How do I plumb a rain shower head on a walk-in tub?

On an Ella walk-in tub, a rain shower head is not plumbed through the wall. The Ella Shower Column Kit feeds from the diverter on the tub's 2-piece or 5-piece fast-fill faucet under the deck, so there is no separate valve to rough in and no new supply line to run through the wall. Because that connection is made from behind the tub, the column is fitted before the tub's final installation, as explained in Can I Add a Hand Shower Slide Bar or Rain Shower Column After My Tub Is Installed?. This page covers where the water comes from, what the installer connects, and how the column behaves once it is plumbed.

Where the Water Comes from

Every Ella fast-fill faucet set already includes a diverter and a pull-out hand shower on a 5 foot hose. The column kit uses that diverter as its supply. It replaces the hand shower holder on the deck: the existing hand shower comes out, the column base goes into the vacant receptacle, the existing water supply line is replaced, and the new 1/2 inch supply line runs from the bottom of the column to the diverter on the faucet set. The tub's own valve supplies the column, and everything is still controlled from the faucet and diverter on the deck. On the 2-piece set you push the diverter button to send water up; on the 5-piece set you turn the diverter handle. The column then has its own diverter that selects one head at a time, either the 10 inch rain head or the multi-function hand shower riding on the column bracket. The hand shower keeps its five spray settings, and its flow is limited to 1.9 GPM by plumbing code, so a gentler spray from the wand than from the rain head is normal. The matched handset and why it should not be swapped for a generic one are covered in Which Handheld Shower Head Is Best for an Ella Walk-In Tub?.

What the Installer Connects, in Order

1. Remove the existing hand shower from its deck receptacle. The column base needs a 1 1/4 inch hole and uses the vacant hand shower receptacle on tubs with an Ella 2-piece or 5-piece fast-fill faucet. If the base does not fit the pre-drilled hole, send a photo of the deck hole and your faucet through ellasbubbles.com/support before anything is drilled.
2. Set the column base. It is sealed with silicone at the deck, then secured from below with the rubber gasket, metal washer and locking collar.
3. Replace the supply line. Remove the existing water supply line and attach the new 1/2 inch supply line from the bottom of the column to the diverter on the faucet set. Seat the gasket at both ends, hand tight, then a quarter to a half turn.
4. Install the riser tube and rain head. Seat the gasket in the riser tube connection and tighten the riser hand tight plus a quarter to a half turn, with the riser exactly vertical.
5. Fit the wall brace. The kit ships a short connector adjustable from 2 1/4 to 3 1/4 inches for a column close to the wall and a long connector adjustable from 4 to 5 inches for alcoves with an extension panel. If neither range matches your wall distance, or a connector is missing, send a photo and the measurement; connectors and braces are stock parts.

One video on this page shows exactly this: the hand shower coming out, the column base going into the vacant receptacle, the supply line being replaced and the new 1/2 inch line going to the diverter. The other shows why the kit is installed before the tub is finally set and how far the head adjusts. If you also want the hand shower on a wall slide bar, the 24-inch slide bar, the 5-foot stainless steel hose with coupling kit and the 10-inch rain shower are listed together in Showers, Shower Screens, and Accessories for Your Ella Walk-in Tub.

Why the Timing Matters

The supply connection is made from the back side of the tub, so the kit needs to be installed prior to the final installation of the walk-in tub. If your tub is already installed and enclosed, the column can only be added when there is still access from behind, for example through the wall of an adjoining closet, which is why the team asks about the layout before recommending it. If you are still deciding, order the column with the tub so your installer can fit it before the tub is enclosed. Ella does not send technicians, so the connection is made by your licensed plumber or installer.

How High the Head Sits

The column is height adjustable. Its maximum height is approximately 90 inches, a little over 7 feet, and there are 14 inches of available adjustment to bring the shower head down to approximately 76 inches, about 6 feet. The rain shower head pivots and swivels, and the hand shower on the column tilts and swivels in several directions, so the same column serves a standing shower and a seated one. Check the ceiling height and the wall distance in your alcove against those figures before ordering, and tell your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 whether an extension panel sits between the tub and the wall so the right brace connector is in the kit.

If You Want a Conventional Wall Head Instead

Some homeowners prefer a shower head on the wall rather than the Ella column. A licensed plumber can do this by feeding the new head from the tub's diverter valve, since the tub's faucet is the valve that controls the water. What should not be done is attaching the Ella hand shower to the wall on its own; the slide bar kit with its coupling is the supported way to park the hand shower on the wall. Your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can confirm which option suits your model.

Once the Column Is Plumbed

A brief trickle from the rain head after shutoff is residual water draining from the riser, and it stays small if the column diverter is left pointing down to the hand shower whenever the tub is not in use. A spray from the joint above the diverter on the rain setting means a gasket is not seated; Why Does My Shower Column Drip After I Shut It Off? walks through both. If water will not switch up to the column at all, cycle the faucet fully off and on, and on the 2-piece faucet relieve the air lock that keeps the diverter button stuck, as described in Why Won't the Diverter Switch to the Hand Shower?.

Related Guides

• Installing the Shower Column Kit on Your Walk-in Tub
• Ella Fast-Fill Faucets: 2-Piece vs 5-Piece, Finishes, and the Waterfall Option
• The Waterfall Wall-Mount Faucet: Installation Overview, Slider Bar, Finishes and Fill Expectations

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