Where to find a custom-size shower pan, and can it be zero threshold?

Custom-size shower pans are made to order by Ella's Bubbles and sold through your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, so there is no separate catalog to hunt through: you give the team your measurements and layout and the base is built as a rectangle to fit. A made-to-order base typically comes with a threshold of about 3 inches, and for a barrier-free entry Ella also makes zero threshold bases that sit flush with the surrounding floor. The size and drain limits every custom request must meet are set out in What Is the Largest Custom Shower Base Ella's Bubbles Can Make?.

Where the Pans Come from and How to Ask for One

Ella manufactures its own acrylic shower bases rather than reselling someone else's, which is why a size outside the standard range is possible at all. Shower products are sold per item, so a complete shower is put together from the base in your size and drain position, a wall system sized to the base, and accessories such as grab bars or a shower door. The place to start is wherever you would buy the rest of the shower: your Ella dealer, or a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support. Who Makes Custom Shower Pans and Bases for Accessible Showers? explains how the base, walls and accessories are carried as separate items.

A custom request moves fastest when it arrives with a simple drawing of the space. Sketch the walls, write in the width and length you want, mark where the existing drain line comes up through the floor, and say whether the pan goes into a three-wall alcove or a corner. The team asks about the layout because it decides where the drain and the finished edges are placed. If the installation is on a concrete slab with no access from below, say so, because the drain position then has to match the existing line. The team confirms whether a base can be made to match and what drain hardware ships with it.

Threshold Choices on a Made-To-Order Base

The searches behind this page usually come with a threshold question attached, so here is how the edge styles line up.

• About 3 inches, the typical custom threshold. A custom shower base typically has a threshold of about 3 inches. A 3 inch step-in base is also offered in the standard range for people who prefer a slightly raised edge. If you can step over a low curb comfortably, this is the edge a custom build normally arrives with.
• Zero threshold for a flush, barrier-free entry. Zero threshold bases sit flush with the surrounding floor instead of standing above it. The wheelchair accessible roll-in bases are ADA curb-less pans with no threshold to step or roll over. They come in the three standard sizes, and sizes outside those three can be made to order. Roll-in and barrier-free bases ship with a self-adhesive collapsible rubber dam that keeps water in while a wheelchair rolls over it.
• Cultured marble low threshold. Ella also offers cultured marble shower bases in three sizes with a low threshold. The video on this page shows these molded solid bases, their glossy gelcoat finish and the slip-resistant textured floor, and notes that they are heavy and take at least two people to install. These are not custom-sized, so they belong in the conversation only if one of the three sizes fits your space.

So the two questions people type most often both have an answer. Yes, a custom base can be built with a 3 inch threshold, and that is the usual way one is built. Yes, a pan with no threshold at all is available, and a roll-in footprint outside the three standard sizes can be made to order, so ask the team to confirm the curb-less style for your exact measurements before anything is ordered.

What the table means in practice: the footprint and the threshold are two separate decisions. If one of the three standard footprints fits your alcove, pick the standard base and simply choose the edge style, because the drain sits in a set position for that size. If no standard footprint fits, the custom rectangle gives you the size, and the threshold conversation then decides whether it arrives at about 3 inches or as a curb-less pan. The cultured marble bases are the exception, since they come only in their three sizes.

Size and Shape Rules That Apply No Matter the Threshold

The edge style does not loosen the footprint rules, which are the same for a 3 inch and a zero threshold pan.

• Only rectangles are made. Bases with angled or curved edges are not offered, so a neo-angle corner or a curved front is not a fit for an Ella base. Who makes custom shower pans for odd bathroom layouts? walks through which odd rooms a rectangle can still solve.
• The smallest custom base is 30 by 30 inches, for both alcove and corner layouts. There is no stock pan smaller than 30 by 60, so any square or short footprint is a custom request.
• The largest alcove base is 44 inches wide by 80 inches long, with the threshold on the longer side. Corner bases top out at 42 by 60 inches.
• Examples the team has handled include a 38 by 80 inch base with a left drain, a 58 by 30 inch base with a center drain, a 36 by 36 inch corner base, and 46 by 46, 50 by 30 and 36 by 44 inch builds. A 53 by 76 inch request cannot be produced.
• The drain can be placed left, right or center, but it must sit at least 9 inches from each wall. A drain only 7 inches from the threshold edge is not possible, even on a custom pan.

The full run of sizes from the 30 by 30 inch minimum to the 44 by 80 inch maximum is laid out in What sizes do shower pans come in, from smallest to largest?.

What Arrives and What Your Contractor Does

Every Ella pan, standard or custom, is finished acrylic with the slope, threshold and drain molded in. It is ready to use once set and must not be tiled over. Your contractor sets the base, connects the drain and finishes the walls around it. Ella's own wall panels are 98 inches high in a plain white finish and are sized to the base, so order them together once the footprint is confirmed.

One last caution before the floor is cut: custom sizes have not always been offered, and the published maximum has been corrected in the past. Treat anything you read elsewhere as a starting point and have the team confirm your exact size, layout, drain position and threshold style on your order. What Sizes Do Ella Shower Bases and Shower Pans Come In? keeps the current standard and custom figures in one place.

Related Guides

• How do you build a custom shower pan or base?
• Will Ella Measure My Bathroom for a Custom Shower Pan?

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