Laticrete 12"X6", 12"X12" Wide Combo Niche Laticrete

I took on the challenge of tiling our tub / shower surround, the first time I have done this kind of work. Although I had not planned to create a niche, operating on the "keep it simple" mantra, my wife had other plans. Finding these niches saved me a lot of time and frustration. While I had the surround down to the studs, I added two horizontal blocks in the stud bay. I cut and mounted 1/2" wonderboard, working around my niche cavity. I then ran a bead of caulk around the flange of the nice and slid it into its spot. It fit perfectly. I then applied mesh tape and thinset around the perimeter (and all wonderboard joints), then red-guard. You don't have to worry about applying a waterproofing membrane to the niche; it comes preapplied.The niche is Styrofoam, by the way, but sufficiently sturdy once braced on the sides and top and bottom with the framing. Now that it is all tiled, it is very sturdy.I think that this thing really saved me a big headache with cutting small pieces of wonderboard and taping / thinsetting a bunch of small joints. Well worth the money.

Kind of flimsy and feels cheaply made, but works well enough:This product is intended to be installed with Laticrete adhesive, which is pricey if not already installing entire surround with HydroBan products. From what I can tell, there is no other "proper" way to adhere this niche to the studs other than using the above stated adhesive. Be aware that if installing this niche in a wall deeper than 3 1/2 inches (2"x6" studs, in my case) you will need to build out behind your niche to make the wall depth only 3 1/2" with a solid backing (I used OSB) due to the niche being flexible. If left unsupported on the backside, your grout and maybe even take will crack with time.I adhered my tile with thin set mortar, and installation went well. The 6" opening of the smaller shelf is wide enough to accommodate the trowel.As a comparison, the RediNiche's combo shelf option, which has a 4" opening does not allow for a standard trowel to fit.While comparing this niche with the RediNiche brand, the Redi option has a much stiffer, well-built feel and installs with screws, which appears more secure. The RediNiche does not accept mortar as well as the Laticrete, but it does not flex if installed in a wall deeper than 3 1/2". Also, there is no need for special adhesive and the thickness when installing the Redi brand appears to be slightly more flush with 1/2" HardiBacker. This Laticrete niche feels as though it protrudes further than the Redi.I would recommend this product, but slightly prefer the RediNiche for ease of use and more sturdy feel, although more expensive.Another interesting point: if this product's green, watertight paint becomes punctured (which can happen fairly easily, since it's only foam) you need to purchase another specific product from this company to fix the issue (paint, in this case).

For my previous renovation I laboriously and tediously built and waterproofed my own niche, cutting concrete backer board (and by the way, if you ever want to cut backer board use a wet saw with a diamond blade in any form. It works great and because the blade is wet, it won't put silica dust in the air that puts you at risk to inhale it and get silicosis a severe lung disease).Anyway, while it's possible to build your own niche, it's definitely a lot of work and a hassle. A lot of measurements, cuts, taping, waterproofing. This spared me all of that. Goes against the wall between studs. Just frame it in, silocone it on, and the 1/2 backerboard you have surrounding it on the wall comes flush up against the sides. It comes coated in laticrete or some waterproofing, and is styrofoam underneath.It's light, easy to handle and installed and well proportioned.

Not bad, not bad! I got what I expected for the most part. The niche walls were thicker than I expected, so the end result (once tiled) was a bit smaller than I expected. Also, I was surprised that this was essentially just styrofoam with a thick paint coating (apparently waterproof). I guess that's better insulation and less susceptible to rot than a homemade (wood-framed) niche, but it felt a bit cheap. Still, once it was tiled and grouted, it was quite sturdy and handsome.I would caution others that when you follow the directions to use silicone caulk to seal this in place, that you take great care to avoid getting that caulk onto the surface of either these niches or the surrounding wallboard or Durock. As I found, thin-set tile adhesive/mortar doesn't stick to silicone at all, which weakens the tile attachment. But as long as you're careful, I'm sure you can avoid this problem. I'll know next time.

Excellent item. Fit flush to 1/2" durock. Easy to tile. I used 1/4" hardibacker inside on one side so it would line up prefect with my grout joints on 12" tile. Used waterproofing surface membrane over face of niche and the joints to the cement board on the wall to integrate it with the full waterproofing system. It's no more expensive than building your own by the time you buy all the expensive preformed membrane corners you would need. I recommend it if you want to incorporate a niche in your shower