Niche Under Shower Head

[Wren]

Is there a compelling reason not to put a niche between the faucets and a shower head for a tub surround shower? The niche will be waterproofed along with the rest of the tile with Redgard
I understand that this may not be the ideal location, but the other walls are exterior walls and I've read that a niche on an exterior wall is a no-no. The exterior walls also would not allow for a very deep niche and would make insulating in that area impossible.
Thanks!

[cx]

Welcome back, Wren.

That outside wall prohibition is climate dependent and since you have no geographic location in your User Profile, we can't even guess, eh?

There is no prohibition against having a niche on the same wall as the shower head that I'm aware of. Get a whole lot of water there, and it might require some fancy re-routing of the water line to the shower head if you've put the control valve on the same wall, but you can certainly do it if you wanna.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[Wren]

I'm in Athens, GA. The main reason I don't want the niche in the outside wall is that it's only 2x4 whereas the shower head wall is a plumbing wall and I could make it 12" deep if I wanted to.

[cx]

Need to get that geographic location into your User Profile, Wren.

Yes, it's been known to freeze a bit in Atlanta area and with only 2x4 exterior wall framing, a niche would not be the best idea.

And the added depth available on an interior wall would certainly be a feature. You'll want to be sure to have good slope to drain on the bottom and any shelves in that water-wall location, though.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[RichVT]

You can put the niche off to the side instead of directly under the showerhead.

Like this:

[smifwal]

I have done it both ways I personally like it under the head and the plumbing work is minimal

[HooKooDoo Ku]

I would argue that one of the reasons you don't see many niche between the control valve and the shower head is the plumbing normally goes there. Usually it's just a strait piece of (about) 2' pipe form the control valve to the 90º elbow the goose neck screws into.

Of course it's not much trouble to run plumbing around a niche.

But there's one minor detail to keep in mind, the longer the plumbing is between the control valve and the shower head, the longer the delay between making temperature adjustments and feeling the results of those adjustments.

This was a detail I tried to keep in mind when I built a tub/shower combo. I wanted to push the shower head higher than "normal" because I wanted the shower to "rain down" on my head rather than "spray in my face". But because it was also a tub, I didn't want the controls too high as to be out of reach of someone sitting in the tub.

It would take a little bit more work, but what about creating a pair of niches on either side of the shower head?

[jonchicagoland]

I did a couple of those last year Joseph; here's one:

[Tiger Mountain Tile Inc]

I put them under the shower head quite frequently. Centered on the plumbing fixtures or whatever works for the layout.

[PC7060]

I agree.

[PC7060]

PS : James - that’s some nice work wrapping the subway tiles through the niche.

[ss3964spd]

Originally Posted by PC

James - that’s some nice work wrapping the subway tiles through the niche.

Was thinking the same thing when I saw it, PC. That's some enviable pre-planning. My niche's look like after thoughts.

[PC7060]

I can relate.