DIY Shower Window

Define the placement of the shower window both inside and outside on a house exterior wall. Check out the window placement outside the home to ensure it will look appropriate with other windows and doors. Select the type of pre-made window or glass blocks you will use.

Chisel tile and backerboard from the shower wall to expose the studs and wall framework from ceiling to floor. Save all of the tiles you have removed to reuse them. Plan to rework the tile with additional tiles of a contrasting color if you chip or break any.

Remove any wall studs that will interfere with the window placement with a prybar. Install king studs cut from 2-by-4-inch boards on each side of the new window. Nail these studs into place to reach all the way from the top plate to the bottom plate of the wall framing.

Buy a pre-made wood laminate beam, which will fit at the top of the wall above the shower window. Cut trimmer studs with a handsaw or circular saw to hold up the beam. Nail trimmer studs on the inside of each of the king studs. Lift up the beam and attach it to the house framing with 4-inch screws. Cut a header board to fit across the top edge of the new window and frame the window space opening.

Cut and install ½-inch plywood over the window sill, using a circular saw or jigsaw to make the cuts. Add backerboard over the plywood. Nail backerboard on the framework surrounding the window as well.

Cover the backerboard with waterproof membrane sheeting before installing tile around the window. Add backerboard and a waterproof membrane sheeting to the wall below the window, too, before you reinstall tile over this space.

Install a pre-made window according to the manufacturer’s directions, checking it vertically and horizontally with a carpenter's level. Cut wood shims, if needed, to straighten up any edges. Build the window space with glass blocks instead of a pre-framed window, if you choose, before you add tile surrounding the window.