Can I Add a Glass Screen or Enclosure to a 60 Inch Walk-In Tub?

Yes, with one qualification: Ella offers folding tempered glass screens for 60 inch walk-in tubs, not a full enclosure. Seated 60 inch tubs such as the Ultimate and the Transfer models take the 4-fold screen, which measures 44 inches long by 42 inches high, and the LayDown60 takes its own bi-fold screen. There is no full-length or full-height glass enclosure, dome or top panel for any Ella tub. What the finished screen looks like on the tub is shown in What Does a Walk-In Tub With a Glass Shower Screen Look Like?, and this page covers which screen fits which 60 inch tub, how much of the tub it covers, and what to plan around it.

Which Screen Fits Which 60 Inch Tub

Ella makes two screens, and they are not interchangeable. The 4-fold tempered glass screen fits seated walk-in tubs, including the Ultimate, the Monaco and the Transfer models. It is 1/8 inch tempered clear glass in a chrome ionized aluminum frame, it is reversible for left or right installation, and it folds flat against the wall when you are not showering. One panel can be removed to make a 32 inch wide 3-fold screen. The LayDown tubs, which are tubs without a seat, use a separate bi-fold screen: a tempered glass door on durable chrome hinges with chrome brackets and a gasket along the bottom edge that keeps water from leaking out under the glass. The bi-fold is stocked as a left-hand or right-hand screen to match the drain side, it has its own installation instructions written for the LayDown60 30x60 and the LayDown72 32x72, and it does not fit the seated models. It is not required with the tub and can be ordered later.

What the table means: if your 60 inch tub has a seat, you are choosing the 4-fold screen and deciding which side it mounts on. If it is a LayDown60, you are choosing the bi-fold in the hand that matches your drain side. In neither case will glass run the full length of the tub or over the top, so if you were picturing a sealed shower cabin, plan for a splash guard plus the room's own walls and ceiling instead.

How Much of a 60 Inch Tub the Screen Covers

The 4-fold screen was designed around a 52 inch tub. On a 60 inch seated tub it reaches roughly three quarters of the length and leaves an opening of about 16 inches at the standing end, which is normal for that pairing. On the LayDown60, the spec sheet drawing with the screen installed prints a screen span of 38 1/4 inches, made up of a 21 inch segment and a 17 inch segment with a 1/4 inch gap, against an overall tub length of 59 3/4 inches. Both screens cover part of the top by design: the panels fold so you can reach in and out, hand shower spray stays inside the tub while you stand or sit, and when the panels are folded back the top of the tub is as open as it was without a screen. The published sources are explicit that a full glass enclosure with walls on every open side is not something Ella sells, and that the bi-fold is the only screen option for the LayDown tubs, as Can a Glass Shower Enclosure Be Installed Around the LayDown60 Tub? confirms.

Alcove Walls, the Door Swing and the Faucet

Every Ella screen is an alcove screen. It sits between the walls of a three-wall alcove and cannot close off an open end of the tub, so a tub with only two walls around it is usually finished with a curtain rather than glass. A 60 inch tub such as the Ultimate is actually 59.5 inches long and needs no extension panel, so the screen simply mounts on the wall side at the standing end. On a shorter tub fitted into a 60 inch alcove, the screen mounts on the wall side, away from any extension panel, and the 3-fold conversion is how the 4-fold fits a 52 inch tub beside that panel. What Is an Alcove Installation for a Walk-In Tub? covers the alcove itself.

The door matters for layout rather than for the screen. Outward-swing doors need a 20 inch opening swing clearance in front of the tub, while inward-swing doors need no floor space to open. The LayDown60 door is a tempered glass panel in a brushed-finish aluminum frame set into the side wall, swinging inward through a 115 degree arc with a door opening 19 5/8 inches wide and a 16 1/2 inch panel. Fit the bi-fold screen so it lines up with that glass door rather than centering it on the tub side, and remember the tub must be drained completely before the door is opened. Because the LayDown60 comes with no faucet, plan the wall-mounted faucet you supply so it clears the screen.

Planning Other Accessories Around the Screen

The 360 degree swivel tray is standard on the Elite, Royal, Deluxe and Ultimate and on the two-seat Companion and Escape, and it is not compatible with the Ultra or the Transfer30. If your 60 inch tub carries the tray, plan the screen and the tray together so the tray can swing clear of the glass; What Are My Options If My Swivel Tray Broke or Does Not Fit? explains how the two sit relative to each other. A shower column installed on a tub with an extension panel uses the long 4 to 5 inch pipe connector to reach the wall. The screen is heavy, and drilling into the wall calls for care around hidden pipes and cables, so use a licensed installer. The rest of the add-on questions, from rain heads to two-seat shower heads, are gathered in Common Questions About Showering Add-Ons and Accessories.

What to Have Ready When You Ask

1. Your model name, and whether it has a seat, so the team knows which screen applies.
2. The opening measured wall to wall at the back and at the front, plus the actual size from the spec sheet.
3. Your drain side as you face the tub, which decides the hand of a LayDown bi-fold and which side the 4-fold mounts on.
4. Whether an extension panel is part of the installation.
5. Whether a swivel tray or a shower column is also planned.

With those in hand, your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can confirm which screen is right and that the hand you need is available before you order.

Related Guides

• Do You Sell Folding Glass Shower Screens for a 60 Inch Walk-In Tub?
• Operating and Caring for the LayDown Tempered Glass Door
• How Do I Fix a 4-Fold Shower Screen That Leaks or Will Not Fold Flat?

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