How do I measure a corner for a neo-angle shower base?

Ella's Bubbles does not make a neo-angle shower base, so there is no Ella neo-angle pan to measure for. Every Ella base is a rectangle, and the figures that matter for a corner are the length of each wall, the drain position from each wall, and the threshold style, which How Do You Measure a Shower Base, Including a Corner Base? walks through in order. This page starts from the neo-angle corner itself, the two-wall corner with an angled front that neo-angle pans are made for, and shows how to measure that same corner for the rectangular base Ella can build, and how to tell when the room really does need an angled pan from another maker.

What a Neo-Angle Corner Is, and Why Ella's Molds Do Not Make It

A neo-angle pan is a corner pan with its front corner clipped off so the door sits on a diagonal between the two walls. An Ella shower base is not formed, lined or grouted in your bathroom. It comes out of a mold at the factory as a finished acrylic piece that already carries the drain and the threshold, and the molds produce rectangles. Bases with angled or curved edges are not offered, so the clipped corner that defines a neo-angle pan is not available on any order, standard or custom. What can change from one base to the next comes down to three decisions, all made before the base is molded: the length and width of the rectangle, where the drain sits, and how tall the threshold is. That is the whole menu, as Can Ella Make L-Shaped, Neo-Angle, or Other Non-Rectangular Shower Bases? sets out. So the useful question for a neo-angle corner is whether a rectangle can be drawn into it with the entry still clear.

Measuring the Corner for a Rectangle

1. Measure each wall leg. Start at the corner and run the tape along the finished wall surface, not the framing, to the point where the base will end on that wall. Those two figures become the width and length of the rectangle. A custom corner base runs from 30 by 30 inches at the minimum up to 42 by 60 inches.
2. Decide which leg is the long side. On a custom base the threshold goes on the longer side, so the entry of a corner base faces out from the long edge of the rectangle. In a neo-angle corner the door was on the diagonal; with a rectangle it moves to one of the two open sides, so check that the room in front of that long edge is clear.
3. Locate the drain. Find the existing drain line in the floor and measure from its center to each wall. A custom base can place the drain left, right or center, but the drain must sit at least 9 inches from each wall. A drain only 7 inches from the threshold edge is not possible, even on a custom base.
4. Record the layout. Note that the base sits in a two-wall corner rather than a three-wall alcove, because the team places the drain and the finished edges differently for each. If the corner is in fact enclosed on three sides, the custom alcove range applies instead, from 30 by 30 inches up to 44 inches wide by 80 inches long.
5. Choose the entry edge. Note whether you want a curb-less roll-in edge, a 3 inch step-in threshold, or a zero threshold flush with the floor. Roll-in bases ship with a self-adhesive collapsible rubber dam that keeps water in while a wheelchair rolls over it, and a custom base typically has a threshold of about 3 inches.

With those five notes you can set your corner against the options below before anyone cuts the floor.

Standard Sizes That May Already Fit the Corner

If one wall leg is 60 inches, measure the other leg against the standard widths before asking for a custom base. The three standard Ella bases are 30 by 60, 32 by 60 and 36 by 60 inches, each with a left or right drain in a set position, and the wheelchair accessible roll-in base comes in the same three sizes with the drain position specified at order time. The team has also produced custom rectangles shorter than 60 inches, including a 58 by 30 inch base with a center drain, so a corner that falls just short of a standard length is still within reach. Ella also offers cultured marble bases in three sizes, though the figures are not listed in this knowledge base; the cultured marble video describes them as molded solid cultured marble with a glossy gel coat finish and a slip-resistant textured floor, heavy enough to need at least two people to install.

The difference between the rows is between layout and shape. Ella is flexible about layout, meaning the size of the rectangle, the drain position and the threshold, and fixed about shape. A corner that can take a rectangle with its long edge open has several options; a corner that only works with a diagonal front has none from Ella.

Who Measures, and What to Send

Ella does not send anyone to your home to measure, because Ella does not send technicians for any part of an installation. The measurement is taken by a local licensed plumber or contractor, who measures the finished opening and locates the existing drain against your actual walls before the base is ordered, as Will Ella Measure My Bathroom for a Custom Shower Pan? explains. Once a custom order is submitted and paid, the dimensions are final and the base is built exactly to them, and custom orders are final sales, which is the practical reason to agree with your contractor beforehand that they stand behind the figures. If you do not have a contractor yet, send your full installation address through ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 and the team can suggest a partner installer near you; any licensed local plumber or contractor can measure and set an Ella base. Send the two wall lengths, the drain distances from each wall, the two-wall corner layout and the threshold style, and your Ella dealer or the team can confirm whether a standard base or a custom rectangle fits. The wider set of odd layouts a custom rectangle can solve is in Who makes custom shower pans for odd bathroom layouts?.

When the Corner Truly Needs an Angled Pan

If the only way to keep the entry clear is a door on the diagonal, because both open sides of a rectangle would be blocked, then a neo-angle pan is the right product and an Ella base is not the fit. Ella's own pages say so plainly: if your room only works with an angled pan, that is the point at which to look elsewhere. Measuring the corner as described above is still worth doing, because it tells you in a few minutes whether a rectangle with its threshold on the long side can sit in that corner, and it is the same set of figures any pan maker will ask for. Whatever base you choose, an Ella pan, standard or custom, is finished acrylic with the slope, threshold and drain molded in, and it must not be tiled over.

Related Guides

• Custom-Size Shower Bases: Size Ranges, Threshold Options, Drain Placement Rules, Construction, and How to Request One

Common Questions