How Do You Install a Glue-Up Tile Flange on a Tub or Shower Base?

A tile flange goes on an Ella walk-in tub or shower base at installation: the fixture is leveled and water tested, the strip position is marked, the edge is cleaned with the alcohol tissues in the kit, and the flexible flange is bonded with 100 percent silicone so it overlaps the edge of the fixture. The tile or wall panels then come down over the flange and onto the deck, and every joint is sealed with silicone. If you are still deciding which strip your fixture needs, start with My Tub Has No Tile Lip. Which Flange Do I Use?, then come back here for the installation order.

What Is in the Kit and Why It Seals so Well

Ella walk-in tubs and shower bases have a flat deck edge with no molded tile lip, so the water barrier at the wall is a strip your installer adds. The manual describes it as a rustproof, waterproof strip about 5 inches tall, glued to the tub edge with 100 percent silicone so it overlaps the edge by about 2 inches. The current Ella part that fills that role is the Flexible Glue-Up Tile Flange kit, listed as FlangeBand. The background on what the strip does is in What Is a Tile Flange on a Walk-In Tub?.

The installation video on this page opens by laying out the kit contents:

• A roll of Sealux flexible flange sized to your requirements. The residential kit is a 124 inch strip of 4 inch wide waterproof membrane with an integrated 1 1/4 inch siliconized adhesive strip.
• Alcohol surface cleaning cloths.
• A custom spatula tool for spreading.
• A strip alignment card.

The video also explains why the flange is paired with one specific sealant. The strip is a durable, waterproof adhesive fabric joined to a siliconized membrane, and that pink silicone based portion reacts with the applied silicone sealant and bonds to it chemically. That is the reason the guidance calls for 100 percent silicone and nothing else. Because the membrane is flexible, the seal holds through general expansion and contraction and through routine floor settling, the small movements a rigid plastic lip cannot follow. The video notes that Sealux is also offered in bulk form for contractors.

What Must Be Finished Before the Flange Goes on

The flange is a finishing step, and a few things come first:

• Level the fixture. Every leg of the tub should bear on the floor.
• Complete the water test. No wall is finished before the tub or base is proven leak-free, because fixing a leak behind finished tile is far more disruptive.
• Measure the wall run. Measure the total length of fixture edge that meets a wall, the back plus each end, at deck height. The 124 inch kit suits most Ella tubs in a standard three-wall 60 inch alcove, and longer strips are listed for larger models such as the Big4One, TransferXXL, LayDown72, Escape and Big4Two.
• Have the flange on site. The flange ships separately by parcel carrier, not in the crate with the tub, so it arrives on its own schedule. Include your tub model when you request one so the right length ships.

One model needs a conversation first. The ShaK is not designed to be tiled in directly, so talk with technical support before planning tile around a ShaK.

The Installation Order, Step by Step

1. Mark the strip position on the walls. The video is clear that marking is the first step, so the strip ends up aligned correctly. It shows two methods. In the first, shown on a two-wall enclosure, the tub or shower floor is placed temporarily in its working position, the alignment card is rested on the ledge against the wall, and each wall is marked at least twice at the height the card sets. The wall is also marked where the tub or shower floor ends. The fixture is then removed, horizontal lines are drawn through the upper marks, and vertical lines are drawn just outside the end marks.
2. Use the second method in a tight three-wall alcove. When sliding the fixture in and out is not practical, the video shows how to mark the lines without placing it. The height of the strip's upper edge is calculated by adding the alignment card dimension to the anticipated height of the ledge above the floor after installation.
3. Clean the edge. Wipe the edge of the tub or base with the alcohol tissues in the kit so the silicone bonds to a clean surface.
4. Bond the flange with 100 percent silicone. The flange is bonded so it overlaps the edge of the fixture, and the spatula in the kit spreads the silicone. The pink portion is the membrane that bonds with the silicone. The rest of the strip is a cloth-like material that gets tiled or paneled over.
5. Choose the correct side. The strip is reversible, with a pink side and a red side. Which colored side faces out depends on whether the fixture already has an integral flange, so follow the kit instructions for your fixture.
6. Bring the wall finish down over the flange. The tile or wall panel runs down over the flange and onto the deck. It should never stop above the flange.
7. Silicone every joint. That includes the corners, the place where the extension panel meets the tub, and the place where the end panel meets the wall.

Your local licensed installer does this work, and the video is a helpful thing to watch together before the walls are started.

Tubs and Shower Bases: What Changes

The same kit is used on walk-in tubs and on shower bases, and the principle is identical: the flange catches water that runs down the wall and sends it back into the fixture instead of behind it. On a shower base the flexible strip can go on after the base is set, which gives the installer some freedom in the sequence. On a walk-in tub, remember the extension panel and end panel joints, since those meet the tub and the wall and need their own silicone.

The wall surface above is your choice. Ella wall panels come down over the flange the same way tile does, and the panel sequence is covered in How do you install a shower wall panel kit from Ella's Bubbles?. Existing wall tile that is sound and properly sealed can stay, with your installer confirming its condition. How the flange, the wall surface and the silicone work together as three layers is explained in What should I use to waterproof the walls of my shower?.

Finishing Gaps to Avoid

When water shows up at a corner even though the fixture itself is sound, the cause is usually one of a short list of finishing gaps:

• Tile or panels that stop short of the flange instead of overlapping it.
• A flange that does not overlap the edge of the fixture.
• Corners left without silicone.
• Walls started before the flange went on, or before the water test was done.
• A sealant other than 100 percent silicone, which does not form the chemical bond the membrane is designed for.

After the job is finished, keep the caulk line between the fixture and the wall in good condition, and re-caulk if it cracks or pulls away. If the walls are already partly finished, or you are unsure which length fits, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with your model, a sketch of the alcove with wall lengths in inches and a photo of the edge at the wall. Your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can confirm the kit and how to place it.

Watch: Installing a Glue-Up Tile Flange: Step-by-Step | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• How do I tile over the tile flange on a walk-in tub?
• How Do I Caulk and Seal a Walk-In Tub Against the Walls?

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