Installing 4 piece shower enclosure that's slightly too small

Question

I am looking to install the Delta 400 shower system from Home Depot. I chose this system because the price and setup works well for my current situation.

Shower Pan

3-Piece Shower Surround

The issue I am having right now is that the rough-in needs to be 60"; however, my rough in is 60.75". Obviously, this isn't going to work as the shower pan won't be able to attach properly to the studs and the 3 piece enclosure will not properly butt up to the studs for a good fit. So far from my research this is that I have seen should be done.

1. Fur out one of the walls with .75 inch furring strips.
2. Attach everything now that the rough-in will be 60"
3. Create a small drywall return corner on the built out wall so that there will be about a 2-3 inch strip of drywall over the flange and .75 - 1 inch small strip of drywall cut out and placed in the small space caused by the furring out to create a tiny corner.

The only problem with furring out the entire wall is that on the right side I have a door and on the left I have a window. The wall with the door would be easier but I am unsure on how to extend a door jamb so that it would be flush. Does this make sense or does anyone know of possibly a better way?

For reference here is the location that the enclosure will be going.

Answer 1

Since you don't yet have drywall up anywhere, I would fur one entire wall out 3/4". Then attach your drywall to that and you don't have to deal with the return.

With openings on each wall, it's a decision of which wall is easiest to fur out. First, make sure that either one would work (e.g. if you fur out the right, make sure your drain still lines up). Then you have to make the door or window jamb work with the deeper wall. Even if the door wall is easier to fur out, I'd still go with the window wall, simply because a prehung door & custom window would be easier than the other way around.

And completely unrelated to your question, but something I wish I knew when I put in my first tub - pack the tub full of insulation, in addition to the walls. A piping hot bathtub cools off mighty quickly.

Answer 2

What I would do...

1. Get pan and enclosure out of the box and see how far they are from fitting. I do not trust dimensions on boxes. 1/4" is a big deal.

2. You also need to do step 1 to make sure that you reroute your drain line appropriately. If you are furring out a wall I usually suggest the non-plumbing wall but it sure seems that your hot and cold lines are actually in the playing area - so my suggestion would be to fur out that side. This mean drain goes to the left.

3. Do not drywall behind these things. Using furring strips or jut out a 2x4.

4. Pack the walls with insulation before your install. Some people will suggest skipping the area below shower valve but I pack everything. Doing this will provide all kinds of returns including soundproofing, warmer shower, a shower that isn't echoey, a shower that isn't as flimsy, and so on. It is a must.

5. If you really are at 3/4" inch I would suggest double drywalling outside the shower on the plumb side. Lay down 3/4" drywall then whatever over that to cover shower lip.