What Are the Best Acrylic Shower Walls for a Bathroom Remodel?
The best acrylic shower wall for a remodel is the one whose footprint matches your alcove and whose height fits under your ceiling, because Ella's acrylic kits are sized to specific alcoves and are not cut down on site. Ella's Bubbles offers a marble-look acrylic 6-piece kit, a glossy white acrylic 3-piece surround, large acrylic panels, and three-piece acrylic systems in white, CNC and digital print finishes. The same options are compared for a tub surround in What are the best shower wall inserts for a walk-in tub surround?, and this page looks at them for a shower remodel, where the walls have to work with a shower base.
Ella's Acrylic Wall Options Side by Side
The table lists each acrylic option with the figures Ella publishes, plus the two non-acrylic lines that people most often weigh against acrylic. Where a figure is not published in this knowledge base, the cell says so.
| Option | Footprint and height | Finish and construction | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acrylic 6-piece kit, Carrara White | 36 inches deep by 60 inches wide by 92 inches tall | Marble-look acrylic, 1/8 inch thick, storage shelves on the left side | A 36 by 60 inch alcove where a marble look and built-in shelves are wanted |
| Acrylic 3-piece surround, solid white glossy | 40 inches deep by 60 inches wide by 97 inches tall | Glossy white acrylic with a 1-inch bend at the panel edges | A deeper 40 by 60 inch alcove with the ceiling height for 97 inches |
| Large acrylic wall panels | 98 by 60 inch back walls; 36 to 38 by 96 to 98 inch side walls | Acrylic; thickness not listed | Tall walls where large panels are wanted on the back and sides |
| Three-piece acrylic wall systems | not listed | White, CNC and digital print finishes, with ADA accessories available | Remodels where a specific finish or ADA accessories matter most |
| SMC subway panels, 6-piece or 12-piece kit (not acrylic) | 36 inches deep by 60 inches wide by 96 inches tall | Sheet molding compound with a subway tile look | A 36 by 60 inch alcove where a tile look is preferred |
| Cultured marble travertine surround, 8, 6 or 4 panels (not acrylic) | not listed | Natural quartz and granite composite with a gel coat surface; factory-finished edges that can be trimmed | Rooms where the fixed kit footprints do not match and trimming on site is needed |
The differences come down to three measurements and one look. The 6-piece acrylic kit is built for a 36 by 60 inch alcove and finishes at 92 inches, with a marble look and shelves on the left. The 3-piece surround is deeper at 40 inches and taller at 97 inches, with a plain glossy white face, so it suits a larger alcove and a higher ceiling. If your room is 36 inches deep, the 3-piece surround is not the natural match, and if your room is 40 inches deep, the 6-piece kit is not. Choosing by footprint first and by finish second is the dependable way to arrive at the best wall for your remodel.
How to Choose the Best Acrylic Wall for Your Room
A short set of measurements settles most of the decision before finishes are discussed.
- Measure the alcove width. Both acrylic kits in the table are 60 inches wide.
- Measure the alcove depth. This decides between the 36 inch deep 6-piece kit and the 40 inch deep 3-piece surround.
- Measure the height available above the base. The 6-piece kit finishes at 92 inches and the 3-piece surround stands 97 inches tall, so confirm your ceiling height before choosing the taller one.
- Decide where storage should sit. The 6-piece kit has its storage shelves on the left side.
- Choose the look. Carrara White gives a marble look, and the 3-piece surround is solid glossy white. The three-piece systems add CNC and digital print finishes.
Ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 for both the product page and the spec sheet of the kit you are considering. The spec sheet is a separate document with the drawings your installer needs. It is also the place to confirm panel height, since Ella's acrylic wall panels are described as 98 inches high in a plain white finish and the large panels are listed in a 96 to 98 inch range.
Match the Walls to the Shower Base
In a shower remodel the walls sit above a base, so the two are best chosen together. Ella's standard acrylic bases come in 30 by 60, 32 by 60 and 36 by 60 inches, each with a left or right drain. When none of those fits, Ella makes a rectangular acrylic base to your length and width, up to 44 inches wide by 80 inches long, with a left, right or center drain. The base choices for a remodel are set out in Where Can I Buy a Shower Base for a Bathroom Remodel?
Two points make the pairing easier:
- The base is ordered to size, not cut. Length, width and drain position are fixed when the pan is made. The practical rule is to measure the finished opening, not the framing, order the pan in that size, and let any on-site fitting happen in the walls above the pan. More detail is in Can shower pans be cut to size or ordered custom?
- A filler piece can close a small gap. An 8 inch wide L-shaped plastic filler piece closes a gap between a shower base and an adjoining wall or fixture. It comes with brackets and can be trimmed down.
The wider range of base styles and wall systems is summarized in Shower Bases, Walls, and Filler Pieces.
When a Different Wall Is the Better Fit
Acrylic kits are a great choice when the room matches the kit. Two situations point to another Ella wall line.
If you want a tile look without grout lines to build, the SMC subway panels share the 36 by 60 inch footprint and stand 96 inches tall. They are a different product from the acrylic kits, so name the one you mean when you ask.
If your walls are an in-between size, the cultured marble travertine surround is the one option whose edges can be trimmed and cut on site. The first video on this page shows it: panels made from natural quartz and granite composite with a gel coat surface, in eight, six or four panel surrounds that can be carried and installed by one person. The video also shows that the panels can be glued over drywall, plaster, painted walls, Durock or even existing tile, which makes them a natural fit for a remodel over existing surfaces.
Why Ella Builds with Acrylic
The second video explains the reasoning behind acrylic on Ella's walk-in tubs. It is about tub shells, not wall panels, so take it as background on the material and not as a specification for the wall kits. In it, the acrylic tub shell is described as one solid piece of material over the entire bathtub, and a surface that has gone dull is described as something that can be buffed out. Fiberglass is described there as a multi-layer system with a brittle finish.
For a remodel, the acrylic kits offer a glossy, finished surface in a small number of large pieces. The 3-piece surround adds a 1-inch bend at each panel edge for a finished transition.
How to Get the Right Kit
Ella's acrylic shower walls and shower bases reach homeowners through the Ella dealer network, as described in What Products Does Ella's Bubbles Offer? Have your alcove width, depth and ceiling height ready, along with the size of your shower base, and share them with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850. If your space is larger or smaller than a kit footprint, give the measurements so the right option can be matched to the room before your order is placed.
Watch: Acrylic Over Fiberglass: The Better Walk-In Tub Choice | Voted Safest/Best 2020 | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.
Related Guides
- Acrylic 6-Piece Wall Panel Kit: Size, Shelves, Thickness and How It Compares to the 3-Piece Surround and SMC Panels
- Is acrylic a good material for shower walls compared to tile?
- How do you install or attach Ella shower wall panels and surrounds?
Related Videos
Common Questions
Which Ella acrylic wall kit fits a 36 by 60 alcove?
How tall is the Ella acrylic 3-piece wall surround?
Can Ella acrylic wall kits be cut down on site?
What finishes do Ella acrylic shower walls come in?
What shower base sizes pair with Ella acrylic walls?
Is there a wall option with a tile look instead?
About this guide. Answers in the Ella’s Bubbles Support Center are compiled from real conversations with tub owners, our technicians’ notes and the product documentation, then reviewed by our team. Tub models and options have evolved over the years, so a detail here may differ slightly from your exact tub. If something looks different on yours, send us your serial number and a specialist will confirm it for your model.
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