How Do You Install a Three-Piece or Glue-Up Shower Surround?

A three-piece or glue-up shower surround goes up in a set order: set and water test the tub or shower base, fit the glue-up flange at the wet edge, prepare a clean, dry, approved wall, cut each panel to fit, glue it to the wall, and seal every joint in the wet area with silicone. The Ella acrylic 3-piece surround is one back panel and two side panels, and Ella's other glue-up enclosures follow the same order with different panels. The shared steps are introduced in How do you install a shower wall panel kit from Ella's Bubbles?, and this page brings the preparation, flange and sealing details for a glue-up surround together in one place.

Which Glue-Up Surround Are You Installing?

Ella's wall options do not all install the same way, so start by naming the exact product.

The differences come down to how each product reaches its final size. The acrylic kits and the SMC panels are molded to fixed footprints, so you choose them by matching the kit to your alcove, and your first job is to confirm the alcove depth, width and ceiling height against the kit on your order. The cultured marble panels and the PVC tiles are cut and trimmed on site, so they suit rooms that are not a standard size. The SMC panels and the PVC tiles both use a tongue and groove interlock, so always give the exact product name when you ask a question, or the answer may describe the wrong one.

Prepare the Room and the Wall

1. Finish the tub or base first. Level the fixture with every leg bearing on the floor and complete the water test before finishing any wall. Walls that go up before the fixture is proven leak-free are the walls that come down again.
2. Let the material acclimate. Bring the cartons into the bathroom and leave them for 24 hours so the material settles to the room's temperature and humidity.
3. Check the wall surface. The panels are glued, so the wall behind them has to be sound, clean and dry. If you are unsure whether your wall qualifies, describe it to the team at (800) 480-6850 before you start.
4. Measure each wall three times. Measure at the top, middle and bottom, use the largest figure, and note any windows, valves or niches the panel must be cut around.

If old tile is staying on the wall, the choice of product matters. The cultured marble panels and the PVC tiles are the two options whose published instructions name existing tile or existing surfaces as an acceptable base, as explained in Can Ella Shower Wall Panels Be Installed Over Existing Tile?. The published materials for the acrylic kits do not describe an over-tile installation, so confirm that with your Ella dealer or the team before planning on it.

Fit the Glue-Up Flange Before Any Panel

Ella tubs and bases have a flat deck edge with no molded tile lip, so the water barrier at the wall is a strip added at installation. The manual calls for a rustproof, waterproof strip about 5 inches tall, bonded with 100 percent silicone so it overlaps the tub edge by about 2 inches. The current part is the flexible, reversible glue-up flange kit.

The residential kit contains one roll of 4 inch wide waterproof membrane with an integrated 1 1/4 inch siliconized adhesive strip, a spreading spatula, a cardboard alignment guide and two alcohol cleaning tissues. Clean the edge with the alcohol tissues before the flange goes on. The pink portion is the membrane that bonds with the silicone, and the rest of the strip is a cloth-like material that gets paneled or tiled over. What should I use to waterproof the walls of my shower? explains how the flange, the wall surface and the silicone work as three layers.

Glue the Panels and Seal the Joints

With the flange in place, the panels go on the wall. For the acrylic 3-piece surround and the 6-piece kit, the fastening sequence is in the installation guide for the kit, and the flange and sealing rules on this page apply to them as well. The cultured marble panels, shown in the video on this page, can be carried and installed by one person. Their edges are factory finished for seamless joining, and they can be trimmed and cut for a custom fit. Order the size equal to or slightly larger than the wall and trim the excess with a masonry blade in a standard circular saw.

Whichever surround you have, the finished surface must run down over the flange and onto the deck of the tub or base, never stop above it. Then seal every joint water can reach:

• Panel-to-panel seams, whether the joint is a tongue in a groove or two flat edges meeting.
• The edge at the tub or base, which takes water every time the shower runs.
• Cut edges around a valve, a window or a niche. A factory edge is finished, and a cut edge is not until you seal it or cover it with trim.
• Corners and the gap at the tub. On the cultured marble line, 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. Trim covers the joint after it is sealed and does not replace the sealant.

The sealing points for each wall family are covered in How do I seal shower wall panels to keep water out?.

Mistakes That Send Water Behind a Surround

• Finishing the walls before the tub or base has passed its water test.
• Stopping the panel short of the flange instead of running it down over the flange and onto the deck.
• Fitting a flange that does not overlap the fixture edge.
• Leaving corners uncaulked.
• Cutting and fitting material on the day it arrives, before it has settled to the room.

Each of these puts water at the corners or behind the wall even though the tub or base itself is sound. If you are still choosing between panel materials, Where Can I Buy Cultured Marble Shower Walls, and Is Acrylic Better? compares the two.

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

Related Guides

• Cultured Marble Shower Wall Panels: Stock Sizes, Cutting to Fit, and Finishing the Edges
• Acrylic 6-Piece Wall Panel Kit: Size, Shelves, Thickness and How It Compares to the 3-Piece Surround and SMC Panels
• How do you install and seal tongue and groove PVC shower wall tiles?

Related Videos

Common Questions