What does barrier-free mean and which shower bases have no threshold?

Barrier-free, also called roll-in or curb-less, means there is no curb at the entry of a shower base, so a wheelchair, a walker or a foot passes from the bathroom floor into the stall without stepping or rolling over anything. A low-threshold base still has a short molded edge that you step over, and the published Ella examples put that edge at 1, 2, 3 or 4 inches depending on the base. Ella's barrier-free roll-in bases are the ones with no threshold at all, and how the step-in heights compare is covered in How Deep Is a Shower Pan and Does Depth Matter?.

What Barrier-Free Actually Means

The term describes the entry, not the size or the material of the base. On a barrier-free base the floor of the stall sits flush with the bathroom floor at the opening, so there is nothing to lift a wheel or a foot over. That is why the same base is also called a roll-in base: a wheelchair, a walker or a shower chair rolls straight in. The figure the word is measured against comes from the ADA, which generally limits the threshold in a roll-in shower compartment to a maximum of 1/2 inch. A base that meets that limit is a roll-in base. A base with a taller edge is a low-threshold base, however small the step looks in a product photo, and a 3/4 inch step and a flush floor can look alike in a picture. That is why the threshold figure on the spec sheet, not the image, should drive the decision.

A low-threshold base takes the opposite approach to the same problem. The curb is molded into the base, so water stays in the stall on its own and nothing has to be fitted at the opening, but every person who enters has to step over that edge. For a bather who can step, a short lip is often welcome. For a bather who stays in a wheelchair, even a 3/4 inch edge is a barrier, which is the whole point of the word.

The height of the threshold has nothing to do with drainage. Every Ella base has a textured, slip-resistant floor with the slope and drainage channels molded in, so water is carried to the drain by the shape of the floor, and a flush entry drains the same way a 4 inch step-in does. What does change with a flush entry is how water is kept inside the stall, which is where the shower dam comes in.

Which Ella Bases Have No Threshold and Which Have a Low One

What the differences mean: the first two rows are the only bases with no threshold, and they are the ones to look at when someone rolls into the shower or when an architect, facility or inspector is applying an accessibility code. Everything from the Caregiver base down has a real edge. The lower that edge, the easier the entry and the more the design relies on the floor slope and the drain. The taller it is, the more of a step it becomes for someone with limited mobility, and a 2 or 3 inch step-in is still a step rather than roll-in access. Footprint rarely decides between the two families: the 32 by 60 inch barrier-free base is available in left and right configurations, the drain position on the three standard roll-in sizes is chosen when you order, and sizes outside the standard three can be made to order. The full list of bases, the acrylic wall panels that pair with them and the L-shaped filler piece that closes a gap to an adjoining wall are gathered in Shower Bases, Walls, and Filler Pieces.

What a Shower Dam Is

A shower dam, which Ella also calls the collapsible rubber dam, the water retainer, the flexible shower dam or the collapsible threshold, is the piece that lets a barrier-free base hold water without a curb. It comes standard with the roll-in barrier-free bases and is made for use with them only. It is a self-adhesive rubber strip fixed across the open entry of the stall. When a wheel rolls over it the strip flattens, and once the wheel has passed it springs back to its original shape, so the stall keeps water in the way a curb would while the entry stays flat for the next person through. The first video on this page shows the dam compressing under a caster and returning to shape, walks through the installation, and ends by showing how well the dam contains water.

The installation has a few rules that protect the result. The surfaces are cleaned with alcohol first, because the dam attaches with its own water-resistant adhesive tape and the tape will not bond to a dirty surface. A tape line goes down as a guide, the strip is measured and cut, the plastic end caps are fitted and siliconed, and the dam is pressed down snugly against the shower wall and floor as the red backing is peeled away. Painter's tape then goes down on both sides, a thin bead of silicone runs along the lower edge on both sides and over both end caps, and the gaps are smoothed. No drilling is involved, and the base threshold must never be drilled, because drilling the threshold voids the base warranty. On a tile floor the grout line beneath the dam must be caulked so water cannot travel under it. The owner care notes and the complete routine are in What is a roll-in shower for wheelchair users?.

Which Family Suits Your Bathroom

Choose the barrier-free family when the bather stays in a wheelchair or shower chair, uses a walker, or is helped by a caregiver who needs an open entry to work from. It is also the family to specify when a commercial or public project must meet a roll-in requirement, with the caveat that state and local codes decide what passes inspection, so confirm the standard that applies with your local building department. The people and projects a roll-in shower is designed for are described in What is a roll-in shower and who is it designed for?.

Choose a low-threshold base when the bather can step over a small lip and would rather not have a dam across the entry. The low-threshold acrylic and cultured marble bases have a molded threshold instead of a dam, so there is nothing to fit at the opening. The second video shows the cultured marble reversible low-threshold base, a molded solid cultured marble base with a glossy gel coat finish and an ADA compliant slip-resistant textured floor, offered in three sizes. These bases are heavy and need at least two people to install, which is worth planning for with your contractor. Note that the custom acrylic base is made with a step of 2 or 4 inches and is not made fully barrier-free, so a custom footprint and a flush entry cannot be combined on one base.

Either way, the base is one item in a shower that Ella sells per piece, so the wall system, the grab bars and a door are chosen to match it. How the base, the walls and the dam come together into a working stall is in What is a roll-in shower and how does it work?. Your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can confirm which bases are currently available in your size and which threshold fits your opening.

Related Guides

• What Is a Shower Dam and When Do You Need One?
• Custom-Size Shower Bases: Size Ranges, Threshold Options, Drain Placement Rules, Construction, and How to Request One
• What Is the Difference Between a Roll-In Shower and a Walk-In Shower?

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