Which glass shower screen fits a seated versus a lay-down walk-in tub?

The screen is chosen by the tub family. Ella's two LayDown tubs, the LayDown 30x60 and the LayDown 32x72, take the bifold tempered glass screen, which is stocked as a left-hand or right-hand screen to match the drain side of the tub. Every seated Ella walk-in tub, the Capri included, takes the four-fold screen, which was designed around a 52 inch tub. Folding Glass Shower Screen: Which Side It Mounts On, How Much Room It Takes Folded, and Confirming Stock covers the folded depth and the stock check, and this page puts the two screens side by side, explains which side each goes on and how much of the tub it covers, and notes that the panel dimensions themselves are not published in the current sources.

The Two Screens Compared

What the differences mean for you: if your tub has no seat, you need the bifold screen and you need the correct hand, so the drain side on your order decides which screen to ask for. If your tub has a seat, the four-fold is the screen, and the only question is coverage. On a 52 inch seated tub it runs the length of the tub. On a 60 inch seated tub it stops short of the far end and covers about three quarters of the length, which is normal for that pairing rather than a sign of the wrong part. Because no panel height or width is published in the current sources, ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 for the figures before you plan the wall.

Why a Lay-Down Tub and a Seated Tub Take Different Screens

The two tub families present very different profiles. The LayDown tubs have a long, low shape with a tempered glass side-entry door in a brushed aluminum frame, straight sidewalls and no seat; the LayDown60 stands 21 inches high overall with a soaking depth of 15 inches, and you lie on its interior floor rather than sit. A seated walk-in tub is built around a molded seat at chair height, about 17 inches high on most models, inside a shell that stands well above the LayDown; the Elite, for example, is 35 inches high. Do they make a bathtub that is only 15 inches high? explains where those heights come from. A screen that closes over a 21 inch tub and a screen that closes over a 35 inch tub are not interchangeable, which is why Ella stocks two.

The bathing position matters as well. The published guidance is clear that lying down in a seated walk-in tub is not recommended and could be hazardous, so a bather who wants to recline needs a LayDown tub and therefore the bifold screen, not a seated tub with a four-fold. Can you lie down in a walk-in tub? sets out that rule and the two LayDown sizes.

Which Side the Screen Goes on a LayDown Tub

LayDown bifold screens are handed. A left-hand screen goes with a left-drain LayDown and a right-hand screen goes with a right-drain LayDown, so the folded stack sits at the wall end on the side that matches your tub. Door side and drain side are tied together on every Ella walk-in tub: a right-side door tub has its drains on the left and a left-side door tub has its drains on the right, as you face the tub. That means the screen's wall end is always the end away from the door side. A product photo that shows the screen folded to the left is the left-hand version, and the right-hand version mirrors it.

Because each hand of the LayDown screen is stocked separately, confirm availability for your drain side before you finalize the order. Have the model name and the drain side ready when you call.

What Size the Screen Is and How Far It Reaches

Panel height and width are not stated in the current sources, so the figures to plan around are the ones that are published. Folded open, the panels stack accordion style at the wall end and lean outward, away from the bathing area, standing about 4 to 6 inches out from the wall. The stack does not project into the tub, so it is never behind your head or shoulders while you bathe. Closed across the top of the tub, the screen keeps hand shower spray inside.

On a seated tub the four-fold can also become a three-fold. The video on this page shows the conversion: lay the four-panel screen on a soft surface, lift the third panel from the wall side, remove the screw on each side, back out the plastic retainer inserts to free the panel connection, lift the third panel out, reconnect the outside panel to the middle panel with the spacer in place, refit the retainer inserts and screws without over torquing, and snap the screw caps on along the top. The video notes the three-panel screen can be used separately or combined with a four-panel screen on a larger two-seat tub.

Planning Around the Screen, the Door and the Shower

The screen shares the wall and the tub rim with everything else in the installation, so settle the layout before ordering. Points to raise with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850:

• Mounting a screen on the wall at the drain end of a seated tub is not an arrangement the team has seen done, because the panels fold outward, away from the tub. Share your layout so the screen, the grab bars and the door all have room.
• On a LayDown 30x60 there is no factory faucet option and a customer-supplied faucet, typically wall mounted, is needed, so say where that faucet will sit in relation to the screen's wall end. The LayDown 32x72 is faucet ready and can be ordered with an optional Ella deck-mount fast-fill faucet.
• Every Ella tub, LayDown models included, is built with a door, and the glass screen is an optional extra on both LayDown sizes. Can I Order an Ella Walk-In Tub Without a Door? explains why a doorless soaking tub with a screen on top is not offered.
• If you want a shower rather than a screen alone, the accessory list includes a 24 inch hand shower slide bar, a 5 foot stainless steel shower hose with a coupling kit and a 10 inch rain shower. Showers, Shower Screens, and Accessories for Your Ella Walk-in Tub lists them.

How to Order the Right Screen

1. Identify the tub family from the model name on your paperwork: LayDown 30x60 or LayDown 32x72 means bifold, any seated model means four-fold.
2. For a LayDown, read the drain side off the order and ask for that hand of screen. Remember the drains are opposite the door.
3. Ask what is already part of your order, since a listing photo can show a screen that is not included.
4. Confirm stock for your hand before finalizing, and ask for the panel dimensions so your installer can plan the wall.

Watch: Ella's Bubbles: Three Fold Shower Screen Assembly with chapters and a full transcript.

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