Which side does the glass screen go on a LayDown tub?

On an Ella LayDown walk-in tub, the optional bifold glass screen mounts at the wall end on the drain side of the tub, and it is stocked as a left-hand or a right-hand screen so that it matches the drain side on your order. The LayDown 30x60 spec drawing shows the installed screen spanning 38 1/4 inches along the tub in a 21 inch panel and a 17 inch panel, standing 57 to 57 1/2 inches high, while the LayDown 32x72 takes a longer 44 1/2 inch screen. Which glass shower screen fits a seated versus a lay-down walk-in tub? sets the bifold beside the four-fold used on seated tubs; this page covers the LayDown screen on its own, where it goes, how big it is, and what to settle before the tub is ordered.

Which Side the Screen Goes on

Ella makes two tubs without a seat, the LayDown 30x60 and the LayDown 32x72, and both take the bifold tempered glass screen rather than the four-fold screen. The screen is a two-panel piece that mounts to the bathroom wall at the end of the tub on the drain side, with its panels folding back toward that wall. Because the mount is handed, a left-drain tub needs a left-hand screen and a right-drain tub needs a right-hand screen. The drain side on your order therefore decides which screen to ask for, and the two hands are not interchangeable once the tub is in place.

Ella's own guidance adds a rule the drawings do not spell out: the glass has to line up with the glass door rather than sit centered on the long side of the tub, because a centered screen leaves a gap at the door and leaks. The screen is offered when the faucet end of the tub is opposite the door. If the faucet and the door share a side there is no screen option, and no screen is made for the short end of the tub. The LayDown screen comes in clear glass only.

Folded, the two panels stack against the wall and stand out about 4 to 6 inches, so the screen stays in place while a bather steps in through the low glass side door. The low profile of the tub is the reason a screen is worth considering at all. Laid-Down Walk-In Tub Dimensions and Fit gives the tub height as 21 inches, and the screen rises far above that rim, which is what keeps hand shower spray inside a long, low tub while someone reclines in it.

How Big the LayDown Screen Is

The screen figures below come from the LayDown spec drawings, which show each tub in top view with the screen installed. The seated-tub screens are included so you can see why they are not substitutes for the bifold.

What the table means in practice: the two LayDown screens share the same 21 inch wall-side panel and the same hand-specific mount, and they differ in the second panel, 17 inches on the 30x60 and 23 1/4 inches on the 32x72, which is where the extra tub length is covered. On the 30x60 the 38 1/4 inch span sits on a tub whose overall length is printed as 59 3/4 inches, so the screen covers the drain end and leaves the door end open for entry; that is the intended layout, not a short part. The screen heights of the two sizes are within a fraction of an inch of each other, so the wall clearance you need is the same whichever LayDown you choose. The four-fold and three-fold screens were designed around the seated tubs and the 52 inch tub in particular, and Ella's guidance is explicit that the four-fold is not compatible with a lay-down tub.

What the Figures Mean for Your Bathroom

• Wall height. The dimension guide asks you to check any window, shelf or fixture near the tub against the 21 inch tub height. Once a screen is in the plan, the 57 to 57 1/2 inch screen height on the drain-side wall becomes the figure to check, because a window sill, a tiled ledge or a towel bar inside that height is where the screen would land.
• Which wall is the drain wall. The screen fixes to the wall at the drain end, so that wall must be finished and sound where the mount lands. The LayDown uses a single 2 inch brass drain with overflow rather than Ella's dual drain, and Installing the LayDown Tubs, Part 2 covers the drain connection, the wall finishing and the screen fit in that order, which is the order to plan in.
• Faucet position on the 30x60. The LayDown 30x60 ships with no faucet and has no faucet option; a pre-existing or new wall-mounted faucet must be used. Since the screen is offered only when the faucet end is opposite the door, decide where that wall faucet goes before you confirm the screen hand.
• Faucet position on the 32x72. The LayDown 32x72 is faucet-ready and can take an optional Ella two-piece or five-piece deck-mount fast-fill faucet. The same rule applies: the faucet end sits opposite the door for a screen to be offered.
• Delivery path. The 30x60 ships in a crate 63 inches long by 33 inches wide by 29 inches high, and the spec sheet lists the glass shower screen as a separate optional feature with its own installation document, so the glass arrives and is handled apart from the tub.

Ordering and Installing the Screen

1. Confirm the tub size, 30x60 or 32x72, and the drain side on your order, because the screen hand follows the drain side.
2. Confirm that the faucet end will be opposite the door. On the 30x60 that means settling the position of your wall-mounted faucet first.
3. Ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 for the bifold screen in the matching hand, and have them confirm the screen figures for your size and current stock before the wall is tiled or finished.
4. Have your installer finish the walls, connect the drain and faucet, and fit the screen last, following the glass shower screen installation document for lay-down tubs that the spec sheet references.
5. During the fit, check that the glass lines up with the glass door rather than being centered on the tub side, since that alignment is what keeps the screen from leaking.

If you are still deciding between a seated tub and a LayDown, Can you lie down in a walk-in tub? explains why only the two LayDown models are built for a full recline and why the screen choice follows the tub family. Showers, Shower Screens, and Accessories for Your Ella Walk-in Tub lists the slide bar, the 24 inch hand shower slide bar, the 5-foot shower hose and the 10-inch rain shower that can go alongside the screen. Bring the model, the drain side and your wall measurements when you contact the team, and the screen question is settled in one conversation.

Related Guides

• Installing the LayDown Tubs, Part 1: Delivery, Placement, Leveling and the Glass Door (30x60 and 32x72)
• Your LayDown Owner's Manual, Section by Section (30x60 and 32x72)
• The LayDown Walk-In Tubs: 30x60 vs 32x72 Sizes, Faucet Options, and Features

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