the wall directly under the shower rose fills with water and soap. The side wall, or the wall behind you as you face the rose, usually works better. With a hand shower on a rail, plan the niche so the rail and the niche do not clash.

Internal walls. Avoid external walls where you can. Cutting into an external wall means losing insulation, and a cold spot behind the niche can attract condensation. Internal walls, or a purpose-built nib wall, are simpler.

Clear of services and structure. Check what is inside the wall first. Plumbing, wiring, bracing and a wall shared with a toilet cistern or another room's cabinetry can all rule out a spot.

Visible from the doorway, or not. A niche full of bottles is not the view most people want from the bathroom door. If the shower faces the door, consider placing the niche on a side wall where it is seen only from inside the shower.

Horizontal or vertical

A horizontal niche, wider than it is tall, suits wide showers and lines up easily with tile courses. A vertical niche, tall and narrow, often with one or two shelves, suits narrow showers and fits neatly between studs. Some bathrooms use a long horizontal niche that runs the full width of the shower wall, which needs more framing but looks clean with large-format tiles.

Framing it

The niche is framed while the wall is open, with timber or metal noggings forming the top and bottom and the studs forming the sides. The sill should be framed with a slight fall towards the shower so water drains out rather than pooling against the back of the niche. The opening is then lined with wet-area sheeting, like the rest of the shower.

Waterproofing the niche

This is the detail that matters most. A niche creates extra internal corners — around the back, top, bottom and sides — and every one is a place where the membrane has to stretch rather than tear.

• Bond breakers or reinforcing tape go into every internal corner of the recess.
• The membrane is applied continuously from the shower wall, into the niche and back out, with no gaps at the edges of the opening.
• The sill should fall towards the shower.
• The membrane cures fully before any tiling starts.

In NSW, waterproofing wet areas is licensed work and the licensed waterproofer issues a certificate at the end. The niche is covered by that certificate like the rest of the shower. Some manufacturers also make pre-formed niche inserts that are designed to be waterproofed into the wall; they still need to be installed and sealed to suit the membrane system being used.

Tiling details

A niche is small, but it shows the tiler's care more than almost anything else in the shower.

Line it up. Plan the niche so its top and bottom sit on grout lines, or so the cuts around it are balanced. Deciding this at the framing stage, with the tile size known, makes a big difference.

Edges. The outside edges can be finished with a metal or plastic trim, or with tiles mitred at 45 degrees so no edge shows. Mitres look cleaner but take more time and suit only some tiles.

Back wall. A contrasting tile or a single slab-look panel on the back wall is a common feature. A matching tile keeps it quiet.

Sealant, not grout, in the corners. The internal corners of the niche move like any other change of plane, so flexible sealant is used there instead of grout.

Easy to clean. Keep grout lines inside the niche to a minimum and avoid heavily textured tiles on the shelf, where soap scum builds up.

Lighting a niche

A strip light in the top of the niche is a popular addition. It has to be rated for wet areas and installed by a licensed electrician, with the cabling planned before the wall is sheeted. Decide on it at the design stage rather than after tiling.

Common mistakes

• A flat or back-sloping sill that holds water.
• Membrane missing or thin in the niche's corners.
• A niche placed directly in the spray, or where it clashes with a rail or screen.
• A niche too shallow for the bottles it was meant to hold.
• Cuts around the niche that leave thin slivers of tile.

Planning a niche in your renovation

A niche is best planned alongside the rest of the shower — its position, the tile set-out and the waterproofing all depend on each other. Our bathroom renovations include niches as part of the design, and our waterproofing and tiling page explains how the wet area is protected. Niches and other extras are one of the factors covered in our bathroom renovation cost guide. If you are in the Sutherland Shire, we can measure up and show you where a niche will work in your shower.