Finally got my shower niche cut in without screwing up the waterproofing

I used to just cut the tile and hope the RedGard held up, but after a leaky job in Des Moines last spring I started building little pre-sloped pans inside the niche. Now I actually take time to pack the mortar and check the fall with a level before tiling. Anybody else do something fussy that saved a callback?

2 comments

2 Comments

noahgreen3d ago

Oh man, I just tape a little dam at the bottom of the niche and pour a tiny test with a cup of water before I even think about tile. Found out the hard way that my "level" niche was actually holding a quarter inch of water in the back corner. Now I carry a little torpedo level just for niches and I look ridiculous but I haven't had a callback in three years. Call it fussy, call it paranoid, call it the reason I sleep through the night.

nina_hall483d ago

I read somewhere that a lot of tile guys skip the water test because they're in a hurry, but that quarter inch of water adds up fast and starts causing mold. Your little torpedo level trick is GENIUS because nobody wants to rip out tile that's already set. I bet the extra five minutes you spend saves you a headache later.