DIY shower niche question

[Joe Fixit]

Hi,

Couple of questions please:

1) originally, I was going to use 12mm hardieboard for around the shower niche but trying to use 6mm instead as my leftover piece of 12mm got wrecked by the kids. As can be seen from photos, the gap is quite big and was hoping to have one tile to fit the space with no joins for aesthetics reasons

Im wondering if it's ok to double up (or triple?) to make up the height difference?

2) for the niche, do I still use Fibatape for the internal niche walls/bottom pieces or do people use tile adhesive and silicone?


P.s. I will be tanking everything

 

[opps]

So long as the screws are long enough, I don't see a problem. BTW I have only tiled about 20 bathrooms.

I would recommend that you use some plastic shims to tilt the boards forwards slightly to help any water run out of the niche and additionally, that you use a tanking kit.

 

[Joe Fixit]

So long as the screws are long enough, I don't see a problem. BTW I have only tiled about 20 bathrooms.

I would recommend that you use some plastic shims to tilt the boards forwards slightly to help any water run out of the niche and additionally, that you use a tanking kit.

Thanks. Hoping it would be ok. I didn't know whether to put some more tile adheives in between the two sheets of HB or just stack them and screw tight.

Yes, I've already tilted the noggin so it has a small fall towards bath.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

As per your walls, as long as the boards are completely solid you shouldn't need any adhesive, some grab adhesive would not do any harm though if you want. I wouldn't use tile adhesive.

 

[Joe Fixit]

As per your walls, as long as the boards are completely solid you shouldn't need any adhesive, some grab adhesive would not do any harm though if you want. I wouldn't use tile adhesive.

I was hoping to use a little tile adhesive so to help level it a tiny bit (it's ever so slightly unlevel to leaning left) and then thought about just making a little bit thicker to help make up the height

 

[simplesteve]

Tile adhesive will be fine for sticking any ' height adjusting' ledges in, and as you say will make it easier to adjust any left-to-right discrepancies.
I have to assume when you've done the 'laying out' stage that you've checked the " 4 height essentials" before you arrived at the fact you will have a full tile running along the bottom edge of that box, going all around the room ? ( height of top of bath, height of bottom of window, top of window, and top of door )
Have you considered keeping the box height the way it is, and running a full tile off the horizontal centre line ? That way it doesn't matter if you're not exactly bang on by the time you get up to that height ( whereas just now it's absolutely crucial that you are). The downside is it does mean you'll have L shaped tiles on the front face though.

 

[Joe Fixit]

Tile adhesive will be fine for sticking any ' height adjusting' ledges in, and as you say will make it easier to adjust any left-to-right discrepancies.
I have to assume when you've done the 'laying out' stage that you've checked the " 4 height essentials" before you arrived at the fact you will have a full tile running along the bottom edge of that box, going all around the room ? ( height of top of bath, height of bottom of window, top of window, and top of door )
Have you considered keeping the box height the way it is, and running a full tile off the horizontal centre line ? That way it doesn't matter if you're not exactly bang on by the time you get up to that height ( whereas just now it's absolutely crucial that you are). The downside is it does mean you'll have L shaped tiles on the front face though.

Uh oh, I hadn't factored in height of door or window. Why is that? I simply marked out where I would want it when standing up in the bath and measured the height of the niche factoring all the layers(tiles/adhesive/HB) needed.

 

[Joe Fixit]

Also, anyone able to help with my second question. What to do with the back wall join lines? Do I silicone first and then tape&tank, then silicone once tiles are on? Or do I simply leave it, tank and then silicone, tiles and silicone again?

 

[simplesteve]

Re the height question first :- if you're tiling all the walls, you want to know what size of tile you are going to have running under the window, what size above the window, and what size above the door. Ideally, none of these will be skinny slither tiles ! ( I take it you've already worked out what size of cut tile is on the top row and running around the room under the ceiling ?)


Re the back wall join lines :- just tank everything, then tile. No need to silicone anything till after the tiling.

 

[Joe Fixit]

Re the height question first :- if you're tiling all the walls, you want to know what size of tile you are going to have running under the window, what size above the window, and what size above the door. Ideally, none of these will be skinny slither tiles ! ( I take it you've already worked out what size of cut tile is on the top row and running around the room under the ceiling ?)


Re the back wall join lines :- just tank everything, then tile. No need to silicone anything till after the tiling.

Ahhh ok, I'm only tiling the bath wall and up to the door frame so don't need to tile above or below any doors or windows. I will be dry fitting the wall tiles to make sure there's no tiny slither piece at bottom/top/side.

I might just make sure there's tile adhesive in the smallest gaps along the back wall join lines just so theres a flush line for the tanking to go on (of that makes sense). The gap is miniscule sk probably won't make any difference as taking would probably just fill it anyway.