Can a Clearance Walk-In Tub Be Changed to a Different Door Side or Therapy?

No. A clearance walk-in tub is one specific, individually listed unit identified by its serial number, and it is sold exactly as configured: the drain side and door hand cannot change, a jetted unit cannot become a soaker, jets cannot be added to a unit built without them, and options such as a heated seat cannot be added. If the listing does not match the hand or therapy you need, the answer is a different serial on the clearance page or a standard order built to your configuration. What Is a Clearance Walk-In Tub? explains how these units come to be listed.

What Is Fixed on a Clearance Unit

On a new order you choose the options. On a clearance unit the options were already built in, because every listing is one physical tub rather than a made-to-order build. Each unit passes the same Chicago inspection as a regular order, which is how the team documents exactly what is different about it, and the listing then describes that tub and only that tub.

• Door hand and drain side. Listings describe each unit as right-hand or left-hand, meaning the side the door is on as you face the tub, with the drains on the opposite side. The drain side cannot be changed.
• Therapy package. A jetted tub cannot be sold as a soaker, and if you want jets that are not on the page, a standard order is the way to get them.
• Options. A heated seat and similar options cannot be added after the fact.
• Terms. The listed terms are final, the unit goes to the first customer who pays for it, and the team can reserve a unit by taking payment but cannot hold it on a promise.
• Warranty. Warranty terms are listed per tub and can differ from the standard Lifetime Limited Warranty. Some listings show a limited parts warranty of a stated number of years, and some warehouse-sale items carry no warranty.

Clearance and Warehouse Tubs: What Is Different, What Is Final, and What Warranty Applies covers the rest of the terms.

Why the Door Side Cannot Change on Any Ella Tub

The limit is not special to clearance stock. Swing direction and hand are factory build choices built into the shell, the door frame and the latch mechanism, so an installer cannot reverse a door in the field and a new door or panel does not change it. Every Ella model except the Front Entry is built in a left-hand and a right-hand version, and the hand shows at the end of the SKU, for example HC3260L for a left-hand HomeCare and HC3260R for the right-hand version. Left and right tubs share the same measurements mirrored, so only the swing side changes, never the footprint. Each door family also has its own swing: inward on the stainless steel, aluminum and acrylic S-shape doors, outward on the U-shape and the wheelchair-transfer L-shape doors. A U-shape door swings 165 degrees and needs about 21 inches of clear floor, and the L-shape Transfer door needs about 36.5 inches, so check the floor in front of the door side of any clearance unit you are considering. Can My Walk-In Tub Door Be Changed to Swing the Other Way? lists which models carry which door.

What You Can Still Do

• Let the plumbing come to the tub. The house drain does not have to dictate the hand. Plumbing can run under the tub in either direction, with roughly 3 inches of clearance beneath the frame for a 2 inch PVC line, and the four-port drain bodies connect from the left or the right with the unused ports capped. Installers often move the supply and drain lines to the side that gives the best access and the right door swing for the room, so a clearance unit in the other hand may still work once your licensed installer looks at the drain plan. Can I Order a Left-Side Door With Right-Side Plumbing? explains the left-hand and right-hand layout.
• Ask the team to watch for the configuration. Stock changes often and some drain sides are scarce, so check the page regularly or ask the team to watch for the hand and therapy you need. If the only unit in your size is the wrong hand, the team can point you to the closest alternative or a new order.
• Add accessories to the order. Listing photos sometimes show an accessory that is not part of that unit, such as a glass shower screen. The team confirms what ships with the serial and can add the accessory to your order if you want it, so ask specifically about the faucet, grab bars and extension panel.
• Place a standard order. If you want a heated seat, jets or a particular door side that is not on the page, a standard order is the way to get it.

Confirm the Serial Before You Pay

Because two tubs that share a model name can be quite different, ask the team to read back what the serial includes: model and family, exterior length and width, door swing and hand, seat width, therapy systems, faucet, grab bars, drain configuration and the warranty terms for that unit. Ask for the spec sheet, the written list and the listing video for that serial so you and your installer are looking at the same tub. One 30 by 52 inch Standard on the clearance page had hydro massage only, with 18 hydro jets, an inline heater, an intensity control dial, the five-piece faucet and a single 2 inch drain, while a 26 by 52 inch outward swing unit listed at the same time had a right-hand door, a 19 inch wide seat, hydro and air massage and ozone sterilization. A single-drain unit also drains more slowly than a dual-drain unit, so ask which drain configuration the serial carries. Keep a copy of the listing with your invoice, and compare the tub against its listing during the delivery inspection before signing. Confirming What a Clearance Tub Includes by Serial Number: Model, Size, Door Side, Therapies and Faucet goes through each item.

Common Questions