What are the best shower wall inserts for a walk-in tub surround?

The best shower wall insert for a walk-in tub surround is the one whose footprint matches your alcove and whose height fits between the tub rim and the ceiling, because Ella's wall kits are sized to specific alcoves rather than cut down on site. Ella's Bubbles offers acrylic kits in a marble-look 6-piece set and a glossy white 3-piece surround, SMC subway-tile-look panels, and cultured marble travertine surrounds, and Acrylic 6-Piece Wall Panel Kit: Size, Shelves, Thickness and How It Compares to the 3-Piece Surround and SMC Panels lists the acrylic and SMC dimensions. This page compares all four and explains how the finished walls need to work with a shower screen, a slide bar or a rain shower column.

The Four Ella Wall Options at a Glance

The differences come down to three measurements and one look. The 6-piece acrylic kit and the SMC kits share the same 36 by 60 inch footprint and differ in height, 92 inches against 96, and in finish, a marble look with shelves against a subway tile look. The 3-piece surround is deeper at 40 inches and taller at 97 inches, so confirm your ceiling height and alcove depth before choosing it. The cultured marble surround is the one option whose edges can be trimmed and cut on site, which makes it the natural fit for a remodel where the fixed kit footprints do not match the room. 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, because the spec sheet is a separate document with the drawings your installer needs.

Measure the Surround Before You Choose

1. Measure the alcove width from wall to wall above the tub rim.
2. Measure the depth from the back wall to the front edge of the alcove.
3. Measure the height from the tub rim to the ceiling and compare it with the 92, 96 or 97 inch kit heights.
4. If your alcove is larger or smaller than a kit footprint, give the team those measurements so they can advise on fit.

Be specific about which product you are asking about. The SMC panel kits are a different product from the tongue-and-groove grout-free shower wall tiles, and the two acrylic formats are sized for different alcoves. When panels are ordered together with a tub, they ship with the tub order, which is the simplest way to have everything on site for the installer.

The Cultured Marble Travertine Surround

The video on this page shows Ella's cultured marble travertine shower walls. The panels are made from natural quartz and granite composite with a gel coat surface, which gives a natural look that is durable and easy to clean. They come as multi-piece 8, 6 or 4 panel surrounds, and each panel can be carried and installed by one person. They are glued over drywall, plaster, painted walls, Durock or even existing tile, so the old wall does not have to come out first. The edges are factory finished for seamless joining, and they can be trimmed and cut for a custom fit. Sizes for these surrounds are not listed in this knowledge base, so ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 for the current spec sheet.

Plan the Walls Around a Shower Screen

Wall inserts only matter if you shower in the tub, and showering in a walk-in tub usually calls for a shower screen. The screen is a set of hinged glass panels that mounts on the tub deck and folds across the tub so spray from the jets or the hand shower lands back in the bathing well instead of on the floor; the door seal is designed to hold back the water inside the well, not spray that lands outside it. Nothing about the tub requires a screen, and if you mainly fill the tub and soak there is no spray to catch. What Is a Shower Screen on a Walk-In Tub, and Do You Need One? covers when it makes sense.

The screen dictates one requirement for your wall insert. The 4-fold screen is a 44 by 42 inch set of 1/8 inch tempered clear glass panels in a chrome ionized aluminum frame, and it hangs from a wall channel that must be at perfect level on a flat, non-porous wall, with fixings that suit the wall type and a thin bead of silicone between the channel and the wall. The screen pivots 90 degrees at the channel and folds accordion style against the wall when not in use, so it needs a wall on that side to fold against. In an alcove with an extension panel the 4-fold converts to a 3-fold screen. Once mounted, the bottom gasket must brush the deck lightly and evenly with its lip angled inward, because height and level decide whether the screen leaks, as Why Does My Shower Screen Gasket Have a Gap and Spray Water? explains. The bottom edge of the open screen should follow the inside edge of the deck; a panel that sits farther out sends water into the gap between the door edge and the deck. Hinge and folding problems are covered in How Do I Fix a 4-Fold Shower Screen That Leaks or Will Not Fold Flat?.

Slide Bar, Rain Shower Column and a Wall Shower Head

Two of the three shower fittings can be decided after the walls are finished, and one cannot. A hand shower slide bar mounts to the wall and can be added at any time, even long after the tub is installed; the kit is a 24-inch wall-mounted bar with a sliding holder, a 5-foot hand shower hose and a coupling kit that seals the hand shower connection. The waterfall faucet already includes a slide bar. A rain shower column is different: it replaces the hand shower holder on the tub deck and is connected from behind the tub, so it is best ordered and installed with the tub, before the walls close it in. The column video on this page shows the steps: remove the existing hand shower, fit the column base attachment into the vacant receptacle, replace the water supply line, and attach the new one-half inch supply line to the diverter on the 2-piece or 5-piece fast-fill faucet. If you prefer a conventional shower head on the wall, a licensed plumber can feed it from the tub's diverter valve. Can I Add a Hand Shower Slide Bar or Rain Shower Column After My Tub Is Installed? explains the access needed for each. The practical order is to settle the wall kit, the screen side and the column before the tub is enclosed, and leave the slide bar as the one item that can wait.

Watch: Easy Shower Column Installation for Your Walk-In Tub | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• How do you install or attach Ella shower wall panels and surrounds?
• Cultured Marble Shower Wall Panels: Stock Sizes, Cutting to Fit, and Finishing the Edges
• PVC or Acrylic Panels vs Tile: Which Shower Wall Is Better?

Common Questions