What is a shower base, and why choose an acrylic one?

A shower base, also called a shower pan, is the molded floor of a shower. It is the single piece that carries the drain opening, sets the threshold you step or roll over and slopes the water toward the drain, and the rest of the enclosure is built up from it. Ella's Bubbles makes its bases in finished acrylic, so the pan is the walking surface as shipped and needs nothing laid on top of it. Shower Bases and Wall Panels lists the sizes Ella makes; this page explains what the base does in a shower and why Ella builds it in acrylic.

What a Shower Base Actually Does

An Ella shower kit is built around the base. The base carries the drain and the threshold and, on some models, a molded seat. The wall panels attach above it to form the sides of the enclosure, and the open side is finished with a curtain rod, a glass door or a screen, depending on the package you choose. The enclosure stays open to the bathroom ceiling, as Does Ella Offer a Dome, Ceiling Panel or Light for Its Showers? explains, so the base is the part of the shower that handles the water and the walls are the part that keeps it there.

Three things are molded into an Ella base at the factory: the slope that carries water to the drain, the threshold at the entry and the drain opening itself. The base meets the walls along its edges, and whatever wall finish you choose comes down over that edge so water runs onto the pan rather than behind it. Because the shape is fixed when the pan is made, the base you order is the base you walk on. Nothing is added on site to change its slope, its height or where its drain sits.

Why Ella Builds the Base in Acrylic

Acrylic is a finished material, and that one fact explains most of the reasons Ella uses it for the pan.

• It is the finished floor as shipped. An Ella base, standard or custom, is ready to use once it is installed. Your contractor sets the base, connects the drain and finishes the walls around it. There is no tiling step on the floor of the shower and no liner to fit.
• The water path is built in. The slope, the threshold and the drain are molded into the acrylic, so the pan moves water to the drain from the day it is set. Covering it would bury the slope and threshold the base relies on.
• The surface is smooth and does not take mortar. Acrylic does not accept thinset, so tile laid over it would not bond reliably and could trap water underneath with no path to the drain. That is why tile, thinset and waterproofing membranes are never applied to an Ella base, as Can You Tile Over an Ella Acrylic Shower Base? explains. If you want a tiled look, plan it for the walls above the base.
• It is supported from underneath. The acrylic shell is made solid by the support beneath it rather than by a layer added on top, which is the correct way to make the base feel firm underfoot.
• It is the lighter base to handle. Ella also offers cultured marble bases in three sizes, and the video on this page shows them: molded solid cultured marble with a glossy gel coat finish and an ADA compliant slip-resistant textured floor. Those bases are heavy and take at least two people to install. An acrylic base is the lighter of the two, which matters when the pan has to be carried into a finished bathroom.

Acrylic Base Options Compared

The standard acrylic bases all share a 60 inch length and differ only in width, so the width of your alcove usually decides which one fits. The threshold style decides how you enter.

What the differences mean: if one of the three standard widths fits your alcove, it is the simplest choice, because the drain sits in a set position for that size. The step-in and zero threshold bases change only the entry, not the way the base is made, so pick the one that matches how the bather will get in. A custom base is for the space the standard sizes will not fit, and it typically arrives with a threshold of about 3 inches. The cultured marble base is a different material chosen for its look, and its weight is the practical trade-off against acrylic.

The Drain Is Part of the Base

Because the drain opening is molded into the floor of the pan, its position is fixed for each model and is not something you pick when ordering. Most Ella stalls and bases are center drain, and a base molded with a left-hand drain is only available that way. Before you order, measure the center of your existing drain from the back wall and from each side wall, then compare those figures with the drain location on the Specification drawing for the base you are considering. Can I Choose a Left, Right, or Center Drain on an Ella Shower? walks through that check. If the locations do not match and the plumbing cannot be moved, look at a different size whose drain location fits or ask about a custom-size base. Ella does not send technicians, so the drain connection is always made by your local licensed plumber.

What an Acrylic Base Means for Your Bathroom

1. Measure the finished alcove and the drain position first. Those two figures decide which base fits, and a drain that does not line up is usually discovered only when the base is set on the floor, which is the hardest point to change course.
2. Choose the threshold for the bather, not the room. Curb-less roll-in, 3 inch step-in and zero threshold are all offered, and your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can confirm which suits your bathroom and how it meets your plumbing rough-in.
3. Decide the wall finish before the base arrives. Ella wall panels or tile both come down over the edge of the pan. If you are tiling the walls, confirm the joint detail with your Ella dealer and your tile installer before work begins so the joint between tile and base is sealed correctly.
4. Close any gap with a filler piece. An 8 inch wide L-shaped plastic filler piece with brackets closes a gap between the base and an adjoining wall or fixture, and it can be trimmed if it is too large. Shower Bases, Walls, and Filler Pieces describes it.
5. Plan lighting and ventilation as part of the room. No light or ceiling ships with the base, so any fixture above the shower is installed by your electrician before the wall panels go up.

Watch: Cultured Marble Reversible Shower Base with Low Threshold for Safer Bathing | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• What the Ella Acrylic Shower Base Is Made Of and How It Is Installed
• Custom-Size Shower Bases: Size Ranges, Threshold Options, Drain Placement Rules, Construction, and How to Request One
• Installing Ella Shower Bases, the Flexible Shower Dam, and Shower Walls

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