Can You Cut an Existing Bathtub to Make a Walk-In Shower?

No. Ella's Bubbles does not cut, modify or customize an existing bathtub, and it offers no cut-in kit or conversion product of any kind, so there is no Ella path to cutting your current tub down into a walk-in shower. The company builds two complete products instead, luxury walk-in tubs and walk-in showers for anyone who prefers a shower-based bathing option, and either one can take the place of your old tub in the same room. Can Ella Cut a Walk-Through Opening or Add a Door to My Existing Bathtub? answers the sister question about adding a door.

Why Ella Sells Complete Products, Not Cut-Downs

Every Ella walk-in tub is a complete bathtub. The acrylic shell sits on a rustproof stainless steel frame, and each tub is assembled and tested to order at the company's facility in Chicago before it ships nationwide. The door, seal, frame and threshold are engineered together: the door closes on an integrated gasket with a multi-latch gear and shaft mechanism, and the seat, the textured floor and the grab bar are all part of one molded and tested design. None of that can be added to a standard tub after the fact, which is why Ella offers no cut-ins or customizations, and the same answer applies to a tub and shower combination where only the tub wall is the problem.

If you want to keep your current tub and have it cut, a licensed plumber or contractor would have to evaluate that modification on their own, without Ella parts or support. Staff usually suggest looking at a purpose-built product instead, because it gives you a sealed low door, a seat and grab bars rather than an opening in a tub that was never designed to have one. What is a tub cut-out, and does Ella's Bubbles offer one? goes through those safety features one by one.

Three Ways to Lose the Tub Wall Without Cutting It

The wall of a standard bathtub is 18 to 22 inches high, and that wall is what you are trying to get rid of. Ella offers three routes.

1. A walk-in shower. Ella builds walk-in showers alongside its tubs for anyone who prefers a shower-based bathing option, and the online shower builder tool lets you plan the layout before your project moves forward. Ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 for the link and for which shower configurations suit your room.
2. A walk-in tub. You step through a door over a low threshold instead of climbing over a rim. On Ella tubs that threshold runs roughly 3.5 to 7 inches depending on the model and how the drain is set up, and the Capri, for example, has a 3.5-inch threshold. Behind the door is a built-in seat at a comfortable height, grab bars, a textured slip-resistant floor and a watertight door, with optional hydro massage, air massage, heated seat and chromatherapy. Depending on the model the door swings inward into the tub, as on the Deluxe, or outward into the room, as on the Monaco. What Is the Step-In Threshold on a Walk-In Tub? explains how the drain setup and the leveling legs decide the final height.
3. Keep the tub and add a seat. The only Ella products made for a standard bathtub are two seat styles: a folded bathtub seat that lies flat against the wall when not in use, and a removable bathtub seat that lifts off completely for full standing showers. Both mount securely and give a bather a stable seated option in an existing tub without replacing it. Does Ella Make a Deeper Standard Bathtub That Is Not a Walk-In? covers what Ella does and does not make for a conventional tub.

Using the Alcove Your Tub Already Occupies

Most bathrooms were framed around a 60 inch tub in a three-wall alcove, enclosed on the back and both ends with only the front apron exposed. Most Ella walk-in tubs go into that same opening, so you keep the room's layout and plumbing locations. Tubs that are 60 inches or longer fill the space on their own; the Ultimate is actually 59.5 inches, which is why it needs no extension panel. Most 52 and 55 inch models fill the remaining space with an Ella extension panel that mounts at the end of the tub frame, and a knee wall can hide the plumbing or carry fixtures. The walls above the deck are then finished with tile or a surround so water runs back into the tub. What Is an Alcove Installation for a Walk-In Tub? has the details, and always plan around the actual size on the spec sheet rather than the nominal name.

Two plumbing points change when a walk-in tub replaces a standard one. Ella tubs use their own deck-mount faucet packages, so your existing wall spout and handles are normally replaced rather than reused. If reusing a wall-mounted faucet matters to you, the LayDown 30 by 60 has no factory faucet option and requires a customer-supplied faucet, typically wall-mounted. Ask your installer to add a wall access panel behind the plumbing end so pumps and drain connections can be reached without disturbing tile.

If a lower step matters, talk with your installer before the tub goes in. Thresholds can be reduced to about 3 to 3.5 inches by setting the tub lower with the drain below the subfloor. Cutting the apron or end panel to make that work voids coverage on those altered panels only.

Showering in a Walk-In Tub

If the reason for cutting the tub was simply to be able to shower, a walk-in tub can do that too. The video on this page shows the shower column kit going onto a walk-in tub deck. The existing hand shower is removed, the shower column base attachment is installed in the vacant receptacle, the water supply line is replaced, and the new one-half inch supply line is attached to the diverter on the two-piece or five-piece fast fill faucet set. The faucet you already have then controls the shower, so one fixture gives you a seated soak and a shower in the same footprint, without cutting anything.

When you talk with your Ella dealer or the team about replacing a bathtub, have the width of the opening measured wall to wall at the back and at the front, the length of the alcove, and a note on whether you want a seated bath, a shower, or both. That lets them point you to the model or shower layout that fits the space you already have.

Common Questions