What shelving does an Ella shower have, and how big are the shelves?

Shelving depends on which Ella shower or wall system you have. On the 5-piece stall the soap ledges are shelves formed into the wall panels and you confirm their placement when you order, the Acrylic 6-Piece Wall Panel Kit in Carrara White has storage shelves built into its left side, and cultured marble package option 3 adds two 7 inch corner shelves and one 15 inch soap ledge positioned to your reach. Everything else is an add-on: a flush mount single shelf at 2 1/2 by 16 1/4 inches, corner caddies with one or two shelves, and the SMC triple niche at 16 inches wide by 39 inches high by 3 1/2 inches deep, all listed in Shower Doors, Seats, Benches, Grab Bar Sets, Niches, Soap Dishes and Acrylic Trim.

Shelving That Is Built into the Walls

Three Ella wall systems come with storage already in them. On the 5-piece shower stall, the soap ledges are molded into the wall panels rather than attached afterward, and because the panels are made for your order, the placement of those ledges is something you confirm with the team before the stall is built. That is the moment to say which side the bather reaches toward and whether a seated bather needs a ledge lower on the wall.

The Acrylic 6-Piece Wall Panel Kit in Carrara White measures 36 inches deep by 60 inches wide by 92 inches tall and has storage shelves on its left side. The shelves are part of the kit, so if you need the storage on the right side of the alcove, raise that before ordering rather than after the panels arrive. The kit is compared with the solid white 3-piece surround, which is 40 by 60 by 97 inches and has no shelves in its description, in Acrylic 6-Piece Wall Panel Kit: Size, Shelves, Thickness and How It Compares.

Cultured marble surrounds handle shelving as a package option. Option 3 adds two 7 inch corner shelves and one 15 inch soap ledge, and those pieces can be positioned to your reach rather than fixed at a factory height. The cultured marble panels themselves are a natural quartz and granite composite with a gel coat surface, molded in stock sizes and trimmed to fit, as described in Where Can I Buy Cultured Marble Shower Walls, and Is Acrylic Better?

Shelving Options and Their Published Sizes

What the sizes mean in practice is that built-in shelving is decided at ordering time and the add-on pieces are how you adjust storage afterward. The flush mount shelf is long and shallow, suited to a run of bottles along a back wall. The corner caddies are compact at 7 1/8 inches on each side, with the two shelf versions stacking storage vertically in either a short 15 1/2 inch or a tall 33 1/4 inch unit. The SMC triple niche is the only recessed option and the only one with a published depth, 3 1/2 inches, which is the figure to check against the wall cavity before your installer cuts the panel.

Corner Shelves and Niches You Add Later

Corner shelves and acrylic soap niches are listed separately among the shower accessories, so a corner shelf for an Ella shower is ordered through your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 rather than found inside a stall carton. When you ask, name the shower or wall kit you have, because the SMC niche is made to work with the SMC subway panels while the flush mount shelf and the caddies are general accessories. If you are planning a recessed niche, your installer needs the wall cavity depth and the stud layout before the panel is cut, and the panel sizes for each wall family are listed in Wall Kit Sizes at a Glance. If you are adding a shelf to a cultured marble surround after the fact, the cutting method in How Do You Cut Cultured Marble Shower Walls Cleanly and Safely? applies to any opening in those panels.

Trimming Acrylic Wall Liners Around Shelves, Windows and Corners

Shelving on an acrylic wall liner installation is finished with the acrylic trim pieces, and each piece has one job. The 3/4 inch and 1 1/8 inch trims finish windows and outside corners. F-channel covers an outside edge where there is no bullnose, and H-channel seams two wall pieces together. Corner reinforcements go into the two corners before the walls go in so the corners are square. The F-channel decorative cap molding clips on as a chair rail for wainscoting, and 4 inch and 6 inch hole caps act as escutcheons around tub spouts and shower arms. The window kit is four 48 inch sides, each 6 inches deep, and it must be custom cut to your opening. Trim comes in white, almond, biscuit and gray, with pearl, granite and marbleized colors on certain corner trims. The acrylic wall liner Standard package is the three panels plus an installation kit with color matched silicone, and every seam in a wet area is sealed with silicone. For the exact adhesive and the cutting or mitering order for your trim, confirm with the team and have your wall kit size and a photo of the corner or window ready.

How to Confirm Shelf Placement Before You Order

1. Identify the shower or wall system: 5-piece stall, acrylic 6-piece kit, cultured marble surround, SMC panels or acrylic wall liner.
2. Decide which side the bather reaches toward and whether a seated bather needs a lower ledge.
3. Measure the alcove width, depth and ceiling height, and for a recessed niche note the wall cavity depth.
4. Call (800) 480-6850 with the model and ask for the spec sheet and drawing, which show the exact shelf placement.
5. Add any corner caddy, flush shelf or niche to the same order so it ships with the walls.

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