Can Ella's installers widen my doorway, or do I need a contractor?

Ella's Bubbles has no installers of its own, so there is no Ella crew that can widen your doorway or take on any other work inside your home. Every Ella tub is installed by an independent licensed contractor, either one you hire yourself or a partner installer the team introduces from its network, and that contractor is the person who looks at the doorway, decides what the job calls for and gives you the estimate. Does Ella Install the Tub? How to Get Connected With a Local Installer in Your Area explains how that introduction works, and this page covers what it means when a narrow doorway is the obstacle.

Why There Is No Ella Installer to Ask

Ella's Bubbles builds the walk-in tub, and installation is not included with it. Ella does not have installation crews and does not send technicians to your home. A local licensed plumber and electrician handle removing the old tub, making the plumbing and electrical connections, and setting the new tub. Ella's side of the job is the tub itself, the specification sheets, the electrical diagrams for the therapies you choose, and free technical support for whoever does the work.

That division is the whole answer to the doorway question. The installer provides the site visit, the labor, and any materials the job calls for, and installation pricing is set by the contractor and never by Ella. If the entry path has to change before the tub can come in, that work sits on the installer's side of the line, so the person to ask is the contractor you hire, not Ella.

Two kinds of trade partner can fill that role. Partner installers in Ella's network are third-party contractors, not Ella employees. Ella dealers sell Ella tubs in their territory and often install them as well. Becoming an Ella Dealer, Joining the Installer Network, and Contractor Pricing describes both relationships from the trade side. In either case, once the introduction is made you coordinate scheduling, materials and timelines with that business directly.

Who Looks at the Doorway, and When

Ella's ordering guidance has the contractor measure the bathroom space and every doorway and hallway on the path in, and locate the house drain, before anything is ordered. That visit is what confirms the tub can be installed in your situation, and it is the natural moment to raise a tight doorway. The steps run in this order:

1. Send your full installation address to the team through ellasbubbles.com/support or by calling (800) 480-6850, along with the model you are considering and the therapy options that interest you, since the electrical work depends on those choices.
2. The team identifies the partner installer closest to you and sends an email introduction, usually with the contractor copied so both of you have each other's contact information. Ella shares the tub specifications, including the dimensions and the electrical diagrams for your selected therapies, so the contractor arrives prepared.
3. The contractor contacts you directly to schedule a site visit, take measurements, review your doorway and bathroom, and provide an estimate for the work.

Some network installers work from photos you email them and discuss the job by phone, while others come to the house to measure. When the question is whether a doorway needs to be widened, a site visit is the more reliable choice, because the contractor is deciding on structural work from what they can see. Tell the installer at the first contact that the entry path is narrow, so the visit is planned around it. Getting Installer Referrals and Leads for Your Walk-In Tub lists exactly what the installer receives from Ella ahead of that call.

Installer, General Contractor, or Both

Whether one contractor handles the carpentry along with the plumbing and electrical work, or you bring in more than one trade, is a decision between you and the contractors. Ella does not scope or price any labor, so it cannot tell you in advance what a given installer will take on. The dealer video on this page is useful here. In it, an Ella dealer describes the two ways a walk-in tub job gets done. One is assembling your own team, with a carpenter who demos the space, a plumber and an electrician who each come in on their own day, and someone to set the tub and come back to trim it out. The other is a dealer's own installation crew that removes the old unit, hauls everything away, and installs and tests the tub as one team.

Either path works with an Ella tub. Any licensed professional can install one, prior Ella experience is not required, and nearly every task on an Ella tub is ordinary plumbing and electrical work, because the team answers the installer's questions by phone or live video. The point for a narrow doorway is to settle at the estimate stage which trade is responsible for the opening, so nobody is standing in the hallway on delivery day working it out.

Put the Doorway Work in Writing

Labor coverage on the installation comes from the installer, not from Ella, so ask for the terms in writing before the work begins. Ella's published warranty covers the tub's parts, excludes labor, installation and removal, and states that Ella is not responsible for warranties or representations made by outside sources, including dealers, retailers, distributors or contractors. Does Ella's Bubbles Install Walk-In Tubs, and How Do I Choose an Installer? lists the points to put on paper. For a job that starts at the doorway, make sure the written scope includes:

• The plumbing connections, electrical work, leveling, and reinstalling the access panels, which are the core of every Ella installation.
• Any doorway or wall change the contractor has agreed to make, and which trade is doing it.
• Removal of the old tub, which the plumber and electrician normally handle as part of the job.
• The delivery address, settled with the installer before your order is confirmed.

Ella backs the tub itself with its parts warranty and stays available to the installer by phone, email, and live video for technical questions during the job.

Before the Doorway: The Spec Sheet and the Door Side

Once you have a model in mind, the spec sheet lists the exterior dimensions, the door swing and the technical requirements your plumber and electrician need. Share it with your contractor before anything is ordered, so every doorway on the path is measured against the real tub rather than a guess. The contractor also tells you which door side to order, because the door and the drains sit on opposite sides of an Ella walk-in tub: a right-side door puts the drains on the left, and a left-side door puts the drains on the right, as you face the tub. An outward-swing door eases entry, while a smaller bathroom may favor an inward-swing door. How Ordering a Walk-In Tub Works When Your Contractor Is Involved walks through the full order from spec sheet to delivery.

Watch: Why Choose Ella’s Walk-In Tub Dealers: Key Benefits | Voted Best 2020 | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Will it fit through my doorway? How to measure your home for a walk-in tub
• How Are Walk-In Tubs Installed in an Existing Bathroom, Step by Step?
• Installation Documents for Your Contractor: Spec Sheets, Electrical Diagrams, Manuals and the Live Video Session

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