How tall are bathtubs and walk-in tubs, and why does it matter?

Ella's seated compact walk-in tubs, the Petite and the Elite, stand 35 inches tall on the current spec sheets, the lay-down style LayDown 30x60 walk-in tub stands 21 inches high, and Ella's conventional step-over alcove tubs, the Solo 32x60 and Fiji 36x66, are 24 inches tall. A standard bathtub is usually described by its soaking depth of about 11 inches rather than by a published overall height. The narrowest of those walk-in tubs, and how its nominal 28-inch name relates to its actual size, is covered in Are there walk-in bathtubs only 28 inches wide for small bathrooms?.

Published Heights Side by Side

The table below uses only the height, footprint and capacity figures printed on the current spec sheets and in the published Ella articles. Where a figure is not published for a model, the cell says so rather than estimating.

What the differences mean: a seated walk-in tub stands noticeably taller than the step-over tub it usually replaces, because the Petite and Elite at 35 inches sit well above the 24 inch Solo and Fiji. The LayDown turns that around. At 21 inches high it is the lowest tub in the group, yet its 15 inch soaking depth is deeper than the roughly 11 inches of a standard bathtub, so a low exterior does not mean a shallow bath. The HoistAssist shell is the tallest figure published, and it is built for a caregiver lift rather than for stepping in, so its height serves a different purpose entirely.

Height, Soaking Depth and Seat Depth Are Three Different Numbers

When people ask how tall a tub is, they often want one of three things: the height of the outside wall, how deep the water gets, or how high the seat sits under the water. Only the first is the height figure on the spec sheet. The soaking depth of an Ella walk-in tub is determined by three factors: the interior length of the tub, the length of the seat, and the depth from the top of the seat to the overflow drains. Across the mid-size models that seat-to-overflow figure runs roughly 15 to 18 inches, and the way to read it for your model is explained in What size walk-in tub fits a six-foot-tall person?.

That is why two tubs of the same overall height can bathe very differently. A tall bather with a long torso sits higher in the water than a shorter bather on the same seat, so the seat-to-overflow figure matters as much as the length of the tub. If your real question is how deep the water will feel once you are seated, compare the seat-to-overflow depth rather than the exterior height.

Why a Walk-In Tub Stands Taller Than the Tub It Replaces

A seated walk-in tub holds its water above a built-in seat, with the overflow drains set a good distance above that seat, so the shell has to rise higher than a tub you lie down in. That is the design behind the 35 inch height on the Petite and Elite, and it is the reason the door and the deck feel like a small wall next to a conventional 24 inch alcove tub.

The LayDown is Ella's answer for anyone who wants a walk-in tub that does not stand that tall. It keeps the door and the walk-in entry but lets you recline at full length, so the LayDown 30x60 stands 21 inches high with 53 inch by 25 1/2 inch interior and a 15 inch soaking depth. The longer LayDown72 is 32 inches wide by 72 inches long, prints an overall length of 71 3/4 inches on the spec drawing, and soaks to the same 15 inches. Both LayDown sizes are described, along with what makes a tub count as oversized, in What is an oversized bathtub and who actually needs one?.

What the Height Means for Your Bathroom

• Measure the finished opening against the actual size. The size in a model name is nominal. The Petite is marketed as a 28 inch tub, but its actual size is 27.5 inches wide by 52 inches long by 35 inches tall, and the imperial figures on the current spec sheets are the authoritative specifications. Write the actual height, width and length on your measuring notes, not the marketing name.
• Plan the route to the bathroom. A taller tub is also a heavier crate. The Petite's published shipping weight is 305 pounds, which matters when you plan how the crate gets from the curb to the bathroom.
• A longer tub needs a longer wall, not a taller one. The LayDown72 is a full foot beyond the standard 60 inch alcove, so it needs a longer run of wall than a straight tub replacement even though it stands low.
• If height is the whole concern, compare a shower base. Ella's custom shower bases typically have a threshold of about 3 inches, and zero threshold bases sit flush with the surrounding floor. Those options, and the 98 inch wall panels that go with them, are described in Shower Bases and Wall Panels.

The Tallest Bathers and the Largest Tubs

Height of the bather is a different question from height of the tub, and Ella publishes footprint and capacity figures rather than overall heights for its largest models. The ShaK is 36 inches by 72 inches with an extra-wide 28 inch seat and a 145 gallon unoccupied capacity, and Ella shows bathers up to 6 feet 10 inches fitting comfortably in its video. The Big4One is 33 1/8 inches by 66 inches with a 24 inch seat, holding 127 gallons unoccupied and 75 to 100 gallons when occupied, depending on bather size. Those two, the two-seat Escape and Big4Two, and the TransferXXL with its 29 inch seat are compared in What is the biggest walk-in bathtub size you can buy?. For the ShaK, Big4One and the other full-size seated models, ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 for the current spec sheet so you can read the actual height alongside the footprint.

Before you settle on any model, take the three seated measurements Ella recommends: your hips while seated, because the seat must be wider than that number, your shoulder width while seated, and your length from head to feet. Ella seats run from 19 inches on the Petite and Transfer26 to 29 inches on the TransferXXL, and matching those figures to your body does more for comfort than the exterior height ever will.

Related Guides

• How Deep Is the Water Really in a Walk-In Tub?
• Interior Length, Seat-to-Overflow and Seat-to-Footwell by Model: The Soaking Depth Table
• What Is Soaking Depth on a Walk-In Tub?

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