Can the Ella Capri outward door be moved to the other side after installation?

No. The door side on an Ella Capri is set at the factory and cannot be reversed after delivery, and that holds whether the tub is still in the crate or already plumbed into your alcove. The Capri is built in a left-hand and a right-hand version, the hinge and the three-latch gear and shaft lock are built into the shell on the ordered side, and the drains sit at the opposite end, so moving the door would mean a different tub. What Is Door Side (Left-Hand vs Right-Hand) on a Walk-In Tub? explains the hand itself; this page covers what that means for the Capri, what can still be changed on an installed tub, and how to catch a wrong hand before it is too late.

Why the Capri's Door Side Is Built in

The Capri belongs to Ella's outward-swing U-shape family, alongside the Monaco, Front Entry, Mobile, Lounger, ShaK and Big4One. Its door is a plastic composite and tempered glass panel secured by a 3-latch gear and shaft mechanism, and it swings through a 165 degree arc so that it comes to rest almost flat against the front of the tub. Swing direction and hand are factory build choices that are molded into the shell, the door frame and the latch mechanism. A left-hand Capri and a right-hand Capri share the same measurements, 30 x 52 x 40 inches with a 20 inch seat, mirrored; only the side the door and seat sit on changes, never the footprint.

Ella's door replacement video shows why an installer cannot simply move the door across. The door panel is held to the hinge by six bolts on the door side of the hinge, and the hinge itself is part of the tub on the ordered side. There is no second hinge, no second set of latch keepers and no second door opening on the other end of the shell, because that end is where the faucet deck and the drains live. As Can My Walk-In Tub Door Be Changed to Swing the Other Way? puts it, a new door or panel does not change the swing, and the same is true of the side.

What Can Still Be Changed on an Installed Capri

• The door panel itself. The outward U-shape door can be removed and replaced in place. The video shows the method: with a 3/16 inch Allen wrench, loosen and remove the six bolts on the door side of the hinge, have an assistant help lift the door away from the tub, then line up the bolt holes on the new door with the holes on the hinge and tighten the bolts firmly. A replacement door goes back on the same hinge, on the same side.
• The direction the plumbing runs. The Capri's two 2 inch T-type four-port floor drains let the drain pipe run in either direction, with a cap on the unused port, and the house drain can connect to either or both ports. There is roughly 3 inches of clearance beneath the frame for a 2 inch PVC line, so the supply and drain lines can be routed to whichever side gives the best access.
• Nothing about the hand. The door side, the seat side and the drain end are fixed once the tub is built. If the hand is wrong, the remedy is a tub in the other hand, not a modification.

Before Delivery: Making Sure the Hand Is Right

1. Stand where you will approach the tub, ready to step in. If the house drain is on your right, that calls for a left-hand tub, which puts the door and seat on your left; if the house drain is on your left, a right-hand tub puts the door and seat on your right. Can I Order a Left-Side Door With Right-Side Plumbing? walks through the left-hand case.
2. Do not let the house drain decide by itself. Plumbing can run under the tub in either direction, so choose the side that puts the seat and door where the grab bars and open floor make entry easiest, then confirm the connection plan with your licensed installer.
3. Check the floor in front of the door side. The U-shape door swings 165 degrees and needs about 21 inches of clear floor, so make sure a toilet, a vanity or the bathroom door will not sit in the arc. Planning Floor Space for the Outward-Swing Door: The 165 Degree Swing Envelope shows how to lay that half circle out on the floor.
4. Read the item description on the final invoice before you approve it. It states the hand of the tub, and the SKU ends in an L or an R. That line is the last chance to correct the hand at no cost to the plan.
5. On delivery day, before the tub leaves the crate area, confirm the door is on the side you ordered and that the drains sit at the opposite end.

If the Door Is Already on the Wrong Side

If the tub has been delivered but not installed, contact where you purchased or the team at (800) 480-6850 before any plumbing is connected, with the model, serial number and a photo showing the door side. Ella's published return policy does not allow returns or exchanges on installed products, so the moment to raise a wrong hand is before your installer sets the tub. If the tub is already installed and the hand is simply less convenient than hoped, the practical fixes are outside the tub: relocating a grab bar, moving a vanity out of the swing arc, or approaching the tub from the other direction. The trade-offs are summarized in What Are the Negatives of a Walk-In Tub and How Do I Choose One?, which lists the hand as the first commitment made before a tub ships.

One more distinction is worth keeping straight. The Capri's door already swings outward, so if the concern is that a family member cannot close a door past their knees, the Capri is not the problem; that is an inward-door issue. If instead someone needs the door to open on the other side of the room, the answer is a Capri in the other hand, ordered with the drains on the matching end.

Watch: Ella's Bubbles: Replacing An Outward Swing Door with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Ella Capri Versus Ella Elite: Threshold, Seat Height, Door Width, Handle Location and Door Swing
• Monaco vs. Capri: What Actually Differs Between Ella's Two Outward-Swing 52-Inch Tubs
• Your Outward-Swing Door Owner's Manual, Section by Section, With the Corrections to Know (Capri, Monaco, Front Entry, Mobile, Lounger, Shak, Big4One)

Common Questions