Can I Install a Walk-In Shower or Wall Panel Kit Myself?

You can take on parts of an Ella walk-in shower installation yourself, and Ella's multi-piece wall surrounds can be carried and installed by one person, but the water side of the job belongs to a licensed plumber and any ceiling light above the shower belongs to a licensed electrician. Ella manufactures the stall, ships it nationwide with the grab bars and drain, and publishes the installation manual with the product listing so you can read every step before the carton arrives; it does not perform installations. What is included in a basic DIY walk-in shower kit? lists the carton contents, and this page sorts the job into what a handy homeowner can do and what to hand to a licensed trade.

What Arrives, and What the Kit Leaves to You

A basic Ella walk-in shower kit includes three things: the shower stall itself, whether one piece or several pieces depending on the model, the set of grab bars listed for that kit, packed loose rather than pre-installed, and the drain. It does not include a shower head, a hand shower, a mixing valve or valve trim, and nothing in the box detaches for hand-held use. The wall arrives solid, with no valve cutout and no preset height or offset. That is deliberate, because the correct location depends on the valve you choose, the rough-in behind the wall and the needs of the person using the shower, so the openings are marked and cut during installation rather than at the factory. If your project starts from a shower base rather than a full stall, the wall panels are separate items too, so confirm whether your order is a stall or a base with walls before assuming the walls are included. Where Can I Buy a Complete Ella Walk-In Shower Kit? explains how the kit is bought and what complete means.

The Steps That Need a Licensed Plumber or Electrician

• Choosing and setting the valve. Your plumber selects the shower valve and trim, and the wall openings are planned around it. Have the valve on site before the stall is set.
• Cutting the wall openings. Because the wall has no cutout, the plumber marks and cuts the openings for the valve and shower head on site once the valve is chosen. If you want a hand shower on a slide bar, choose that hardware with the plumber at the same time so the openings are planned together and cut once.
• Connecting the drain. The drain that ships with the kit is connected to the house waste line by your plumber, who also supplies the rough-in piping and fittings. Confirm the drain position on the stall matches the rough-in in your floor before installation day.
• Any light above the shower. Ella showers are open-top enclosures with no dome, ceiling panel or light. A licensed electrician installs a fixture rated for wet or damp locations on a circuit that meets your local electrical code, and the fixture location should be decided before the wall panels go up so the wiring above the shower is finished first. Can I Add a Ceiling Light Above an Open-Top Ella Shower? has the planning points.

Keep the warranty in mind when you divide the work. Ella's published warranty covers parts, excludes improper or negligent installation, and never covers labor, so if a step goes wrong the repair labor is yours or your contractor's. Any licensed installer is acceptable, and certification by Ella is not required. For a specific question about whether a step you plan to do yourself affects coverage, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 before you start.

Installing Wall Panels Yourself

Wall panels are the part of the project most often done by the homeowner, and the method depends on the material. The cultured marble surrounds come as eight, six or four panel sets, can be carried and installed by one person, and glue over drywall, plaster, painted walls, Durock or even existing tile. Because each panel comes out of a mold, 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. The edges are factory finished for seamless joining, but the panels can be trimmed for a custom fit. Where Can I Buy Cultured Marble Shower Walls, and Is Acrylic Better? compares the two materials.

1. 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.
2. Confirm the panel selection with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 before placing your order, since availability of each wall line changes over time.
3. Cut cultured marble with a masonry blade in a standard circular saw.
4. Finish a cut edge 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.
5. Glue the panels over the prepared wall surface, working to the sizes on your spec sheet.

The acrylic kits come in fixed footprints. The Acrylic Solid White Glossy 3-Piece Shower Wall Surround has one back panel 60 inches wide and two side panels 40 inches wide, made of 0.118 inch thick ABS and PMMA composite with a 1-inch bend at the panel edges. Published heights for the 3-piece surround differ between Ella's guides, 97 inches in one and 98 or 105 inches in another, so confirm the height on the current spec sheet before ordering. The Acrylic Shower Wall Panels 6-Piece Kit in Carrara White covers a 36 by 60 inch alcove to a finished height of 92 inches, has storage shelves on its left side, and its panels are 1/8 inch thick. The SMC subway-look panels come as a 6-piece or 12-piece kit at 36 inches deep by 60 inches wide by 96 inches tall. Because the 3-piece surround is deeper and taller than the 6-piece kit, confirm your ceiling height and alcove depth before choosing it. The kits are compared in Acrylic 6-Piece Wall Panel Kit: Size, Shelves, Thickness and How It Compares to the 3-Piece Surround and SMC Panels. Ask the team for both the product page and the spec sheet for your kit, because the spec sheet is a separate document with the drawings the installation needs.

Read the Manual Before the Carton Arrives

The installation manual for your kit is published with the product listing and is also available from the team at (800) 480-6850, so you can read the whole procedure before delivery and decide which steps you will take on yourself. Use it to settle four things before installation day: the valve and trim are chosen and on site, the shower head and any hand shower with slide bar are bought, the drain position on the stall matches the rough-in in your floor, and you and your installer agree that the loose grab bars will be mounted as part of the job. When wall panels are ordered together with a tub, they ship with the tub order, so panels and tub arrive for the same installation window. If your alcove is larger or smaller than a kit footprint, give the team your measurements so they can advise on fit before anything is cut.

Where the Help Comes from

Ella provides free lifetime technical support by phone, email and video to whoever is doing the work, homeowner or contractor, and it can help locate a reputable installer from its nationwide network if you decide the plumbing side is more than you want to take on. Ella does not send technicians and does not perform or charge for installation; the labor is the contractor's. Contractors and remodelers who expect to buy regularly can apply for the dealer program. For questions about your kit, the manual or fit, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850.

Related Guides

• How Do I Install a Shower Wall Panel Kit From Ella's Bubbles?
• How Do You Install Cultured Marble Shower Walls in a Bathroom?
• How do you fit and install a walk-in shower base and walls?

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