An 8 ft (2. 4 m) section of basic Schluter trim—which should be enough for most shower niches—starts at around $10 USD, making it an economical option as well.
Installing a shower niche isn’t typically a beginner’s tiling job, so we’re going to assume in this article that you don’t need detailed tiling guidance. If you’re new to laying tile, though, wikiHow has your back! We cover the basics on installing tile, tiling a wall, tiling a shower, and finishing tile edges, to name just a few helpful articles to check out.
Once you finish cutting, dry-fit the trim pieces in the niche with masking tape to confirm that they fit. Remove the trim and tape when you’re done.
You can use strips of masking tape on the face of the trim to help hold it in position while you continue working, especially at the corners. When installed, the display side of the trim will butt up against the surrounding wall tiles, and slightly overlap the perimeter edges of the niche. This overlap will cover the side edges of the niche tiles.
Press the tile down into the thinset more firmly if it’s slightly higher than the top edge of the display side of the trim. Alternatively, if the tile is a little too low compared to the top edge of the trim, remove the tile and add a bit more thinset.
So, when laying out your shower tile design, factor in this overlap for the tiles surrounding the niche. For instance, if you’re using 1⁄4 in (6. 4 mm) thick tiles with a 3⁄8 in (9. 5 mm) bed of thinset underneath, the surrounding wall tiles need to overlap the perimeter of the niche by 5⁄8 in (16 mm).
Read all instructions carefully before using a grinder for the first time.
Take your time getting the grinder in the right position before you start cutting.
Instead of bringing the tile to a sharp edge along the top, leave about one-fourth of the thickness of the tile as-is along the mitered edge. Otherwise, the mitered edge will be too fragile and will break easily.
We’re going to assume you’re not a complete tiling novice if you’re tackling a shower niche. For help with tiling basics, though, check out our articles on installing tile, tiling a wall, tiling a shower, and finishing tile edges.
You might use the same tile for the entire shower (if you want the niche to blend in), or just use it for the niche (if you want it to stand out).
While this is in theory a task a skilled DIYer can tackle if they have the right tools, you’ll almost certainly want to have a professional make the bullnose tiles for you.
