Most installers I have heard from that use the tray prefer to wait until the walls are tiled before they put the tray in because it's very susceptible to damage from foot traffic until it's waterproofed and tiled.

At this point, I'd probably put down some scrap drywall or something to protect it, or go ahead and waterproof and tile it first. Someone here that has more experience with the tray might have a better suggestion.

I can definitely put some drywall on it.... Have plenty of that left over.

OK, questions on the best approach for the sequence of installing the tile. Factors include the niche, the bench and a thought on the desired pattern.

Here are a few photos that show all of these elements and based on this what is the best way to approach the tiling process? Where to start?




This is what the left wall is envisioned to look like.


Will have to cut no matter what for the niche...

I always start on the bottom row first. Once that is level all the way around the perimeter, you can stack the walls all the way to the ceiling if you want.

Some like to use a ledger board at the bottom to start at the second row, then install the first row at the end. That entails repairing holes in the Kerdi, which I'm not a fan of.

I usually do the niche after that, then the bench, then the floor.

If I do that then when I get to the niche who knows how the tiles will fall, wouldn't it be a good idea to end up with symmetrical tiles around the niche?

Sure. But I would rather have full tiles the bottom, and you can plan your layout so your vertical lines fall where you would want them inside the niche. I would let the horizontal lines fall where they may. That's just my two cents worth, though.

You could turn the tile inside the niche on a 45 degree angle, that way you wouldn't have to worry about the lines at all.

I like that idea!

First check the layout. Stack about two feet of tiles with the correct grout line on the floor and measure the distance. Then make marks at that spacing all the way to the cailing. Make sure you will not be ending up with a small strip at the ceiling. If you end up with a one inch strip up top it will look bad and you may need to start on a 1/2 tile for your bottom row.

The good news is I'm not going to the ceiling.... leaving about 18-20 inches....