Laticrete12"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.

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

The tile contractor had no problems installing this and I love the look. The price is absolutely ridiculous for a piece of Styrofoam, but what are you gonna do? I hope it holds up nicely for the next 20 years! Package came in a timely manner and instructions were detailed.

No idea why these things get good reviews.I knew it would be styrofoam because I read the description - but there are many grades of styrofoam, from the stuff your TV came packed in, up to fairly dense lightweight plastic material - this niche is like what your TV was packed in. In other words, the core of the niche is almost free to make. They then spray it with some very lumpy waterproofing stuff.Then there's the size. The flange is about 9/16" thick. If you use 1/2" cement backer board, that's about 7/16" or slightly less - in other words the flange sits 1/8" above the rest of your wall - tricky, maybe impossible, to fix with your thinset thickness. I tried to thin the flange by cutting it with razor blade (it's only cheap styrofoam after all) but then found that, with my 2x4 studs (i.e. 3.5" deep) then the niche won't sit back any further.To summarize - it should cost about $15, not $60+, because it cost them less than $5 to make. And the size is very badly thought out, despite it being a pretty easy thing to get right - so for me this thing was useless, and went in the dumpster with the old tub.