ᐅ Is it possible to have a recessed shelf along the entire side wall of the shower?

Hello everyone,

we have a question regarding a shelf in the shower. We would like to have it extend along the entire length of the side wall. This shower is fully built with masonry—17.5 cm (7 inch) sand-lime bricks. The walls do not reach the ceiling and are finished with a concrete overlay. Our question is, how can we create this shelf? According to the architect, if we install a lintel, the remaining wall above it would be too unstable. Do you have any other suggestions or solutions for us?

Thank you!

In our case, the shelf in front of the brick wall was made with drywall.

Best regards,
Sabine

Of course, that is possible, but we do not want to change the dimensions of the shower. Therefore, the installation space must be built into the calcium silicate brick wall.

Then find a structural engineer and an architect who will agree to this. I would be pessimistic. They already panic at horizontal grooves for electrical cables, and you want to hollow out a large area of the wall... such a recess isn’t just 2cm (1 inch) deep; you’d have to carve out half of the brick—how is that supposed to hold?

Remove the entire sand-lime brick wall and replace it with drywall construction. But even then, 17.5cm (7 inches) can be tight, depending on what needs to be mounted and the material thickness required.

We also simply installed a drywall (gypsum board) frame with an offset in front of the calcium silicate brick wall, almost spanning the entire width. So, instead of a compartment, we have a shelf.

I would do it the same way again. Compartments, in my opinion, are more difficult to clean, etc.

Since it is not very deep, I would simply cut it out. However, a significant part of the brick must remain intact.