Can I buy a walk-in tub and install it myself?

Yes. An Ella walk-in tub is ordered through your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, and who installs it is your decision, because Ella's Bubbles manufactures the tub and does not perform installation. The Lifetime Limited Warranty is a parts warranty no matter who does the work, and Installing It Yourself: What DIY Owners Must Do to Keep Support and Warranty lists the conditions that keep both that coverage and your free lifetime technical support in place. The one step that is never a do-it-yourself job is the electrical connection, which a licensed electrician must install and test.

What Buying and Installing It Yourself Really Means

Ella's Bubbles builds the tub, ships it, and supports it for life. Connecting it in your bathroom is a separate job, and every owner chooses who does it: a contractor, a plumber you already trust, or you. Ella always recommends licensed professional plumbers and electricians so that all local codes are followed. Any licensed installer is fine, and certification by Ella is not required. If you are a skilled handyman with experience doing basic plumbing and electrical work, installing an Ella walk-in tub yourself should not be a problem.

Two things do not change when you do the work yourself. The Lifetime Limited Warranty covers parts, and a DIY installation does not reduce it. Free lifetime technical support stays available by phone and email through ellasbubbles.com/support or (800) 480-6850, with manuals and live video help, whether the person asking is you or a tradesperson you bring in. What does change is who stands behind the labor. Ella does not send technicians, and labor is warranted by the independent contractor or installer who did the work. When that installer is you, there is no third party behind the labor, so the care you take with the leveling, the seals and the test fill is your own guarantee.

There is one line a self-installer cannot cross. The tub must be connected to a GFCI-protected circuit provided and installed by a licensed electrician, and a licensed electrician for your area is required to install and test the electrical installation, including the ground. Even the most capable DIY owner hires an electrician for that step, so plan that visit into the schedule from the start. Everything else in the sequence, from unpacking the crate to connecting the drains, is work a capable owner can do.

Decide the Door Side and the Drain Side Before You Order

The most important installation decision is made before the tub is built, not on installation day. On every Ella walk-in tub the door and the drains sit on opposite sides. A tub with the door on the right has its drains on the left, and a tub with the door on the left has its drains on the right, with sides described as you face the tub. The door side that suits the room and the drain side that suits your plumbing therefore have to be chosen together, and a self-installer makes that call without a contractor checking the rough-in for them. The tubs are assembled to order at the company's facility in Chicago, which is why the hand of the tub is fixed when the order is written. The item description on your order states the hand of the tub, so read it carefully before you confirm. The complete order of work, from this decision through the final test, is laid out in How do you install a walk-in tub step by step?.

The Self-Install Sequence, in Order

1. Inspect and test on delivery. Photograph any damage, record it on the shipper's delivery document, and have the driver sign. Whenever possible, fill the tub before it goes inside to check for transit leaks.
2. Remove every panel before moving the tub. Take off the front apron, the access panels and the end panel, and lift only by the frame. The air jets on the bottom break off if the tub is dragged or set down on them.
3. Prepare the subfloor. It must be level and able to support the tub, the water and the bather. Adjust the leveling legs until every leg touches the floor with equal weight. On the Standard and Zen platform the front legs are screwed into the subfloor.
4. Connect the drain and the water supply. The 2 inch drain or drains connect to your house drain through the T-type ports, with any unused port capped.
5. Have your licensed electrician connect and test the GFCI-protected circuits and the ground.
6. Test everything with the panels still off, before the walls and trim close the tub in. A leak found now is a simple fix. A leak found behind finished tile is not.

Tools, Cuts and Modifications

Many people searching this question want a tool list. The Ella guides describe the tasks rather than a fixed set of tools: adjusting leveling legs, connecting 2 inch drains through T-type ports, connecting the hot and cold supply, and refitting the panels. The water side is ordinary plumbing work, and the circuit work belongs to your electrician along with whatever that requires. If you want the specifics for the model you ordered before delivery day, ask through ellasbubbles.com/support and name the model, and the team can point you to the right manual pages.

More important than what you bring is what you leave alone. Keeping coverage requires that nothing on the tub is cut or modified. The warranty excludes improper or negligent installation and modifications by anyone other than Ella's Bubbles, and labor is never covered, so if a step seems to call for cutting, trimming or altering the tub or its frame, stop and ask before you do it. The same patience applies to the walls and trim. The tub should be level, watertight and tested before anything closes it in.

Keeping the Warranty and Support After a Self-Install

A correct installation is level, watertight, on dedicated GFCI circuits installed by a licensed electrician, with nothing cut or modified, and with the warranty activation form completed. Activation is what puts the warranty in force. The form is completed and signed by both the customer and the installer and returned to Ella's Bubbles. If you did the work yourself, ask through ellasbubbles.com/support how to complete the installer portion so the activation is accepted. Your serial number is on the label behind the magnetic access panel next to the door, and you will need it for activation and for any parts request later.

If a part ever fails, the claim is filed through ellasbubbles.com/support with photos of the defective part, a description of the problem, your serial number and your contact and shipping details. After verification, Ella ships the replacement part to the original customer's address without charge. Ella is not liable for the cost of removing or replacing the part, which is the same whether a contractor or you installed the tub, so a self-installer handles that labor again.

If part of the job turns out to be more than you want to take on, Ella can help you locate a reputable installer from its nationwide network, and your own plumber is welcome at any stage. And if a shower suits your home better than a tub, the same split applies: a handy homeowner can do parts of it and a licensed plumber handles the water side, as Can I Install a Walk-In Shower or Wall Panel Kit Myself? explains, with the carton contents listed in What is included in a basic DIY walk-in shower kit?.

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