How Do You Install or Replace Shower Wall Panels in a Bathroom?

Ella's shower wall panels go up as glue-up pieces rather than as tile: you prepare a sound, dry wall, let the panels settle in the room, measure and cut each panel to fit, glue it in place, and then seal every seam and edge with silicone. Replacing a panel follows the same path, with a local licensed installer removing the original and fitting the new one. The sealing method for each wall family is covered in How do I seal shower wall panels to keep water out?, and this page walks the whole job from the carton to the first shower.

Know Which Wall System You Are Installing

Ella offers more than one wall family, and the handling differs a little between them. The cultured marble panels are made from a natural quartz and granite composite with a gel coat surface. They come as eight, six or four panel surrounds, can be carried and installed by one person, and glue over drywall, plaster, painted walls, Durock or even existing tile. The acrylic three-panel kit has one back panel 60 inches wide and two side panels 40 inches wide, in a 98 or 105 inch height, formed from 0.118 inch thick ABS and PMMA composite with a glossy sanitary acrylic surface. The tongue and groove PVC tiles interlock and go over new or existing surfaces on an approved substrate. All three arrive with the surface already sealed, so the only joints you create are the seams between panels and the edge where the wall meets the tub deck or shower base. If you are still deciding between marble and acrylic, Where Can I Buy Cultured Marble Shower Walls, and Is Acrylic Better? compares the two lines and explains how each one reaches your bathroom.

Before the First Panel Goes Up

1. Let the material acclimate. Bring the cartons into the bathroom and leave them for 24 hours so the panels settle to the room's temperature and humidity. A panel that is cut and fitted the day it arrives can move as it adjusts, and the joints are where that shows.
2. Check the wall behind the panels. The panels are glued, so the substrate has to be sound, clean and dry. Cultured marble can go over drywall, plaster, painted walls, Durock or existing tile. If you are unsure whether your wall qualifies, describe it to the team at (800) 480-6850 before you start rather than after.
3. Measure each wall at the top, middle and bottom, and use the largest figure. Note every window, valve or niche the panel has to be cut around.
4. Dry fit before you glue. The low-threshold shower installation video shows the unit dry assembled in a clean, open space before it moves into the bathroom. That step confirms the correct panels and drain location arrived, that nothing was damaged in transit, and that the panels align when assembled. The same video hangs a plumb bob from the framing, because a wall that is out of plumb has to be shimmed or notched before the back panel can sit flat, and it recommends delaying demolition of the old tub area until you are confident the new unit is the correct size and condition.

If the panels are going in where an old tub or shower stall stood, measure the finished opening after the seat, glass enclosure and curb are removed, because those parts are not part of the finished wall. Will a Walk-In Tub Fit Where My Old Tub or Shower Stall Is Now? explains how to measure that opening and what to compare it with.

Cutting and Fitting Each Panel

Each cultured marble panel comes out of a mold, so sizes are fixed at the factory. The back panel tops out at 60 inches wide by 96 inches tall, and side panels are molded 30, 32, 34 and 36 inches wide. Order the size equal to or slightly larger than the wall and trim the excess on site. Cultured marble cuts with a masonry blade in a standard circular saw. A factory edge is finished for seamless joining, but an edge you cut around a valve, a window or a niche is not, so finish it with a bead of caulk or cover it with a 2 inch trim piece. Ella carries a 1 inch corner trim in 96 inch lengths and a 2 inch by 3/4 inch flat trim for the gap at the tub. The cultured marble video shows the full multi-piece surround and makes the point that one person can carry and set each panel, which is why the panels can be test fitted against the wall before any adhesive is applied. Once a panel fits, glue it to the prepared wall according to the installation instructions packed with your wall kit.

Sealing the Finished Wall

Water gets past a glue-up wall at only a few places, and every one of them is sealed with silicone rather than grout.

• Panel-to-panel seams. On the interlocking systems the joint is a tongue in a groove, and on flat panels it is where two edges meet. Both get silicone.
• The edge at the tub or base. The bottom of the wall meets the tub deck or the shower base, and that line takes water every time the shower runs.
• Cut edges. A factory edge is finished. An edge you cut is not, until you seal it or cover it with trim.
• Corners and the gap at the tub. The cultured marble trim pieces cover the joint after it is sealed rather than replacing the sealant.

Let the sealant cure for the time the sealant maker specifies before the first shower. If a shower door or fixed glass panel mounts to the finished wall, sealant also goes at every fastener and along the bottom edge where the glass meets the floor, which is covered in Choosing a Shower Door for the Ella Liberty Three-Piece Shower.

Replacing a Damaged or Incorrect Panel

Inspect every panel for freight damage as soon as it arrives, before demolition and before any adhesive comes out. Damage is reported within 48 hours through ellasbubbles.com/support, and all packaging material is kept until the claim is settled. The other reason a panel is replaced is a reinforced backing zone that does not sit where the production drawing shows it. In that case, open a ticket with photos that include a tape measure in the frame, your model, your serial number and where you bought the shower. The team compares the panel to the production drawing, on which every reinforced area is shaded. When the backing is present but offset, the replacement is placed as a new order through where you purchased the shower, and the team flags that order so the replacement panel is built with the backing positioned as drawn. The steps are laid out in Shower Wall Reinforced Backing Is Not Where the Drawing Shows. Ella does not send technicians, so a local licensed installer removes the original panel and fits the replacement, and until the swap is done no grab bar should be screwed into an unreinforced area of the wall.

Watch: Transform Your Shower with Cultured Marble Wall Surround | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• How Do You Cut Cultured Marble Shower Walls Cleanly and Safely?
• Cultured Marble Shower Wall Panels: Stock Sizes, Cutting to Fit, and Finishing the Edges
• Where can I buy acrylic shower wall panels for my Ella bathroom?

Common Questions