Shower Niches, Benches and Shelves: Planning Built-Ins

Built-ins are the details that make a shower easy to use: a niche for bottles, a bench for shaving legs or sitting under the water, a shelf by the door. They look simple, but each one interrupts the waterproofing, and each has to be drawn before the walls are framed. This page covers where they go, how they are sized and what keeps them watertight. Our article on shower niche ideas shows more styles.

Shower niches

Where to put one

• On an interior wall. A niche in an exterior wall replaces insulation with a thin box of tile, which makes a cold spot where shower steam can condense inside the wall. When an exterior wall is opened, Washington's energy code expects the exposed cavities to be filled with insulation (WAC 51-11R-50300), and a niche leaves little room for it.
• Not on the plumbing wall, where the valve and supply pipes run, unless the design has room.
• Out of the direct spray, so bottles do not fill with water and the niche dries between showers. The wall opposite the showerhead, or the side wall near the entry, usually works.
• Visible but not the focal point. Many people prefer the niche on a wall you do not face as you walk in, so bottles are not the first thing you see.
• At a reachable height, roughly between waist and shoulder for the people using it. Two niches at different heights work well in a family shower.

Sizing it to the tile

A niche looks finished when its edges land on full tiles or line up with grout lines. That means the tile size and layout are chosen first, and the niche opening is framed to suit them. A niche sized to the studs and then tiled around usually ends in thin slivers of cut tile. Draw the tile layout on the wall elevation with the niche in it before framing; see tile patterns and layouts.

Wide niches have to span studs, which means framing a header like a small window opening. A horizontal niche the width of the shower is possible but needs that framing planned.

Sloped sills and finishes

The bottom of the niche (the sill) should slope slightly toward the shower so water runs out instead of pooling at the back. A single piece of stone, quartz or solid surface on the sill avoids grout joints where water sits and gives a clean edge. Edges are finished with mitered tile, a metal trim profile or a matching stone piece.

Waterproofing the niche

The niche is a box cut into the shower's waterproof skin, with four inside corners and four outside corners. The TCNA says of bonded membrane showers that the membrane must cover the solid backing under the entire area to be tiled, and that includes every inside surface of the niche. Prefabricated niche inserts made to work with a membrane system reduce the number of seams. The waterproofing explained page covers the membrane systems.

Shelves

Corner shelves of stone or solid surface set into the grout lines are the simplest built-in. Washington's minimum shower size rule lets shelves, soap dishes, valves, showerheads and grab bars project into the minimum area (WAC 51-56-0400, UPC 408.6), so a shelf does not count against your shower size. A shelf should slope slightly toward the shower, and should be set into the wall during tiling with the waterproofing intact behind it.

Benches and seats

The shower size rule and benches

Washington requires a finished shower interior of at least 900 square inches that can hold a 30-inch circle, with no protrusions other than valves, showerheads, soap dishes, shelves and grab bars (WAC 51-56-0400, UPC 408.6). A built-in bench is not on that list, so the shower has to meet the minimum without counting the space the bench takes. Fold-down seats in accessible showers may project into the 30-inch circle. In a tight shower, that often decides between a built bench and a fold-down seat. The bathroom plumbing code page has the full rule.

Height, depth and slope

The National Kitchen and Bath Association's planning guidelines suggest a shower seat 17 to 19 inches high and at least 15 inches deep. That is a designer guideline, not code. The seat top should slope gently toward the shower floor so it drains.

Waterproofing a built-in bench

A built bench is the most demanding detail in a shower. With a traditional liner, the plumbing code requires a built-in permanent seat to be lined to at least 3 inches above its horizontal surfaces (2021 UPC section 408.7). With a bonded membrane, the bench is wrapped completely on its top, front and sides. Either way, the top must slope so water does not sit on it.

Blocking for grab bars and seats

Fold-down seats, floating benches and grab bars all need solid wood blocking or a reinforcement panel in the wall, installed before backer board. Adding it while the walls are open costs little. Adding it later means removing tile. Even if no one needs a grab bar today, ask for blocking at the seat, the entry and the controls. See grab bars and safety hardware.

Decide these before framing

• Niche location, size and height, drawn on the tile layout.
• Bench type, and whether the shower still meets the minimum size with it.
• Bench and niche top material (tile or a solid piece).
• Blocking locations for seats, grab bars and a handheld slide bar.
• Which waterproofing system will wrap the niche and bench, and its corner details.

JDI Construction draws niches, benches and blocking on the 3D design and wall elevations before framing, so the tile layout and waterproofing are planned around them. To start yours, visit our Vancouver shower remodeling page.