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retrofit shower corner shelf

9K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  jeffnc 
#1 ·
I redid my bathroom last year and am very pleased with how everything turned out.
However, when I tiled the shower I forgot to put in the marble shelves I ordered. I am just now trying to figure out a way to use them, as my husband finds it pretty annoying to have bottles and razors sitting on the curb.

I was planning on using an angle grinder to cut out sections of the tile and insert the shelves in that way. I am not sure how to tackle cutting the short sides, or cutting all the way up to the end of the long sides without cutting farther than the area needed. My grinder also wouldn't be able to reach the inner corners. Heavy scoring and chiseling? This all seems to be a risky business. I really don't want to mess up the shower and the waterproofing.

I have seen some methods gluing the shelf to the wall using strong adhesives. I would be open to this, but the wall is slightly out of square so I don't know that the surface contact would be enough to hold.
I'd also just feel better if it was held up by something other than adhesives. These shelves are solid and they could really smash a showering toe.

Should I just not use the shelves I purchased and order a retrofit shelf kit? Are these able to work with an out of square corner?

If cutting and inserting it into my tile seems to be a reasonable method and I can figure out a way to do it (with the help of you good people) I'd like to do it, even though it seems tricky.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 

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#3 · (Edited)
Drill holes into the shelf and into the wall.

Insert Chromed/Stainless/Brushed "dowels" into the wall and shelf using epoxy. Select the material that will match your shower hardware. You'll need "slop" in the holes at the back of the shelf so that you can get the 90 degree opposed pins into the back - the epoxy will fill the slop of the hole on the back of the shelf and won't be seen...

The idea is to "float" shelf - leaving 1/2" or more, space between the shelf and the wall. You'll get good drainage, and won't have goo build up in the corners edges (because there are no edges).

See picture from above view.
 

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#4 ·
Drill holes into the shelf and into the wall.

Insert Chromed/Stainless/Brushed "dowels" into the wall and shelf using epoxy. Select the material that will match your shower hardware.

The idea is to "float" shelf - leaving 1/2" or more, space between the shelf and the wall. You'll get good drainage, and won't have goo build up in the corners edges (there are no edges).

See picture from above view.

I would like to see how you would line that up and push it on, in two directions at the same time. :wink2:
 
#5 ·
I think you will have to cut the tile. I think the best way would be install the shelf so the grout joint will be on top then less than perfect cut will be the bottom. Should be easy enough with a grinder and a diamond blade.


But I can recommend oxo stainless tub caddy. This is one with a pole that can stand on the tub or a shower. If a shower, double check the height. This caddy is made with low quality stainless. It will show some rust pitting but has lasted fairly rust free over the years.


BTW, this caddy is fairly costly. It is the only one, though, that I could trust. Do not believe all claims of stainless in amazon.
 
#14 ·
#15 ·
#16 · (Edited)
I would use some stainless pan head screws screwed into the grout line (pre- drilled) almost all the way in. Let the corner piece rest on these for added support while using silicone or epoxy. The pattern would be similar to post 3. You could get away with one in either corner.



The screw heads could be covered with matching caulk.


Edit - I guess you could notch the corner piece so the screws are completely hidden.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Edit - I guess you could notch the corner piece so the screws are completely hidden.

That was going to be my first question :smile: While this is a DIY forum, there's no reason we have to be discussing "amateurish" results such as caulking over screw heads. The point here is professional or better results without actually hiring a professional.

So, getting back to your screw style choice of pan head screws, that gives us no benefit in this situation. You have a huge screw head for no good reason, because in your solution the shelf is only going to be resting on the top point of the pan head anyway. So a better solution would in fact be the opposite type of screw - a trim screw - which more or less acts as a peg for this application. This would allow for the smallest possible notch while still providing the exact same support.

Now the next question is how to notch it. This isn't easy and right off the top of my head I can think of any way to do it. Possibly a Dremel with a diamond carving tool. What does seem plausible though is to use a diamond tipped tile drill and drill a couple small holes in shelf so it can be inserted over the screws. But this gets us back to the earlier question that was already raised - how do we install a shelf onto 2 screw holes that are 90 degrees out of orientation? The original answer was make one of the holes a "sloppy" one with plenty of wiggle room. Another way to achieve this would be to drill one hole on one side and on the other side cut a slot with your tile saw. (It would probably require 2 cuts to get a slot big enough to accept a trim screw.)

Don't forget that any hole that penetrates your waterproofing membrane has to be sealed before installation of the shelf.
 
#19 · (Edited)
A lot to say about nothing....

Then you are probably the type to miss a lot of detail and build showers that have hidden leaks.



The three screws are way above where I would be worried about water penetration.

It's not the height that matters, it's the water collection. Niches and shelves collect water and it has to go somewhere. If you're not waterproofing niches and screwing holes into your membrane at the back of your shelves, then you're building leaky showers.



Notching the shelf to hide the screws would be accomplished with a tile saw.

Not really. A tile saw is normally a 7" or larger disc. In other words, it cuts wide, shallow slots that don't fit what you're trying to do. You don't just cut a square notch with a big round disc. Like I said, a little diamond saw (1") on a Dremel might work, although it would be too thin. Multiple cuts with it to widen it would be difficult.


What you're saying is akin to telling someone to cut this with a table saw.
https://www.art-boards.com/images/screwDSCN4917-427.gif
 
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