How do you add a shower head to an existing bathtub?

On an Ella walk-in tub fitted with an Ella 2-piece or 5-piece fast fill faucet, you add a shower head with the Ella Shower Column Kit, which replaces the deck-mounted hand shower receptacle with a riser that carries a large rain head and a multi-function hand shower. Ella does not make a retrofit shower product for a conventional bathtub and does not alter existing tubs, so on a standard tub that work falls to a local licensed plumber using parts from elsewhere. Can you add a shower to a walk-in tub? introduces the kit; this page walks through what it adds, how it mounts, and what to plan before the tub is set.

What the Shower Column Kit Adds

The kit is built for Ella walk-in tubs with deck-mounted faucets and connects to either the 2-piece or the 5-piece fast fill faucet set. The product video shows the two outlets it gives you and how the diverter switches between them.

• A large overhead rain shower head that pivots and swivels, so a bather can shower standing or seated on the tub seat.
• A height adjustable, five-setting multi-function hand shower that tilts, swivels and detaches from its holder.
• A diverter that selects one outlet at a time. On the 2-piece faucet you push the diverter button; on the 5-piece faucet you turn the diverter handle.
• Height adjustment on the column itself. The rain head reaches a maximum of approximately 90 inches, a little over seven feet, and 14 inches of travel brings it down to approximately 76 inches, about six feet.

The hand shower on the column is the same pull-out style that the 2-piece and 5-piece faucets already include, so the kit is an upgrade to an overhead shower rather than the first hand shower on the tub.

How the Column Mounts on the Tub Deck

The installation video shows the column going onto a tub with the 5-piece faucet set. A local licensed plumber does the work, and the sequence is the one the video follows.

1. Remove the existing hand shower and its receptacle from the tub deck, leaving the pre-drilled hole vacant.
2. Take the metal screw collar and the metal and rubber washers off the shower column base. Run a thin bead of silicone around the metal collar, seat the rubber washer over it, then add a second bead of silicone on the outside of the gasket and smooth it for full coverage.
3. Insert the shower column base into the pre-drilled hole. From beneath the deck, fit the metal washer and the screw collar and hand tighten them. Secure both screws firmly without over torquing.
4. Tighten the Allen screw at the base of the column while leaving room to adjust its height. Ella recommends 7 inches of clearance from the tub deck to the center of the on-off lever.
5. Attach the elbow joint to the column base, then the supply line to the bottom of the column. Connect the other end of the new one-half inch supply line to the underside of the faucet set. Over tightening damages the rubber washer and can cause a leak.
6. Attach the hand shower extension hose to the elbow joint and fit the multi-function hand shower.
7. Secure the riser tube on the column base, screw the rain shower head onto the upper angle arm, insert the arm into the riser, and slide the mounting collar down the riser.
8. Measure and drill for the wall mounting collars, insert mollies as needed, and fasten the mounting brackets so the riser is held to the wall.

Two points in that sequence decide how easy the job is. The supply line ties in beneath the faucet, so the plumber needs access under the deck at the faucet end. The riser is braced to the wall, so the tub needs a wall beside the faucet deck where the brackets can be anchored.

Planning the Kit Around an Alcove

Most Ella tubs go into the three-wall alcove a standard 60 inch tub left behind, and many 52 and 55 inch models fill the leftover length with an extension panel. A shower column on a tub with an extension panel uses the long 4 to 5 inch pipe connector to reach the wall, so mention the alcove and the panel when you ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 about the kit. What Is an Alcove Installation for a Walk-In Tub? explains how the panel and the walls above the deck come together, and it recommends a wall access panel behind the plumbing end so connections stay reachable after tile goes up.

Two habits protect the tub once the shower is in use. Keep the hand shower below deck height and aimed toward the tub wall, because lifting it to a wall bracket without the leak elimination kit sends water behind the tub. And fill until the water is above every jet before switching on any therapy, because jets above the waterline spray out of the tub and a pump run without water above the jets is damaged.

Keeping the Spray Inside the Tub

A walk-in tub is open on top, so a shower aimed toward the room puts water on the floor. Ella's published splash guards are the 4-fold glass screen for seated tubs and the LayDown screen for LayDown tubs. Both keep water in only when the bottom gasket brushes the tub deck lightly and evenly; set too high the screen leaks, set too low the gasket is damaged. The 4-fold needs a side wall next to the deck, so the tub must sit in a corner or alcove, and it mounts on the wall side, away from any extension panel. A 52 inch tub with an extension panel in a 60 inch alcove uses the 32 inch 3-fold configuration, made by removing one section. The installer confirms the wall channel is level, angles the rubber gasket inward toward the tub, and finishes with a thin bead of silicone between channel and wall.

The walls above the deck are finished with tile or a surround over an aftermarket tile flange so runoff goes back into the tub. Ella also offers acrylic shower walls for use around a walk-in tub, and the white CNC walls can be made with a 2-inch bend on an exposed edge if you request it when you order.

If Your Existing Tub Is a Standard Bathtub

Ella manufactures complete walk-in bathtubs and does not cut, convert or otherwise modify an existing bathtub, and there is no Ella retrofit kit for a conventional tub. A plumber or contractor who adds a shower head to a standard tub does so on their own, without Ella parts or support. Can Ella Cut a Walk-Through Opening or Add a Door to My Existing Bathtub? covers what Ella will and will not do to a tub it did not build.

What Ella does offer for a standard tub is seating. A folded bathtub seat lies flat against the wall when not in use, and a removable bathtub seat lifts off completely for full standing showers; both mount securely and give a bather a stable seated option without replacing the tub. The seat and bench choices are compared in Shower Seat Sizes and Options.

If the reason for wanting a shower head is that climbing over the tub wall has become hard, the entry is the upgrade that matters most, as Which bathroom accessibility upgrades deliver the most value in a remodel? explains. A seated walk-in tub replaces the tub wall with a low door and a seat at chair height, its 2-piece or 5-piece faucet already includes a pull-out hand shower, and the shower column, a 24 inch slide bar or a 10 inch rain head can be added. Most Ella models drop into the same 60 inch alcove your current tub occupies, so the room layout and drain location usually stay put, though your existing spout and handles are normally replaced by the Ella deck-mount faucet package.

Related Guides

• What Is the Shower Column Kit on a Walk-In Tub?
• Ella Fast-Fill Faucets: 2-Piece vs 5-Piece, Finishes, and the Waterfall Option
• Installing the Shower Column Kit on Your Walk-in Tub

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