How do I seal shower wall panels to keep water out?

Seal every joint water can reach with silicone: the seam between one panel and the next, the edge where the panels meet the tub deck or shower base, and any edge you cut on site. Ella's wall systems are glue-up panels that arrive with the surface already sealed, so keeping water out comes down to those seams and edges rather than to grout. The step-by-step method for the tongue and groove tiles, where a thin bead of silicone goes at every joint, is in How do you install and seal tongue and groove PVC shower wall tiles?, and this page covers where the sealing goes on each of Ella's wall families.

Where Water Gets Past a Glue-Up Wall

Every Ella panel option arrives as a large finished piece with the surface already sealed, so the wall goes up as a handful of glue-up parts and the only joints to seal are the panel seams and the edge at the tub or base. Tile, by contrast, is built up one piece at a time on a substrate you have to prepare, with grout joints between every tile and a joint at the base that must be properly sealed. That is why the panel route is easier to keep watertight: there are far fewer places for water to get in, and each one is sealed with silicone rather than grout.

• Panel-to-panel seams. On the interlocking systems the joint is a tongue in a groove; 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 around a valve, a window or a niche is not, until you seal it or cover it with trim.
• Corners and the gap at the tub. Ella carries trim pieces for these on the cultured marble line, and they cover the joint after it is sealed rather than replacing the sealant.

Before the Sealant Comes Out

1. 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. A tile that is cut and snapped in on the day it arrives can move as it adjusts, and the joints are where that shows.
2. Prepare an approved substrate. The panels are glued, so the wall behind them has to be sound, clean and dry. The PVC tiles go over new or existing surfaces on an approved substrate, and cultured marble panels glue over drywall, plaster, painted walls, Durock or even 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 and plan the cuts. Measure each wall at the top, middle and bottom, use the largest figure, and note any windows, valves or niches the panel must be cut around. For the PVC tiles, hold back about 10 percent spare tile for cuts.
4. Finish anything above the wall first. Ella showers are open-top enclosures, so decide the location of any ceiling fixture before the wall panels go up and have the wiring finished first. Can I Add a Ceiling Light Above an Open-Top Ella Shower? covers that planning with your electrician.

Sealing Each Ella Wall System

Grout-free PVC tongue and groove tiles. Each tile is measured, scored and snapped to size, adhesive goes on the back, a thin bead of silicone runs along the joint, and the tile is set and snapped into the one before it. Every seam in a wet area is sealed with silicone. Because these are individual pieces, the sealing happens tile by tile as the wall goes up, not as one pass at the end.

SMC subway panel kits. These pressed fiberglass composite panels go up in 24 inch rows on 100 percent silicone, with an overlapping flange on each panel and a tongue and groove interlock. They are a different product from the PVC tiles even though both interlock, so be specific about which one you have when you ask questions.

Acrylic 3-panel kit. One back panel 60 inches wide and two side panels 40 inches wide, in a 98 or 105 inch height, of 0.118 inch thick ABS and PMMA composite with a glossy sanitary acrylic surface described as 100 percent waterproof. The panel faces need no sealing; the seams between panels and the edge at the tub do.

Cultured marble surround. The video shows these travertine-look panels, a natural quartz and granite composite with a gel coat surface, going up as eight, six or four panel sets that one person can carry and install over drywall, plaster, painted walls, Durock or existing tile. The edges are factory finished for seamless joining. Cultured marble cuts with a masonry blade in a standard circular saw, and a cut edge is finished with a bead of caulk or covered 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. Order the size equal to or slightly larger than the wall and trim the excess. Where Can I Buy Cultured Marble Shower Walls, and Is Acrylic Better? compares the marble and acrylic lines.

What Not to Do

• Never set tile on top of an Ella acrylic base. Tile belongs on walls only.
• Do not try to close the top of the enclosure. Ella does not make a dome or ceiling panel, and the space above the panels is finished by your bathroom ceiling, with steam and moisture handled by the room's ventilation.
• Do not skip the acclimation day or glue to a wall you have not checked. The installation guide requires both.
• Do not assume the two interlocking systems go up the same way. The PVC tiles are cut, glued and snapped one at a time; the SMC panels are rows on 100 percent silicone with an overlapping flange. PVC or Acrylic Panels vs Tile: Which Shower Wall Is Better? sets the four families side by side.

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
• How Shower Wall Edges Are Finished: 2-Inch Bends on White CNC Walls and Trim Options
• How Do You Replace Old Shower Walls With New Panels?

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