I would like to add a few recess boxes or niches to my shower.
My shower area is 5'x7', however all three sides are exterior concrete block walls).
I am familiar with how to frame out a box if I have a typical interior stud wall.
But since I have concrete block walls, this is a bit complicated.
I have already used a chisel to knock out a hole that is the size of a concrete block. 8" wide, 16" tall, and I do have a depth of about 5" to 6". I did not dare chisel too much on the back side, as one false move and I would have to deal with patching the wall from the outside.
Now, what do I do with this hole?
I am using 2x furring laying flat on the block wall, which means I would gain another depth of 1.5" without counting the finishing tiles and cement board.
I assume I will just frame two horizontal 2x across the top and bottom edges, connecting them to the nearest vertical 2x furrings, then put in two vertical pieces on the left and right, essentially framing the current opening.
What I am uncertain about is what do I do with the inside and back faces of the current rough concrete hole? I intend to tile the entire shower, including the niches.
Do I use some 1x6 PT wood boards and build a square box to fit, then push it into the concrete box shimming around it like I would normally do with a window? Then nail/screw the box into the 2x furring on all four sides? Then I can cut cement boards to fit the inside of the box and screw those in, and tile over. Is that the way to do it?
Or should I forget using any wood box and since it's concrete already, try my best to create a level, plumb and straight using mortar mix over the existing chiseled out concrete box, filling in all the uneven-ness. Once that's done then I can tile directly over that. That seem like a better approach although I do not think I have the skill to use concrete mix to patch a nice straight concrete box especially the back side.
My shower area is 5'x7', however all three sides are exterior concrete block walls).
I am familiar with how to frame out a box if I have a typical interior stud wall.
But since I have concrete block walls, this is a bit complicated.
I have already used a chisel to knock out a hole that is the size of a concrete block. 8" wide, 16" tall, and I do have a depth of about 5" to 6". I did not dare chisel too much on the back side, as one false move and I would have to deal with patching the wall from the outside.
Now, what do I do with this hole?
I am using 2x furring laying flat on the block wall, which means I would gain another depth of 1.5" without counting the finishing tiles and cement board.
I assume I will just frame two horizontal 2x across the top and bottom edges, connecting them to the nearest vertical 2x furrings, then put in two vertical pieces on the left and right, essentially framing the current opening.
What I am uncertain about is what do I do with the inside and back faces of the current rough concrete hole? I intend to tile the entire shower, including the niches.
Do I use some 1x6 PT wood boards and build a square box to fit, then push it into the concrete box shimming around it like I would normally do with a window? Then nail/screw the box into the 2x furring on all four sides? Then I can cut cement boards to fit the inside of the box and screw those in, and tile over. Is that the way to do it?
Or should I forget using any wood box and since it's concrete already, try my best to create a level, plumb and straight using mortar mix over the existing chiseled out concrete box, filling in all the uneven-ness. Once that's done then I can tile directly over that. That seem like a better approach although I do not think I have the skill to use concrete mix to patch a nice straight concrete box especially the back side.
