How to Install a Wall Niche

In this video, This Old House senior technical editor Mark Powers shows how to install a small shelf niche in a hallway wall.

1. Make a cardboard template that represents the recessed portion of the wall niche.

2. Choose a nonload-bearing wall, and mark the location of the studs using a stud finder. Trace the outline of the template on the wall.

3. Hang plastic sheeting around the area to minimize dust while cutting. Cut a window around the niche's outline and tape down the edges of your work window.

3. Cut the hole in the drywall along the outline. If you have plaster, locate horizontal gaps between the strips of wood lath by drilling holes. Make horizontal relief cuts along these lines. Then cut through the perimeter of the outline to remove the lath and plaster.

4. Cut through any exposed studs in the wall, then install blocking around the opening. Fit horizontal blocking between vertical studs, flush with the edges of the opening at the top and bottom. Secure each end of the blocking by driving 3-inch screws through the block and into the nearby studs at an angle. Also install blocking on at least one side of the opening.

7. Apply adhesive caulk to the blocking, to the back of the niche along points where it will meet the blocking, and along the niche's lip where it will touch the wall. Tip the niche into place and shim it if necessary.

8. Caulk around the seam where the niche meets the wall and smooth it with a wet fingertip. Once the caulk has set, paint the niche.