Can I order a walk-in tub with no faucet holes, and what is the lead time?

Yes. An Ella walk-in tub can be built with a deck that has no faucet or control holes, but it is a special order arranged through your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 rather than a pick from the standard product page, and it has to be settled before the tub enters production. Ella publishes no lead time for a clean-deck build or for any other order, because every tub is assembled and tested to order and timing varies by model, options and stock, so the team confirms current timing for your specific order. Can I get covers for unused control holes or order a tub without them? covers what to do with holes that already exist; this page is about ordering a shell without them and what that does to your timeline.

Why the Holes Are Decided Before the Tub Is Built

Every Ella walk-in tub is drilled to order. When your order is placed, a tub is pulled with your name on it and drilled for whatever faucet you selected, and the same is true of the controls, which are chosen along with the door hand, therapy package, faucet style and finish, heated seat and panels before the shell is drilled and jetted to match. The first video on this page shows the three factory faucet choices side by side, the 2-piece high-flow faucet, the thermostatic control valve faucet and the 5-piece high-flow faucet, and makes exactly this point: the tub is drilled for the faucet you select.

Once the shell is built, those hole positions are fixed. Ella's customization guide sorts faucet and control locations into the group of features fixed by design, alongside jet counts, tub color and the therapies themselves. The practical consequence is that a hole you do not want is avoided at order time, not corrected afterward. Drilling new holes in the deck later is an alteration not done by Ella, and Can I use my own faucet on an Ella tub without voiding the warranty? explains that this is the one path that puts the warranty at risk. Using a faucet of your own does not; a non-Ella faucet simply carries its own manufacturer's warranty instead of Ella's, and the tub around it stays covered.

The Ways a Deck Can Arrive

A no-faucet order and an undrilled deck are not the same thing, and the difference catches people out. The table sets out each case as the published material describes it.

What the table means in practice: if you simply leave the faucet off a seated tub, you may still receive holes and will need matching hardware or covers, so if a bare deck is the goal, ask for no faucet or control holes in those words and confirm which case applies to the model you want. Using Your Own Faucet walks through each case in more detail. The second video shows the pre-drilled holes a 2-piece fast-fill order arrives with and how the faucet, the hand shower receptacle and the supply lines mount into them, which is a clear picture of exactly what a clean-deck order leaves out.

What to Settle Before You Ask for a Clean Deck

• The model and door side. Both are fixed at the factory along with the drilling, so they belong in the same conversation.
• Which controls you still want. The digital touchpad belongs to the hydro plus air packages and is standard on the ShaK, Big4One and the two-seat tubs. The heated seat and backrest has its own keypad built in at the factory. If you want as bare a deck as possible, each of those is a choice to leave off.
• Your faucet plan. A wall-mounted faucet, including a valve already on your wall, is the usual partner for an undrilled deck. Your plumber should know where the spout and the hand shower will land before the tub ships.
• Deck space for anything you keep. Adding or removing deck items changes what fits; the aromatherapy canister, for example, needs enough deck space alongside the other options.

What the Lead Time Is

There is no published number, and this knowledge base never promises a date. Ella walk-in tubs are assembled and tested to order, so the time from paid invoice to delivery varies by model, options and stock. What is the lead time from ordering a walk-in tub to installation? explains why that is so, and Which Ella walk-in tub options are special order and do they add lead time? lists the other builds the team must confirm before an order is placed. A clean deck sits in that same category: it is settled with the team before production starts, it runs longer than a standard build, and the team confirms the timing for your specific order when you place it.

Installation is a separate clock. Ella does not send technicians, so your own licensed local plumber connects the faucet and the supply lines once the tub arrives, and that scheduling is yours to arrange. The useful question to bring to the team is not what the lead time is but what they need from you so the build can start: the model, the door side, the therapy package, your faucet plan, and a clear statement that you want no faucet or control holes.

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