What are the door widths and step-in heights for each Ella door style?

Ella's published door opening widths and step-in heights are set by the model rather than by the door style alone: the outward-swing Capri steps in at 3.5 inches through a 17.25 inch door opening, the inward stainless steel Elite steps in at 6 inches through a 16.25 inch opening, and the other models' thresholds run from about 3 5/8 inches on the Monaco to about 6.5 inches. The full threshold list lives in Step-In Threshold Heights by Model and How Low It Can Go, and this page puts the threshold, the door opening and the seat height side by side so you can weigh all three at once. Where a figure is not published in the sources, the table says so rather than guessing.

Thresholds, Door Openings and Seat Heights by Model

Read the table as three separate decisions. The threshold is the lip you lift each foot over, so a bather with limited hip or knee movement usually finds the Capri's 3.5 inches easier than the Elite's 6 inches. The door opening is the width you pass through, and the Capri's opening is one inch wider than the Elite's, which matters for a bather who turns sideways to enter. The seat height decides how sitting down and standing up feel: at 17 inches the Capri and Ultra seats are close to chair height, while the Elite's 15 inch seat places you a little deeper in the water. The Elite figure is printed two ways, 6 inches on the comparison sheet and about 6.5 inches from the team, so if the threshold is critical for the bather, ask the team for your exact model's figure in writing before ordering.

How the Door Style Changes the Entry

Two figures never appear in a table but decide how the entry feels: knee clearance and floor space. Ella's outward-swing tubs come with a U-shaped door style and an L-shaped door style, and the video on this page shows why both are the easiest way into a walk-in tub, especially from a wheelchair. An inward-swing door has to pass your knees and feet after you enter and again as you exit, while an outward door needs no knee clearance at all. The trade-off is that the outward door swings into the room, so the Capri needs clear floor space in front of the tub and nothing sitting in the arc of the door. The Elite's stainless steel and tempered glass door swings inward into the tub, which suits smaller bathrooms and lets the door be lifted out for cleaning. The handle location follows the swing: outside face of the door on the Capri, inside face on the Elite, so think about which reach is more comfortable from a seated position. The full comparison of those two models is in Ella Capri Versus Ella Elite: Threshold, Seat Height, Door Width, Handle Location and Door Swing.

The Ultra is the aluminum-and-glass inward-door tub, with a frameless brushed aluminum door and a frosted glass panel described as warm to the touch. Its product video gives the ADA compliant 17 inch seat height, a 19 inch seat length for leg support, a 17 1/2 inch soaking depth measured from the top of the seat to the center of the overflow, 42 inches of interior length and 24 inches of shoulder width, and the current spec sheet adds a 22 inch seat width. Those on-screen figures are collected in Ultra, Standard, Flow and S-Class on Video: Seat Heights, Soaking Depth, Thresholds and the Legacy Line, which also covers the acrylic inward S-shape door on the Standard and the Flow.

Can the Threshold Be Lowered?

Yes, on most models, but it is a custom installation with a trade-off. Ella tubs leave the factory with the frame and threshold preset so the 2 inch drain piping runs under the tub and above the floor, with approximately 3 inches of clearance for it. The leveling legs let the tub sit lower, but then the drain needs a subfloor opening and the bottom of the apron, and for corner installations the end panel, is trimmed to clear the floor. With the drain below the subfloor, thresholds can be reduced to about 3 to 3.5 inches. Cutting those parts voids warranty coverage on the altered panels only, and the shell and frame must never be cut. The legacy S-Class shows the link between threshold and drain most clearly: it came as a 6 inch standard version or a 3 inch low-threshold version that always required subfloor drain access. Weigh the lower step against that trade-off with your installer, and read Lowering the Tub: Below-Subfloor Drains, 3 Inch Thresholds, and What It Does to the Warranty before anything is cut.

Can the Seat Height Be Raised or Lowered?

The seat height is a published model figure, 17 inches on the Capri and the Ultra and 15 inches on the Elite, and the only height adjustment described in Ella's installation guidance is the one above: the leveling legs and a recessed drain, which change the step-in at the door. Nothing in the published material describes raising or lowering the seat itself, so the practical way to get a different seat height is to choose the model whose seat suits the bather. If sitting down and rising is the main concern, describe it to your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 and ask for the seat height of the model you are considering in writing.

Fitting the Tub into the Room

The door figures only matter once the tub fits the alcove and the path into the bathroom. The Elite's actual exterior size is 30 inches wide, 52 inches long and 35 inches tall. The Ultra's actual size is 29 1/2 by 52 1/8 by 40 inches, and a 7 inch extension panel and one reversible end panel are included so it can fill a 60 inch alcove. The most common walk-in tub footprint is 30 inches wide by 52 inches long, and Ella also offers 32x52, 38x52, 30x60, 30x55, 28x52, 27x60 and 26x45 inch sizes, with extension panels that can be cut down to close a gap to the wall. Measure the width, length and height of your existing alcove and the doorway the tub must pass through, as laid out in Walk-In Tub and Shower Base Sizes and How to Measure for Fit, then confirm the size and door side with a licensed contractor before ordering.

Watch: Why Choose an Outward Door Swing Walk-In Tub | Ella's Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• How Wide Is the Door Opening? Published Door Widths, Swing Arcs and Clearance by Door Family
• Interior Length, Seat-to-Overflow and Seat-to-Footwell by Model: The Soaking Depth Table
• Seat sizes and soaking depth: how to measure yourself for a comfortable fit

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