Shower Niche Sizes, Placement Height and What to Know Before You Buy
Getting a shower niche size or placement wrong is one of those renovation mistakes you can’t easily fix once the tiles are on. I’ve seen it plenty of times over 20-odd years helping Perth homeowners plan their bathrooms — niches placed too high for anyone under 180cm to reach comfortably, openings too shallow for a standard conditioner bottle, or a size that forced a mess of uneven tile cuts, neither the homeowner nor the tiler was happy with. One customer had ticked off everything on her renovation list, only to realise the niche her builder framed was 100mm too narrow for the bottles she needed it to hold. A small thing that became a daily irritation.
It’s completely avoidable with planning upfront. This article covers shower niche size and standard dimensions, wall depth compatibility, placement height, tile alignment, and what waterproofing actually involves. We stock pre-made shower niches from $95 at our Guildford showroom, with Perth Metro delivery available.
What Is a Shower Niche?
A shower niche is a recessed shelf built directly into the shower wall cavity. It sits flush with the surrounding tiles and gives you a dedicated spot for shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and other essentials — no floor clutter, no separate caddy. You might also hear it called a shower recess, which means exactly the same thing.
Niches aren’t limited to showers either. The same idea works behind a freestanding or built-in bath, giving you a tiled shelf for oils or bath products within easy reach.
They come in two forms: pre-made niches that arrive ready to install and tile, and site-built niches that a tiler or builder frames from scratch on-site. Knowing which suits your wall and your budget is the first real decision — but before that, you need to know what size you actually need.
What Size Shower Niche Do You Need?
Standard shower niche sizes in Australia run between 355mm and 625mm wide, 260mm to 365mm tall, and 70mm to 90mm deep — covering the vast majority of residential showers and the most common pre-made options available off the shelf.
The right shower niche size for your bathroom comes down to three things: your wall width, your bottle heights, and your stud wall depth.
Width — How Wide Should Your Shower Niche Be?
A good rule of thumb is to aim for a niche that’s at least half the width of the shower wall. Most standard Australian shower walls are 900mm to 1000mm wide, which puts the typical shower niche or recessed shower shelf in the 355mm to 625mm range for visual balance.
Our range covers: 355mm square, 425mm medium rectangular, 605mm wide rectangular, and 625mm wide. Shower niche dimensions at these widths are sized to work with standard tile formats, which means fewer cut tiles at the niche edges — something your tiler will appreciate and something that shows in the finished result. If you’re working with a large-format tile and want clean grout line alignment, confirm the niche width against your tile size before ordering.
For larger walk-in showers, or if you want a long horizontal look, we also stock 905mm and 1000mm niches. And if your household goes through a lot of products, two medium niches stacked or placed side by side can work better than one wide niche — easier to organise and less visually dominant on a smaller wall.
Height — How Tall Should the Niche Opening Be?
Standard shower niche height runs from 260mm to 365mm for a single-shelf opening. That range accommodates most shampoo, conditioner, and body wash bottles without wasting wall space. For households using tall pump bottles — which are common and often 320mm to 340mm — the 365mm opening gives you comfortable clearance.
In our range, the long horizontal niches (905mm x 260mm) have a 260mm opening height, the bath niche (1500mm x 345mm) sits at 345mm, and the square and rectangular niches come in at 355mm. Before you order, measure your tallest bottle. It takes 30 seconds and saves you from a frustrating conversation with your tiler later. Most standard bottles measure 250mm to 290mm tall; pump tops add 30mm to 50mm, so factor that in if you use them.
Depth — How Deep Does a Shower Niche Need to Be?
Shower niche depth isn’t really a personal preference — it’s a structural question. Pre-made niches come in 70mm and 90mm depths because those match standard stud wall depths in residential construction. Your wall determines which one you can use, not the other way around.
A 70mm depth handles most standard products without trouble. If your household uses wider pump bottles or you simply want more reach, 90mm is the better choice. Our full range of shower niche sizes is available in both 70mm and 90mm stud variants, so you won’t be locked into a compromise on width or height just because of depth. The stud wall depth question is important enough to get its own section next — it’s the thing most people don’t check before ordering, and it’s the most common reason for exchanges.
Pre-Made or Site-Built — Which One Is Right for You?
Once tiled, a pre-made niche and a site-built one can look identical. The differences are in what happens before the tiles go on — cost, installation time, and waterproofing risk. For most Perth renovators working with a standard tileable shower niche and stud-frame walls, those differences matter quite a bit.
| Factor | Pre-Made Niche | Site-Built Niche |
| Cost (unit) | From $95–$200 | Material cost + significant labour cost |
| Labour time | 10 mins — fits between studs, ready to tile | Framing, backer board, waterproofing, tiling — adds 2–4 hours of trades time |
| Waterproofing | Factory-applied waterproof membrane, AS 3740 compliant out of the box | Membrane applied on-site — quality depends on the tradesperson |
| Sizing flexibility | Standard sizes 355mm to 1500mm; must fit between studs | Any size, but must align with tile layout |
| Risk of failure | Low — one-piece construction, no on-site waterproofing variables | Higher if the on-site waterproofing is not done correctly |
For most Perth bathroom renovations using standard stud-frame walls, a pre-made niche is the better choice. It cuts trades time, removes the on-site waterproofing variable, and costs less overall once you factor in labour. Site-built makes sense for unusual wall types, non-standard dimensions, or a design brief that needs an exact custom size.
I had a customer a while back whose builder had already quoted a site-built niche as part of her bathroom. She came in to look at tiles and we got talking about it. Once she understood that a pre-made niche would go in faster, cost less in tile time, and include a factory-applied waterproof membrane rather than relying on waterproofing done on-site, she switched. Her tiler had no objections — it actually made his job simpler.
You can browse our full range of pre-made shower niches at our Guildford showroom or online.
Checking Your Wall Before You Order
Before you order a pre-made niche, confirm your wall’s stud depth. It’s the one thing I mention to almost every customer who comes into the showroom asking about niches — the people who check it before ordering never have a problem, and the ones who don’t occasionally find themselves coming back for an exchange.
Most Perth homes built with standard timber framing use 90mm studs, which means a 90mm-deep niche is the right fit for the majority of residential bathrooms here. Steel-frame construction and some older homes may have different wall cavity depths, so if you’re not sure, check the frame drawings or ask your builder before the walls are lined. Once the sheeting is on, it’s harder to confirm without cutting in.
If you can measure the wall framing directly, do it. The niche depth needs to match the wall cavity — a 90mm niche won’t sit flush in a 70mm wall, and a 70mm niche in a 90mm cavity will require packing.
A few other things worth confirming before you order: the niche must sit between two studs, not through one. Standard stud spacing in Australian residential construction is 450mm or 600mm centre-to-centre, which is why our pre-made widths are sized to fit within those spacings. And avoid exterior walls — the thermal and moisture risks aren’t worth it when an internal wall is almost always available.
We stock both 70mm and 90mm depth variants across our full range, so once you know your wall, the rest is straightforward.
Where to Place Your Shower Niche
Sizing is only half the decision. Where the niche goes — how high off the floor and on which wall — determines how practical it is to use every day. Both questions have clear answers.
How High Should a Shower Niche Be?
Shower niche placement height is measured from the finished floor surface to the bottom of the niche opening. The standard range is 900mm to 1200mm, which puts the niche at waist-to-chest height for most adults. The midpoint of 1000mm to 1100mm works well for the majority of households.
If the bathroom is shared with children or shorter users, aim for the lower end of that range. For taller households, mid-to-upper works better. The main thing is to set the height relative to the finished tile level — not the subfloor or screed. It’s an easy detail to miss during the framing stage, and a niche that looks right in an untiled shower can end up sitting at the wrong height once the floor build-up is accounted for.
Some people install a second smaller niche lower down — around 300mm to 400mm off the floor — to use as a foot ledge while shaving. It’s a practical addition if you’re already tiling and a smaller square niche fits the layout. Worth mentioning to your tiler early if it appeals to you, since it needs to be framed before the walls are lined. In a shower recess with enough wall space, it’s a straightforward addition.
Which Wall Should the Niche Go On?
The niche should go on the wall opposite the showerhead, or on a side wall away from the main water stream. Placing it directly in line with the showerhead is the one position to avoid — constant direct water impact increases the risk of water ingress at grout joints over time, and practically speaking, it washes your products straight off the shelf.
The end wall, opposite the shower screen, is usually the most practical choice. It’s out of the splash zone, easy to reach from anywhere in the shower, and typically the most visible wall — so a well-tiled niche there adds to the finished look of the bathroom rather than being tucked away where nobody notices it.
Exterior walls are worth avoiding too. Thermal bridging and insulation complications make them a poor choice for a wall cavity recess, and most bathrooms have at least one internal wall that works just as well for niche placement. If wall framing is still exposed when you’re making this decision, that’s the right time to confirm the position with your builder — moving a niche after the walls are lined is a much bigger job.
How to Match Your Niche Size to Your Tiles
Before you lock in a niche size, check it against your tile dimensions. The goal is a niche width and height that land on a full tile or a clean grout line — not a sliver of cut tile at every edge. It’s one of those details that’s easy to overlook at the planning stage and immediately obvious once the bathroom is finished.
The logic is straightforward. If your shower wall uses 300x600mm tiles, a niche width that’s a multiple of 300mm means the tiler doesn’t need to cut tiles at the niche side walls. The same applies vertically — aligning the niche height to your tile height, or a multiple of it, makes the finish look considered rather than accidental. Shower niche tile size and tile format should be confirmed together, not separately.
This is where pre-made niches in standard sizes have a practical advantage over site-built. A builder framing a custom niche on-site doesn’t always account for tile layout — the niche is sized to the available wall space, not to the tile grid. A standard pre-made size is far easier to cross-reference against your tile dimensions before anything is locked in.
Confirm your tile dimensions with your supplier before you finalise the niche size. If you’re still working through tile selection, our bathroom tiles range is a good place to start, and our niche tile ideas article covers how to use a feature tile inside the niche to make it a design feature rather than just storage.
Waterproofing — What You Need to Know Before Tiling
Shower niches don’t fail because of the niche — they fail because of waterproofing. That’s the short answer to the “will it leak?” question, and it’s worth understanding before you decide between pre-made and site-built.
Under AS 3740:2021, the Australian standard for waterproofing of domestic wet areas, all recesses within a shower — including the niche — must be fully waterproofed before tiling. Shower niche waterproofing is not optional and it’s not something that can be patched after the tiles are on.
For pre-made niches, this is handled at the factory. The liquid-applied waterproof membrane is already in place before the unit leaves the manufacturer — you install it, and it’s ready to tile. For site-built niches, the waterproof membrane has to be applied on-site after the wall cavity is framed and lined, before a single tile goes up. That step is where failures most commonly occur — not because it’s technically difficult, but because it depends entirely on the person doing it.
Incorrect waterproofing can void building insurance and create personal liability for the owner. If you’re going with a site-built niche, confirm that the tradesperson applying the membrane holds a current waterproofing licence in WA before work begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Standard Size for a Shower Niche in Australia?
The standard size for a shower niche in Australian residential bathrooms runs from 355mm x 355mm square up to 605mm x 355mm rectangular — these are the most commonly chosen pre-made sizes. Depth is typically 70mm to 90mm, depending on stud wall depth. The right shower niche size for your bathroom also depends on how many products your household needs to store.
How High Should a Shower Niche Be Placed?
Shower niche placement height typically falls between 900mm and 1200mm from the finished floor surface to the bottom of the niche opening — not the centre. The midpoint of 1000mm to 1100mm is the most practical range for most adult households. Measure from finished floor level, not the subfloor or screed.
Can a Shower Niche Leak?
Shower niches can leak, but the niche itself is rarely the cause. Pre-made niches with a factory-applied waterproof coating are designed not to leak when installed correctly. Leaks almost always come from improper waterproofing in site-built niches, or from tiling failures — cracked grout or failed silicone — rather than a fault in the niche unit itself.
How Deep Does a Shower Niche Need to Be?
The depth of a shower niche is largely determined by your stud wall depth, not personal preference. The standard range for pre-made niches is 70mm to 90mm — 70mm suits most standard bottles, while 90mm works better for larger pump-top bottles. The niche must fit within the wall cavity, so confirm your stud depth before ordering.
Is a Pre-Made Shower Niche Better Than a Custom-Built One?
For most Perth renovators, a pre-made shower niche is the better choice over a custom-built one. It installs in under an hour, comes with a factory-applied waterproof membrane, and costs significantly less in trades labour. Custom-built niches make sense for unusual wall types or where a very specific size is needed that falls outside the standard pre-made range.
Conclusion
Getting the shower niche size right comes down to three things: matching the dimensions to your wall and your bottles, placing it at waist-to-chest height on a wall clear of the showerhead, and choosing a pre-made unit that takes the guesswork out of waterproofing. Sort those three things before your tiler starts, and you won’t have any regrets once the tiles are on.
For most Perth bathroom renovations, a pre-made niche is the straightforward choice — less trades time, less waterproofing risk, and a result that looks just as good as anything built from scratch. The planning work is the hard part, and if you’ve read this far, you’ve already done it.
We stock pre-made shower niches from $95 at our Guildford showroom, with Perth Metro delivery available. Browse our full range of shower niches and find the size that suits your wall.
