No. The flange goes OVER the cement board. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umlqQ4TVbQk

And yes, any drywall IN a shower like that ("water resistant" or otherwise) will eventually fail.

And finally, yes. Say something.

@Architectrunnerguy thank you for the confirmation. gut feeling and my research told me this wasnt done right.

easier said than done. ive called out the builder on a few things and hes already pissed at me for questioning his methods. i suppose he thought id look at the finished product and like the aesthetic like most clueless homeowners.

😩

If any of the niches are on an exterior wall, how much insulation is between the niche and the outdoors?

@Mark Bischak, Architect the exterior wall is 2x6's, so i guess they squashed the insulation in there.

@dan1888 I did ask him about this to which he got very angry stating that i'm micromanaging his guys and they know what they're doing and been doing it for 35 years. then threatened to contact his lawyer. I dont want him to find some kind of fault to break the contract and then we lose out all that money already invested so sort of afraid to push him further. Had window issues earlier on (windows were out of square and leaking which he said siding will fix) and now this.

"Squashed" insulation is not a good thing. It loses its insulation value when "squashed".

I know,, i know... but im at his mercy...i guess it's better than 2x4's and then compressing it even more, right?

@A Handy 1 I know i know im going to ask for the tiler ( not the builders guy) to water proof using some kind of membrane. we used hydroban in our old house, but this is out of my control. I just hope he does use something.

The tile guy said water will not get back there. He's been doing it for years and ripped out 15 -20 year old bathrooms with green drywall and were fine..🙄

.ive been banned from the site unless i give them 72 hours notice. so i cant even go and peek as im worried they installed some kind of cameras etc...and will void my contract. ugh sickening.

A niche on an exterior wall with insufficient insulation behind it wouldn't pass inspection in my market. What is your climate?

@Kristin Petro Interiors, Inc. NJ. cold damp winters, hot humid summers.

I did NOT want them on the outside. I told the builder's guy that I will call him with the height and position of the niches. Well they had the drywall guys come in sooner and he had this done. I asked him why he didnt call me and his reply was I dont have your phone number- even though he damn well knows that the builder has my numnber as we text. poor excuse- that's all I keep getting is excuses.

The hubs just wants to leave it and remodel in a few years, as we currently paid almost 250k into this and dont want to lose the money with a breach in contract etc or him finding anything to cancel the build with us. I dont want to waste the money with shoddy work... this is beyond stressful.

As usual, the thread gets off topic, but I find it amazing that what looks like an 18x24" niche without insulation value behind other than the sheathing, it won't pass an inspection but we can likely have additional 3050 window anywhere and it's ok. Or all the exterior studs and plates amounting to a few hundred SF of exterior wall area for that matter. And the typical double paned window will leak energy a lot more, either through direct air flow or transmission, than that niche ever will. And probably one person quickly coming once in a momentarily open door on a cold day will make the heating system work harder to make up for that heat loss than the energy transmission via that niche will in a year.

And just for the record since this forum tends to get very defensive, if it where one of my houses, I'd have some polystyrene board insulation behind it but not that it would make any significant difference in the heating/cooling bill....lol.

YoYou are not at his mercy. Get yourself a construction lawyer to go to bat for you

Is this land YOU own or is this a tract home?

@cpartist tract home.. small local builder only 7 houses on a culdesac. I guess technically they are custom homes.

The tile guy said water will not get back there. He's been doing it for years and ripped out 15 -20 year old bathrooms with green drywall and were fine.

Yes, but… since you have the opportunity to do it right, then you might as well do it right. This is just penny wise and pound foolish.

I have removed glazed ceramic tile that was installed over regular drywall in the 70’s that had no moisture problems at all. However, there is far too much evidence of problems to ignore such easy and inexpensive insurance.

@User well we sold our old house and are about 200K into it. deposits, upgrades etc... he did replace the drywall, and the tile guy is going to use mapei aquadefense. so hopefully that works out. When i mentioned the niche install to the tile guy he said they all do it like that or you spend 5 hours feathering out the lip on the flange to get the wall tile perfect ....

anyway thanks all, I appreciate the confirmation. If it gets any worse I guess i can hire an attorney.

@cathie2029, wow stories you hear from builder and subs.... (5 hours of feathering the wall) lol😆. Feel your pain, been there building a house and never heard so many lies in my life like I did while my house was buil.

The tile guy is a lazy ass. That product hasn't been around for 15-20 years. He doesn't have to live with the problem. Have it done as the manufacturer specifies. Feathering takes less than 30 minutes for a pro. If the builder tries to intimidate, tell him to do the work correct or you'll get your lawyer to make it happen.

You can hire a construction lawyer now for several hundred to a few thousand to send off a letter or you can spend 30 k plus to rip out and put in a new shower in a few years when the shower fails and you wind up with mold and water damage

We had to hire a lawyer and it saved us many thousands

Understand that hiring an attorney DOES NOT MEAN you will sue him. It doesn't even mean that he has to know you have an attorney helping you. However, it will give you support and understading of your rights, have someone on your side, read your contract to understand what you can and can't do, and generally help you not feel alone.

The flanges on prefabricated niches are usually 1/2" thick or a coated stainless with minimal thickness. The stainless coated flange would go on the surface of wall board with minimal flashing needed. A plastic niche flange would NOT be installed over the board as others have suggested. It would be flush with the wallboard. Simply waterproof the joint. A couple of 2x4 pieces may need to be added for fastening. Always contact manufacturers for proper installation instructions. Gathering opinions on open forums is risky at best.

Good luck with the project.