Glass Door and Screen Options Beyond the 4-Fold: Sliding Doors, the Tidy Screen, the LayDown Bi-Fold and the Primo Door

The four-fold tempered glass screen is the best-known way to close in an Ella walk-in tub for showering, but it is not the only glass door and screen option Ella's Bubbles publishes. Depending on the tub and the opening, there is also the Duo framed sliding door, framed thick-glass sliders such as the Primo in 48 and 60 inch widths, the Tidy two-panel bath screen, and the bi-fold screen made for the LayDown tubs. This article lists each option with its published size so you can match it to your opening, and notes where the team should confirm fit before you order.

Published Glass Options and Sizes

• Four-fold shower screen: 44 inches wide by 42 inches high. 1/8 inch tempered clear glass in an ionized aluminum chrome frame with PVC geared hinges, a rubber gasket angled inward to hold water in, reversible left or right installation, a 90 degree pivot for entry and a doorknob usable from either side. One panel can be removed to make a three-fold screen 32 inches wide by 42 inches high, which is how a 52 inch tub in a 60 inch alcove is handled. Available finish: chrome. The install is in installing glass shower screens.
• Duo 55 by 70 framed sliding door. A two-panel clear tempered glass sliding door in a chrome frame; the drawing measures 55 1/4 inches wide by 71 inches high. Both panels slide for a choice of entry side, the extended horizontal handle doubles as a towel bar, it is reversible for left or right opening, and it carries a 2 year limited warranty. Ella's Bubbles lists it for its 60 inch wide one-piece and three-piece shower stalls.
• Framed thick-glass sliding doors: 48 by 78 and 60 by 78 inches. The installation manual for these sliders gives the wall-to-wall adjustment as 46.02 to 48 inches for the 48 inch door and 58.03 to 60 inches for the 60 inch door, both 78 inches high, supplied without a tray. The Primo chrome sliding door and the Tidy sliding door appear on the site in these sizes, and a standard-glass Primo is listed at 60 by 72 inches.
• Tidy two-panel bath screen: 55 by 39 inches. A tub-deck screen with a wall adjustment of 38.19 to 39 inches, supplied without a tray. A Tidy frameless bi-fold tub door in black is also listed on the site.
• LayDown bi-fold glass shower screen. Listed as an optional feature on the LayDown spec sheets and shown on both LayDown product pages, which note that the bi-fold screen in the photos is optional and not included. With the screen installed, the drawings show a span of 38 1/4 inches on the LayDown60 and 44 1/2 inches on the LayDown72 at a height of about 57 inches.

The Primo Door on Video

This visual shows a walk-in tub fitted with the Primo sliding door and chrome trim across the full alcove, giving a shower enclosure above the tub deck. Watch: Walk-In Tub with Primo Glass Door & Chrome Trim u2013 Luxury Bath Upgrade on its own page.

Which Sliding Door Fits a 60 Inch Opening

For a 60 inch alcove, the published choices are the 60 by 78 inch framed thick-glass slider, whose adjustment range runs from 58.03 to 60 inches, the 60 by 72 inch standard-glass Primo, and the Duo 55 by 70, which Ella's Bubbles lists for its 60 inch shower stalls. For a walk-in tub rather than a shower stall, the four-fold screen remains the option designed for the tub deck, converting to three panels for a 52 inch tub with an extension panel (see extension panels and filler kits). If your opening is wider or narrower than these ranges, share the measurement with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 so they can confirm which door is right before you order.

Finishes

The four-fold screen lists chrome as its available finish, the Duo has a chrome frame, and the Primo is named as a chrome door. The Tidy frameless bi-fold tub door is the one glass option listed in black. Product imagery on the site also shows Primo, Duo and Tidy doors in brushed nickel and matte black, so if a finish matters for your bathroom, confirm current availability with the team when you order.

Wall Requirements and Installation Notes

• The wall plugs included with the Tidy and the framed sliders are for solid walls only; a stud or partition wall needs specialized fixings purchased separately.
• Do not fix a wall profile to newly plastered, painted or papered walls; a chemical reaction may discolor the finish.
• Check for hidden pipes and cables before drilling, and use masking tape on tile to keep the drill from wandering.
• These products are heavy; two people are required to lift and install them.
• Level the four-fold screen and set its height so the bottom gasket seats on the tub deck; a screen that leaks at the bottom is almost always a height or leveling issue.
• On the LayDown screen, align the fixed panel with the glass door rather than centering it on the tub side, keep the gasket pointing toward the tub, and wait 24 hours for the silicone to cure before use.
• Clean glass and frames with warm soapy water and a soft cloth; avoid abrasive cleaners, alcohol and petroleum-based products. See cleaning the glass screen, stainless door and chrome.

Step-by-step instructions for the sliders and the Tidy screen are in installing framed sliding shower doors and the Tidy screen, and gaskets, panels and hardware are covered in replacement parts for glass screens and doors.

Glass Type: Tempered, Standard Clear, Not Low-Iron

Every glass door and screen listed above uses tempered safety glass, and the Primo doors are no exception. Ella confirms tempered glass for all Primo shower doors, even where a particular retailer listing does not spell it out, so a listing that omits the word does not describe a different door. Tempered glass is heat-treated after cutting so it is considerably stronger than untreated glass of the same thickness, and when it does break it crumbles into small blunt pieces instead of long shards, which is why building codes generally call for it in wet locations such as shower doors.

The glass is standard clear glass, not low-iron glass. Standard clear glass contains a small amount of iron that gives it a faint green cast, most visible along the cut edges and in thicker panels. Low-iron glass is made with purified raw materials that carry less iron, so the edge looks whiter and colors behind the panel show through more truly; it is usually specified for display cases and enclosures where the designer wants an invisible edge.

Viewed face on, the difference in a shower door is subtle. It shows mainly at the exposed edges of the panel and where the glass meets white acrylic or light-colored tile. For most bathrooms it is not noticeable in daily use, but it is worth knowing if the rest of your bathroom glass is low-iron and you want everything to match.

Because tempered glass cannot be cut or drilled after manufacture, order the door size that fits your opening rather than planning to trim a panel on site, and do not let an installer attempt to notch or drill the glass. The tub side of the family uses tempered glass too: the outward-swing door on models such as the Capri, Monaco, Big4One and Tub4Two carries a tempered glass panel in a composite frame, and the LayDown models use a glass side door covered in operating and caring for the LayDown glass door.

Related Guides

• Missing or Broken Shower Door Hardware: Rollers, Tracks, Knobs and Frame Parts
• Does Ella Offer a Dome, Ceiling Panel or Light for Its Showers?
• Does the Ella Shower Stall Come With a Door, and What Size Door Fits the Opening?
• Which Glass Shower Screen Fits Your Ella Tub and Where It Mounts
• Does the Ella Shower Door Have a Bottom Track or Is It Trackless?
• What is the difference between the Ella Duo and Primo sliding shower doors?

Common Questions

For anything specific to your tub, your opening or your order, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850.