The Blocking That Goes In Before the Board
Why This Is a One Time Opportunity
Blocking is solid timber fixed between studs so that something can later be screwed to the wall at any point along it. Once the waterproofing and tile are on, adding it means cutting through both, and no fixing made into a hollow wall behind tile is trustworthy in a wet area. The window for this work is a single day during rough in.
Grab Bars, Whether or Not Anyone Needs One
A horizontal run of blocking at roughly waist height along the long wall and beside the entry costs a few dollars in material. It means a properly anchored bar can be added at any time in the future, in the right position rather than in the position a stud happens to occupy. Nobody has ever regretted putting it in.
A Bench Carries Real Load
A wall hung or corner bench has to support a person sitting down heavily on a wet surface. That load goes into framing, not into board, so the support has to be built and the waterproofing detailed around it. A bench added later on brackets through tile is a leak and a failure waiting in the same fitting.
Glass Fixings Follow the Fabricator
Hinge and clip positions come from the glass supplier and they are not evenly spaced. Get the template before the walls close, block accordingly, and photograph everything with a tape in shot so the positions can be found again through finished tile.
Niches Are Framed, Not Cut
A recessed niche is an opening made in the framing with its own head and sill, sloped slightly so water drains out of it, and waterproofed as part of the wall. Cutting one into a finished wall afterwards means breaching the membrane at the worst possible height. Decide the size and the position now, and set it between the studs that are already there.