How Much Floor Clearance Does the Transfer Door Need to Swing Open?

The L-shape outward door on the Ella Transfer family opens 172 degrees, and the working figure to plan with is about 36.5 inches of clear floor in front of the tub on the door side. Opened to 90 degrees, the door reaches about 36 inches into the room, a figure the team confirms for the Transfer32. The published numbers for every door family are collected in How Wide Is the Door Opening? Published Door Widths, Swing Arcs and Clearance by Door Family, and this page gathers everything that applies to the Transfer door alone so you can lay out your floor with confidence.

The Figures Published for the Transfer Door

The Transfer door is the largest door in the Ella lineup, and it needs the most open floor in front of it. Several figures describe it, and they come from two kinds of sources: the dimension drawings on the spec sheets, and working numbers the team quotes in support conversations.

• 172 degrees. The family drawing for the wheelchair Transfer L-shape door (Transfer26, Transfer30, Transfer32, Transfer60 and TransferXXL) prints a 172 degree door opening angle.
• 20 inches. The Transfer26 and Transfer32 drawings add a 20 inch door swing clearance callout.
• About 36 inches. Measured from the tub, the open door reaches about 36 inches into the room at 90 degrees. The team confirms this figure for the Transfer32.
• About 36.5 inches. This is the clearance to allow in front of the tub on the door side for the 172 degree swing.
• About 21 inches. The door opening clears a toilet up to about 21 inches tall.

The 20 inch callout and the roughly 36 inch reach are different measurements from different sources, so plan your floor with the larger figure. The team figures are close working numbers. If your room is tight, or you are about to cut tile or move a wall, ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 to read the figure from the drawing for your exact model first.

How the Transfer Door Compares with Other Ella Door Families

Seeing the Transfer door next to the other doors makes the planning choice clearer. Every figure below is a published drawing value or a team working number.

For your bathroom, the difference is simple. A U-shape outward door asks for about 21 inches of clear floor, while the Transfer door asks for about 36.5 inches. That extra floor is what buys the wide, unobstructed entry. If the space in front of the tub cannot be kept free of a toilet, vanity or hamper, an inward door needs no floor space at all. Doors are not interchangeable, and the Transfer family is outward only, so you choose the swing by choosing the tub.

Why the Transfer Door Needs This Much Room

The Transfer door is large on purpose. An L-shape door removes the sidewall beside the seat, so a wheelchair can pull up alongside and the bather can move across in a lateral transfer. The Transfer family video shows this clearly. There is no sidewall next to the seat, and the presenter describes three ways in: wheel up next to the tub, drop the chair arm and transfer onto the seat; sit on the seat and swing the feet in; or simply step in and sit down. The narration describes the door as swinging fully open, but the figure printed on the family drawing is 172 degrees, and that is the one to plan with.

The door locks with a two-latch gear and shaft mechanism, and the handle is on the front of the door. That means the door is closed and locked once the bather is on the seat, so the floor in front of the door has to stay clear for the whole routine, not just for the moment of opening. What each door style lets a helper do is set out in Transfer Techniques by Walk-In Tub Door Type.

If a wheelchair is part of the plan, the door arc is only one of the spaces to lay out. The 2010 ADA Standards describe a clear floor space of 30 by 48 inches for a single stationary wheelchair and a turning space 60 inches in diameter. In a private home these are a planning reference rather than a requirement, but they describe the room a real wheelchair needs to park and turn. Wheelchair Clearances, Turning Space and Ella Door Swing Envelopes puts those figures side by side with the Ella door arcs.

When the Room Is Tighter Than the Full Swing

The 90 degree projection is the honest planning number, but the door does not have to reach it for a bather to get in. On the Transfer, an opening of roughly 55 degrees is usually enough to step through, which shortens the projection considerably. Plan for the full swing if you can, and treat a partial opening as the fallback rather than the design. A partial opening suits a bather who steps in. A wheelchair that needs to pull up alongside the seat benefits from the door being well out of the way.

The most common obstruction is a toilet. The Transfer door opening clears a toilet up to about 21 inches tall, but if the toilet sits only a few inches from the tub on the door side, the door will hit it. Switching the door to the other side is the first thing to look at. Keep in mind that the door and the drains sit on opposite sides of an Ella tub: a right-side door puts the drains on the left, and a left-side door puts the drains on the right, with sides taken as you face the tub. The door side therefore also decides where the drain connection lands, which Should My Walk-In Tub Door Be on the Left or Right Side? explains. The tub is built with the door on the side you order, so settle this with your installer before your order is placed.

How to Check Your Bathroom Before You Order

1. Stand where you will face the tub and note which side the house drain is on. The door goes on the opposite side.
2. On the door side, measure from the front of the tub's planned position to the nearest toilet, vanity or opposite wall.
3. Compare that measurement with about 36.5 inches for the full swing, and with about 36 inches for the door standing open at 90 degrees.
4. If a toilet is inside that space, measure its height against the 21 inch figure and its distance from the tub.
5. If a wheelchair will approach the seat, mark out the 30 by 48 inch clear floor space as well and see that the two fit your room together.
6. If any measurement is close, have the drawing read for your exact model before work begins.

The companion page How Far Does the Open Door Stick Out in Front of the Tub? compares the projection of each door family if you are still deciding between a Transfer and another model.

Watch: Wheelchair Transfer Walk-In Tubs Designed for Easy Access | Voted Safest/Best 2020 | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• What are the door widths and step-in heights for each Ella door style?
• Operating the L-Shape Transfer Door: Front Handle, Closing, and Wheelchair Entry
• Wheelchair Transfer Tubs Compared: Transfer26, Transfer30, Transfer32, Transfer60, and TransferXXL

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