Using Your Own Faucet: No-Faucet Orders, Pre-Drilled Decks, Wall-Mount Options, and Which Tubs Require a Customer-Supplied Faucet

Yes, you can pair an Ella walk-in tub with your own faucet, and on one model you have to. Every seated Ella tub is normally ordered with its fast-fill faucet set and pull-out hand shower already included. The LayDown60 is the exception: it has no faucet option at all and always needs a customer-supplied faucet, usually wall-mounted. The LayDown72 lets you choose No Faucet, 2-piece or 5-piece at order time. On the other seated models a no-faucet order is possible on some tubs, but the deck still arrives drilled for the Ella set, so you need to plan a matching deck-mount faucet or cover plates. This article walks through each case so you and your installer can plan the plumbing before the tub ships.

What Is Included by Default

All of our seated walk-in tubs come with a faucet set, and the team confirms this to customers regularly: the Elite, for example, ships with the 5-piece fast-fill set, and the only tub that does not come with a faucet is the LayDown60. The 2-piece and 5-piece sets both include the extendable multi-function hand shower, two 3/4 inch braided supply lines and the diverter, which is why they are worth keeping unless you have a specific reason not to. The differences between the two sets are in Ella Fast-Fill Faucets: 2-Piece vs 5-Piece.

One shipping detail that causes confusion: the faucet is assembled on the deck but is not hooked up to the supply lines when the tub leaves the factory, so the tub can ship fully drained. Your installer connects the supply lines on site.

This short walkthrough shows the three factory choices side by side, the 2-piece high-flow faucet, the thermostatic control valve (TCV) faucet and the 5-piece high-flow faucet, and makes the point that matters for this article: when your order is placed, your tub is pulled with your name on it and drilled for whatever faucet you selected. The deck is drilled to order, which is exactly why a no-faucet order needs a plan for the holes. Watch: Luxury Faucet Options for Your Walk-In Tub u2013 Voted Best/Safest 2020 with chapters and a full transcript.

The LayDown Tubs: Two Different Answers

• LayDown60 (30x60): never sold with a factory faucet. The deck does not have the space for a deck-mounted set, so a pre-existing or new wall-mounted faucet is required. The usual pairing is the Ella waterfall wall-mount faucet with slider bar and hand shower, and the installation overview is in The Waterfall Wall-Mount Faucet.
• LayDown72 (32x72): faucet-ready. At order time you choose No Faucet, 2-Piece Faucet or 5-Piece Faucet. No-faucet units carry an NF suffix in the model number (for example LA3272NF-L or LA3272NF-R), and the faucet-ready deck lets you pair the tub with your own fixtures. The hand-mixer option on the 32x72 is the only LayDown configuration that needs the barrel extension hose kit.

The full size and feature comparison is in The LayDown Walk-In Tubs: 30x60 vs 32x72.

Ordering a Seated Tub Without the Ella Faucet

Several seated models can be ordered without the faucet set; the Ultimate and the ShaK are two the team has confirmed. Before you do, understand what arrives:

1. The deck is still pre-drilled for the Ella faucet layout. Standard production decks are drilled, and the team has told customers there is no way to order a standard unit without the holes.
2. No caps or cover plates are supplied. If you leave the deck fixtures off, you or your installer need cover plates or a deck-mount set that matches the hole pattern.
3. A no-hole deck is a special order with a long lead, arranged only through the team, so ask early if you truly want a clean deck. Special-order rules are in What Can and Cannot Be Customized on an Ella Tub.
4. Talk to the team before anyone drills the deck. If your fixture needs a different pattern, ask about factory drilling before the tub ships. The published warranty does not cover damage caused by alteration or modification of the tub, so on-site drilling is your installer's responsibility.

For planning a replacement deck-mount set, the 5-piece holes are typically drilled about 4 inches on center, and the faucet supply connections are 3/4 inch. The 2-piece faucet specification lists a 2 1/2 inch diameter hole for the faucet, a 1/3 inch hole for the mounting rods and a 7/8 inch diagonal hole for the hand shower. If your fixture needs a specific hole diameter, ask for the drilling detail for your model before ordering.

Wall-Mounted Faucets on Any Model

A wall-mounted faucet is allowed on any Ella tub. A small spout is fine as long as it meets the flow you want, and the Ella waterfall wall-mount set with slider bar and hand shower is the pairing we know best. Keep three things in mind:

• A non-Ella faucet is covered by its own manufacturer's warranty, not by the Ella walk-in bath warranty. See Warranty Exceptions: The TCV One-Year Warranty, Non-Ella Faucets.
• The pull-out hand shower and the shower column kit both depend on the Ella deck faucet. The shower column is designed for tubs with the Ella 2-piece or 5-piece deck-mount faucet and uses that faucet's hand shower and hose, so a customer faucet changes those accessory options. If you go wall-mounted, choose a wall set that brings its own hand shower, such as the Ella waterfall faucet with slider bar.
• On a seated tub with a pre-drilled deck, you still need to cover the deck holes when the faucet moves to the wall.

Related Guides

• Can Ella Factory-Install a Grab Bar From Another Supplier?
• Can Ella Cut a Walk-Through Opening or Add a Door to My Existing Bathtub?
• Can I Order an Ella Walk-In Tub Without a Door?
• What Voltage Does an Ella Walk-In Tub Need, and Can It Be Built for 220 to 240 Volts Abroad?
• What are supply lines on a walk-in tub or shower faucet?
• Which waterfall faucet is best for a walk-in bathtub?

Common Questions

Not sure which configuration to order? Send your model, your faucet plan and a photo of the deck to ellasbubbles.com/support and we will confirm the right choice before the tub is built.