Xstyles Bath + More New Bedford limestone. 2 1/4" thick.

Xstyles Bath + More The depth of the niche is approximately 6".

Emily Hurley Using the tile as a context clue, it seems like the shelf is a little more than 4 feet off the floor.

Xstyles Bath + More Make sure you have nailers in the wall at the front edge of the bench. We notched all studs, no more than 1/2", sides and back. Had a problem notching out corners where the 2x4's came together so we used a 4" angle grinder on corners of bench to get the best fit possible. Remember 1/4" per foot pitch.
Slip bench into place, no adhesives, screws, nails, etc. Install Hardibacker on walls around bench with a narrow gap of approximately 1/8" all around. Fill gap generously with marine or pure silicon type caulk. (Best, longest lasting caulk you can get your hands on.) Cut strips of fiberglass cloth (the type used as crack isolation membrane) approximately 6" wide. Attach to walls above bench about 5" and the final 1" overlap onto bench using a paintable membrane such as TEC Hydraflex. When tiling, leave an 1/8" gap between the top of the bench and the bottom of the tile. I just used QEP spacers. When tiling is complete, cut back fiberglass cloth just behind the surface of the tile. A razor blade will scrape excess off bench. I like to grout the joint and clear silicone over the top but you could use a color matched caulk. I don't like the color matched caulk though because it's not pure silicone.

I hope this helps.
We won an award from the National Tile Contractors Association for this project. Mainly for how the curbless shower was done.

Thanks for your interest.

magsfabfinds Again, thank you so much for your helpful response. Your work is inspirational and impeccable!

Xstyles Bath + More There are no brackets. The bench is embedded in the tile and substrate. Additionally, the 2x4's were routed out slightly so the weight of the bench is not carried on the tile edges. Since then, I've been using extruded U Channel which I screw to the studs and is just wide enough to slip the bench in place. Extra care needs to be taken with caulking and waterproofing.

wisewomanplans53 Perfect! Thank you for the information!! Beautiful work!!

Pinnacle What size are these tiles?

Xstyles Bath + More 6x24" planks and 24x24" large format porcelain

Rebekah Zaveloff That looks like a porcelain...and a 12x24 or 8x14 size..try http://www.annsackstile.com/onlinecatalog/program.jsp?cat=268004&coll=1630804&prg=1132404

Kit Murphy Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure about the Cappadocia, tho, as this tile doesn't appear to have any movement in it...