Choose the Right Shower Niche Size – Your Ultimate Guide

Determining Shower Niche Internal Dimensions

Stud Bay Width

If you’ve chosen a general location for your shower niche, the first thing you need to check is if the space between the studs will fit the niche you’ve chosen.

Most are designed to be mounted between two adjacent wall studs, whether it’s a prefabricated or a finished shower niche.

The problem is that your chosen stud bay may not be the standard 14-1/2″. It will not likely be any larger than this, but it may be too small for your prefab shower niche.

See my Shower Niche Planning post for more info.

Shower Niche Depth

The niche depth will always be limited by the depth of the wall studs that make up the wall structure. Because the most common stud depth has always been 3 1/2 inches, the niche depth of most prefabs is also 3 1/2 inches. Most newer homes in the US are built with 5 1/2 inch deep exterior stud walls.

So… If you decide to build a custom shower niche in a newer home, and you’re installing it in an outside shower wall, you’ll have the option to make your niche a couple of inches deeper, but I don’t recommend this. This extra space should always be filled with insulation… no exceptions. The closer the back wall of your niche gets to the exterior sheeting, the more problems you will have with condensation and mold growth behind it.

How Much Space Do You Need in your Shower Niche?

This is probably the most important question to ask yourself. You don’t have to create a niche as big as the one in the image, but you should be realistic about your bathroom niche storage requirements – you don’t want any regrets after you’ve finished your shower remodel.

It’s important to consider the tall bottles of shampoo and bar soaps that will be used in the shower, as well as all the personal grooming tools like razors, shaving tubs – even your washing puff or shower brush (as long as your niche has a place to hang it).

Regardless how large your prefab shower niche might be, you’ll inevitably wonder where the bottom of your niche should be from the shower floor, and where the top should be in relation to the shower head to avoid interference with the water flow. In other words, it’s vertical position will be an important factor to consider, especially with a bathtub / shower combo. Feel free to read my Shower Niche Height post for more insight.

Shelves in your Niche ?

If you decide that you need a bit more room than a standard 12″ x 12″ shower niche will provide, the easiest way to accomplish this is to go vertical!

A vertical shower niche is WAY better than a horizontal niche (HN) in many ways. A few shelves in a vertical niche will increase your shower storage significantly, without the need to alter the wall structure (more info on this in next section). Going vertical means that you’ll need to buy a taller prefab niche, or build your own custom niche. Then you’ll need to find a shower niche shelf that suites your needs.

More shelves will obviously multiply the vertical height of your niche and your storage space. The higher you go, the more shelves you can install, and the more stuff you can put into it.

You should also consider the spacing between shelves so you can accommodate most bottles, as well as all the regular stuff you use in the shower. Do you need a space for your bar soap and razor? You should seriously consider installing a smaller shelf near the top of your bathroom niche/ shower niche. Nobody said that all the shelves need to be evenly spaced!

As well, you should think about installing as thin a shelf as possible in your shower niche. Most of the tile ready foam board shower niche manufacturers offer an optional foam shelf, but it’s about 2” thick. The reason it’s so thick is because it is made of flimsy foam board, so a thinner shelf would not be structurally sound. As such, it eliminates a huge amount of interior storage space, especially after tiling.

Consider installing a glass shelf (about 3/8″ thick). It looks particularly nice if you’ve decided to install glass tile in your niche! Just keep in mind that glass is super slippery, so it’s maybe not the best choice for bar soap storage. Glass is also very difficult to keep clean and water pooling can easily occur if you don’t slope it outwards.

Another good choice is a stainless steel shelf (only 3/32″ thick). This super thin shelf will maximize the storage area of your shower niche. And it looks pretty nice too (see above image).

Horizontal Niche

The difference between the horizontal and vertical shower niche is that the vertical niche fits perfectly between the wall studs while the HN spans more than 1 stud width. It can span as little as two studs, or all the wall studs, if the niche spans the entire wall.

At some point during your investigation, you may have considered installing/ building a horizontal shower niche if you appreciate the aesthetic of the large single shelf.

However, you should keep in mind that when you increase your niche dimensions horizontally, you can create some serious structural problems in your wall, as well as some serious increases in construction cost.

Popular Prefabs Compared

Below, I’ll show you the most popular shower niche sizes (internal dimensions) available for prefab niche. But before I do that, you need to know a bit about the different prefab shower niche classifications.

First of all, these shower niches are referred to in three different ways – prefab shower niche, prefabricated shower niche, and pre-manufactured shower niche. All of these terms mean the same thing 🙂 . Secondly, there are two main types of prefab niches, each with a couple of sub-types.

1. Tile Ready Shower Niches:

• Foam Board shower niches
• Plastic (ABS) shower niches

2. Finished Shower Niches:

• Membrane Bonding shower niches
• Retrofit (Non-Membrane Bonding) shower niches

Now that you know the scoop, here’s the list :

Tile Ready Shower Niche

Foam Board Tile Ready Shower Niches:

Kerdi Niche – A tile ready foam shelf is available for these niches as well, depending on the model chosen, or you can buy them separately.

• Shower niche sizes: 12″ x 28″ x 3-1/2″, 12″ x 20″ x 3-1/2″, 12″ x 12″ x 3-1/2″, 12″ x 6″ x 3-1/2″

Wedi Shower Niche – These niches are coated with a thin cementitious layer which helps the tile to bond and increases surface rigidity (my favorite tile ready niche!). They also have tile ready foam shelves that can be mounted into most of their models.

• Shower niche sizes: 12″ x 5″ x 3″, 12″ x 9″ x 3″, 12″ x 13″ x 3″, 12″ x 13″ x 3″, 12″ x 19″ x 3″, 12″ x 38″ x 3″

Noble Niches – Some of these niches come with integrated shelves, and some have arches or peaked top profiles.

• Shower niche sizes: 13-1/4″ x 48″ x 3-7/8″, 13-1/4″ x 30-1/2″ x 3-7/8″, 13-1/4″ x 26-3/4″ x 3-7/8″, 13-1/4″ x 21-1/2″ x 3-7/8 (Options: shelf or square, peaked, arched top), 13-1/4″ x 13-1/2″ x 3-7/8″, 7-1/4″ x 21-1/2″ x 3-7/8″ (Options: shelf or square, peaked, arched top), 7-1/4″ x 7-1/4″ x 3-7/8″

Laticrete (Hydro Ban) Niche – Some models contain fixed shelves. The interior is coated with a material that allows for secure mortar bonding.

• Shower niche sizes: 12″ x 12″ x 3-1/2″, 12″ x 20″ x 3-1/2″, 8″ x 8″ x 3-1/2″

Laticrete Shower Niche – Combo Units:

• Shower niche sizes 12″ x 12″ & 12″ x 6″ (x 3-1/2″ deep). 12″ x 12″ & 8″ x 6″ (x 3-1/2″ deep)

Plastic (ABS) Prefabricated Tile Ready Niche:

EZ-Niche – This niche has no tile bonding fleece like the Durock shower niche. The manufacturer says you can bond tiles to its surface with modified thin set mortar. I am skeptical about this – polymer modified thin set mortar has a hard time sticking to plastics. There are no shelf options with this niche as far as I know.

• Shower niche sizes: 7″ x 8″ x 3-5/8″, 8″ x 14″ x 3-5/8″, 11″ x 16″ x 3-5/8″, 14″ x 14″ x 3-5/8″ (with or without arch), 14″ x 22″ x 3-5/8″ (with or without arch), 14″ x 36″ x 3-5/8″ ( Horiz. niche )

Finished Shower Niches

Membrane Bonding Shower Niche:

Redblock Stainless Steel Shower Niche – Integrates with all types of waterproofing membranes, built-in tile border flange, non-slip perforated shelves, 316 stainless steel for enhanced corrosion resistance. Currently available in brushed SS finishes.

• Shower niche sizes: 10″ x 14″ x 4″  (2 storage levels), 10″ x 28″ x 4″  (3 storage levels)

Easy Drain Stainless Steel Shower Niche – Includes a plastic inner niche that bonds to waterproofing membrane. A finished stainless steel shower niche inserts into this plastic inner piece. There are no models with shelves. Avail. in brushed SS finish as well as 3 other powder coated color finishes.

• Shower niche sizes: 6″ x 12″ x 4″, 12″ x 12″ x 4″, 24″ x 12″ x 4″  ( Horiz. niche ), 36″ x 12″ x 4″  ( Horiz. niche ), 48″ x 12″ x 4″  ( Horiz. niche )

Retrofit (Non-Membrane Bonding) shower niches:

Generic Stainless Steel Shower Niche – Does not integrate with waterproofing shower membranes.

• Shower niche sizes: 12″ x 12″ x 3-1/4″, 24″ x 12″ x 3-1/4″ (Horizontal)

Apple Creek Ceramic Shower Niches – Does not integrate with shower waterproofing membranes. Most have built-in shelves / soap holders.

• Shower niche sizes: 11-3/4″ x 11-3/4″ x 3-5/8″, 11-3/4″ x 11-3/4″ x 3-5/8″ (with 3 compartments)

Kohler Acrylic Shower Niches – These models are made of a formed acrylic (plastic) and are designed to be used with their custom wall panel system. They come in a few different colors and all have built-in shelves.

• Shower niche sizes: 17″ x 62″ x 3-1/2″, 14″ x 64″ x 3-1/2″, 9″ x 64″ x 3-1/2″, 6″ x 61″ x 3-1/2″

Quick Note about lining up Niche with Shower Wall Tile:

I get into this topic in my Shower Niche Height post, so I won’t go into great detail here, but if you want make sure that your shower niche recess lines up with your wall tiles, you’re in for a bit of a challenge.

In my opinion, making sure that the tile line (grout line) and shower niche opening are perfectly lined up is more trouble than it’s worth… and it won’t be easy… take my word for it.

To accomplish this, you must do several dry fit tests of your wall tile on the studs before backer board install, to mark out the position of your niche. You then need to make exacting measurements from the floor of your shower, and transfer these to your backer board after your support framing and backer board are installed.

And even if these measurements are perfect, and your tile dimensions match the height of your niche, both the top or the bottom of the niche (or both) will almost never line up perfectly because there are too many elements that can throw these measurements off.

Something as small as a thicker mortar bed under the shower pan tiles, a tiny variation in the wall tile spacing or a tile leveling problem can ruin your plan. And if you don’t achieve your goal, you will likely end up with the dreaded “sliver” tile above or below your niche that ruins the look of your otherwise beautiful tiling job.

You’re better off making sure that the niche opening ends up somewhere around the middle of a tile so the tiles surrounding the niche are easier to cut and the whole installation doesn’t look weird.

Wrap Up

I hope I’ve covered the topic of shower niche sizes and dimensions adequately. And I hope this post can be a valuable resource for the different prefab shower niche size options out there. I hope I’ve also shown you that size is important when it comes to shower niches, but there are also some other important considerations.

Please leave a comment below to let me know if this post has been of any help to you, or if I can add anything to make it better.

This post is for information purposes only and should NOT be interpreted as professional advice. You should always consult a licensed local contractor before undertaking any remodelling work in your home. Click here for my full Personal / Professional Disclosure.