Glass block half wall for tub/shower alcove question

Hi,

I am in the middle of redoing the bathroom of my first house. I have the tub installed and need to build an alcove wall.

My initial thought was to make the entire alcove wall out of glass block - but then I figured I would need at least a row or 2 of tile so that I can integrate the tile flange on the tub with the wall for water-proofing purposes.

So now my thought is to build the stud wall up about 6"-1' above the tile flange, and then continue from there with glass block to the ceiling.

My issue is this: I'm thinking to do this right I would need to have the glass block flush with the face of the tile. The way I was thinking of constructing the wall would be to first build the stud wall, then furring strips over the studs down to the tile flange and install cement backer board & tile over that.

Is it possible to have the glass block flush with the tile? It seems I would have to have the front of the glass block supported by the furring strip & cement board...which I doubt is a good idea. The wall is going to be pretty heavy and I would think it should rest flush on the top plate of the stud wall (not overhang).

I attached a rough sketch of what I am planning (without the glass block for clarity). Any ideas/suggestions?

img073.pdf

Thanks,

Steve

 

It sounds like a lot of work. I'm not a fan of glass block, anyway. Can you post some pics? Sorry but I won't download files.

 

Sure,
here is an acutal pic of the bathroom
imgur: the simple image sharer

Here is rough sketch of the side view
imgur: the simple image sharer

 

How do you plan on building a stud wall with that window in the way?

 

It's tight, but there is just enough room to build a stud wall there.