Are There Walk-In Tub and Shower Combinations Available for Seniors?

Yes. An Ella walk-in tub can work as a tub and shower combination, because the fast-fill faucet sets include a hand shower and a shower column kit can be added to the tub deck for overhead showering. Ella's Bubbles also offers acrylic shower walls and shower bases for anyone who decides a separate shower suits them better, as outlined in What Products Does Ella's Bubbles Offer?. This page lays out each way to combine bathing and showering, what each one involves, and how to choose between them.

What a Tub and Shower Combination Means on an Ella Walk-In Tub

A walk-in tub and shower combination is not a separate model in the Ella line. It is a walk-in tub fitted with showering hardware, so the same fixture gives you a seated soak on some days and a shower on others. There are three building blocks, and they can be used alone or together.

• The hand shower on the faucet set. The Ella Standard, for example, ships with the 5-piece Ella Fast-Fill faucet with a pull-out hand shower. A bather can rinse while sitting on the built-in seat, with the door closed, without standing at all.
• A hand shower slide bar. Depending on the model, a 24-inch hand shower slide bar can be added, so the hand shower rests on the bar instead of being held the whole time.
• The shower column kit. This kit mounts on the tub deck and connects to an Ella 2-piece or 5-piece fast-fill faucet set. On the Ultra, a rain-head shower column and a four-fold glass screen are shown as options.

The Ultra product video shows this combination clearly. The tour ends with the fast-fill faucet set, the four-fold glass screen and the rain-head shower column presented as options, and you can see the summary of that tour in Ultra, Standard, Flow and S-Class on Video. The same tour gives the Ultra an ADA compliant 17 inch seat height and notes that an extension panel lets the tub fit a 60 inch alcove, which is the space many households already have where a standard bathtub and shower sit today.

How the Shower Column Kit Is Added to the Tub

The shower column installation video describes the kit as an elegant, easy way to add a shower to your walk-in tub, and it shows that the column uses the faucet set you already have instead of new plumbing in the wall. The sequence shown in the video is short:

1. Remove the existing hand shower from the tub deck.
2. Install the shower column base attachment into the vacant receptacle left by the hand shower.
3. Replace the water supply line.
4. Attach the new one-half inch supply line to the diverter on the 2-piece or 5-piece fast-fill faucet set.

After those steps the column is ready for use. Because the column takes its water from the diverter on the fast-fill faucet, the key thing to confirm before you plan on one is that your tub has, or will be built with, an Ella 2-piece or 5-piece fast-fill faucet set. Ella does not send technicians, so a local licensed plumber makes the connection, and the video is a good thing to share with them before the visit. Your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can confirm whether the column suits your model.

Showering Options for Assisted Bathing

Seniors who bathe with the help of a caregiver often want the shower head to come to them. The Ella home care assisted bathing walk-in tub video shows one way this is done. That tub is presented with an extra wide entry, an easy sit down height and adjustable leveling legs, and the video shows Ella's extendable multi-function hand shower added when the tub is connected to a wall-mounted faucet, with the Ella waterfall wall-mounted faucet given as the example. The hand shower can be mounted on the wall with simple adjustments, and the video calls it a great addition for assisted bathing. The Ella HomeCare is our tub made specifically for wheelchair users: with a caregiver's help, the bather transfers from the wheelchair into the tub. The wall mount faucet is not included with this tub. You buy and install it separately, and it works as an additional water supply. We offer a waterfall wall mount faucet with a hand-held shower, or you can choose one of your own.

The point for a family planning a bathroom is that the shower side of a combination does not have to be overhead. A hand shower within reach of a seated bather, on the deck, on a slide bar or on the wall, covers hair washing and rinsing while the bather stays seated behind a closed door.

The Options Side by Side

What the differences mean in practice: the first two rows keep everything seated and simple, and they come with or add onto the faucet hardware. The column and the Ultra's screen option turn the tub into a fixture that more than one person in the home can use in their own way. The last row is a different project, a shower instead of a tub, and it makes sense when soaking and therapy jets are no longer wanted.

Choosing Between a Tub with a Shower and a Separate Walk-In Shower

Start with how the bather prefers to wash most days. A person who enjoys a warm soak, or who wants therapy features such as hydro jets, air jets or a heated seat and back, is usually best served by a walk-in tub with showering hardware added. Walk-in Tub Model Highlights describes how the models differ, from the Longer at 27 by 60 inches for stretching out, to the Deluxe at 30 by 55 inches for deeper upright soaking, to the wheelchair accessible TransferXXL at 36 by 55 inches, along with add-ons such as the slide bar.

If a shower is the better fit, Ella's shower walls and bases are planned with the online Shower Builder Tool. You scroll through the options and build a design, and then a contractor visits in person to measure the space and finalize the installation details. Seating matters as much in a shower as it does in a tub, and Shower Seat Sizes and Options covers the standard fold-down seat, the 16.5 by 16.5 inch fold-down seat, the teak fold-up seat and the left-hand or right-hand folding bench seat. That article also describes two seat styles for an existing standard bathtub, a folded seat that lies flat against the wall and a removable seat that lifts off completely for full standing showers, which is a helpful option when replacing the tub is not in the plan yet.

Whichever direction you take, the products reach you through the Ella dealer network, so the models and shower components available depend on your local Ella dealer. Your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can confirm what is available for your bathroom.

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
• Folding Glass Shower Screen: Which Side It Mounts On, How Much Room It Takes Folded, and Confirming Stock

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