It is kind of weird only leaving 1/6th of the tile intact. Do you think this is a bad idea?

Could not find anything suitable to make the walls for the nitch locally... So I am using the bullnose and a small strip behind it. (not the best solution.)

This design requires putting the glass in the thinset on the back wall. (into the back tile not in front of it,) to allow allows more tile to be placed infront of the glass like a frame in. I will be cutting a notch into the the 3" bullnose about 2.5" to support the shelf and leaving around 1/2" to come out beyond the glass. I am not fond of the idea of having the glass not framed in.

Again, is this a bad idea? Please see pics.






Glass just does not look as good if it is not framed in when it is supported by the tile.

Hope the links work

 

I have seen it done, but three sides of the glass are recessed into the tile. Basically the glass is slid into the joint between tiles like into a slot. Usually it's then caulked as opposed to grouted to hold it in place. I do not think you will have enough support for the glass if just trying to cantilever it out from the back.

 

Oh no.... The question is pertaining to the cut into the side tile leaveing some to cover the front. In other words Most make cuts completely through the side tile to support the glass shelf, then put a listel in front of it to frame the glass. I want to cut the side tile and leave 1/2" of it to go in front of the tile... inserting the glass into the part of the side tile I notched out... but I am also worried it will crack.

 

Sorry, I still don't think I get what you're asking.

 

Just to clarify:

If you look in the drawing I made, bubble A shows the cut on the bullnose to hold the shelf. I am thinking this may be a bad design.

I want to cut a long notch in the bullnose to hold the glass shelf, but leave the front of the bullnose in tact to make the glass look framed in. I do not want the front edge of the glass in the tile exposed.

This design requires putting the glass in the thinset on the back wall. (into the back tile not in front of it,) This recesses the glass shelf further in the niche and allows more tile in front of it.

Is the notch a bad idea?

Perhaps I should cut the bullnose down to a pencil like size and put a wider piece of regular tile behind it?

 

OK, I think I get it - so the glass is not going to come out to the edge of the opening and you want a continuous tile behind the edge of it.

I don't see a problem with this - your tile will be weaker but it should be fine if it stands up to being installed.

 

You're doing it the difficult way, but I think it will look good when finished. The notch will make the tile very fragile so make sure you have a couple extra pieces on hand. You will probably have to make more than one pass with the saw to get the slot wide enough, you just have to be careful and make sure the tile is fully supported on the saw's platform. A chip under a corner of the tile can be all it takes to make it snap. Surprisingly if I'm going to break a tile it's usually on the saw and half the time when I'm picking it up off the saw's platform. Once I've got is up and in my hand I'm usually good.

Good luck.

 

Actually the sloped bullnose edge is what I want in front of the glass.

 

Aside from the risk of breaking the front tile when you cut that deeply into it, I think you were asking about the small sliver of tile that you would need behind it to cover the full depth of the recess. I think you might be happier if you split the difference. That is, if the depth is 5" but your bullnose is only 4.5", don't cut a 0.5" piece to fit. Instead, go for a more even split and cut the bullnose to 2.5" and then cut the back piece to 2.5". Having both pieces similar widths may improve the appearance. Doing this in a niche/recess makes it even nicer since there are no full depth pieces in line with the cut ones to compare them to.

 

I'll assume you are using tempered glass, yes. Keep in mind that if you install the glass shelf the way you propose, if broken you will have to remove and reinstall tile to make the repair. Most times, the shelf will come to the front end of the niche, not set back 1/2" the way you propose.

Make sure you pitch the shelf slightly inward toward the shower so that water will not sit trapped on the shelf. Approx 1/16" will be ok, just enough so the water runs away from the back wall. The bottom of the niche should have the same pitch as well. You can install the shelf with modified thinset and grout it in place if you want. Matching colored caulk may be a better choice though.

The entire niche should be waterproofed prior to installing the tile and shelf. You can use a paint on membrane like redgard over the cement board to waterproof the niche.

As others have said, those side cutouts leaving just 1/2" will be difficult to do without breaking the tile.

 

On second thought.... the niche is deeper than my bullnose and I will have to put a small strip of tile behind them to reach the back. Considering what was said about replacing the glass if it breaks. (very scary thought) perhaps it would be better to rip the bullnose down to about 1/2" wide and (mitered) to use like pencil listels to make the face edge for the niche walls. I have seen this done as the inside edge of a framed niche. It would have the same appearance, but the grout line would be in front. Furthermore if the glass broke, you could break out two small tiles, replace the glass and the tiles a lot easire than breaking out much larger tiles..