What Questions Should I Ask a Contractor Before Hiring Them to Install My Tub?

Before you hire a contractor to install an Ella walk-in tub, ask five things: whether they are a licensed plumber and electrician who knows your local code, how they will confirm the tub fits your room and the path into it, how they will provide the dedicated GFCI protected circuits the tub needs, what labor warranty they will put in writing, and whether they will use Ella's free technical support and documents during the job. Ella's Bubbles builds and tests the tub but never performs installations, so the answers to these questions are what stand behind the labor. Does Ella's Bubbles Install Walk-In Tubs, and How Do I Choose an Installer? covers the two ways to find a candidate, and this page is the interview.

Licensing, Experience and Who Does Which Part

Ella's Bubbles is the manufacturer and does not send technicians to your home, so the person you hire is the person who levels, connects and tests the tub. It is best to hire licensed and experienced contractors who know your local building requirements and codes. Certification by Ella is not required, and prior Ella experience is not required either, because nearly every task on an Ella tub is ordinary plumbing and electrical work and the team answers an installer's questions by phone and live video. What matters is that a licensed plumber handles the faucet supply and drain connections and a licensed electrician handles the electrical connection.

• Are you licensed for plumbing and electrical work in my area, or will you bring in a licensed electrician for the circuits?
• Have you installed walk-in tubs before, and if not, will you work from Ella's installation manual and call the technical support line with questions?
• Will you give me a written estimate? Installation is arranged directly between you and your contractor, so labor terms are set by the contractor, not by Ella, and written estimates are how you compare candidates.
• Does your scope include removing the old tub, the plumbing and electrical connections, leveling, and reinstalling the access panels when the tub is tested?

Who Installs My Walk-in Tub? Hiring a Licensed Contractor and How Ella Supports Them explains how the installer network referral works if you have no one in mind.

How They Will Confirm the Tub Fits

The installer confirms the tub fits the room and the path into it before the order is placed. Some network installers work from photos you email them and discuss the job by phone, while others come to the house to measure. A site visit is the more reliable choice, so ask which one the contractor plans to do. Ask them to work from the spec sheet, because it gives the actual length, width and height of the tub, the door swing and the door side, and it is the sheet a contractor needs to confirm the tub fits the existing space.

• Will you visit the house to measure the alcove and every doorway on the way in, or are you working from my photos?
• Have you compared the spec sheet's actual dimensions against the room? Tubs shorter than 60 inches include an extension panel to help fill a longer alcove, so ask whether the extension and end panel are in the plan.
• Which door side do you recommend? The door and the drains are on opposite sides of an Ella tub, so the installer should settle the hand, and the delivery address, before the order is confirmed.

Your contractor can have the spec sheet, the electrical diagram for your therapy package and the installation and owner's manual emailed as links before the tub arrives, and can join a live video session with the team to ask about fit, plumbing and wiring. Installation Documents for Your Contractor: Spec Sheets, Electrical Diagrams, Manuals and the Live Video Session explains how to request them.

How They Will Handle the Electrical Requirements

This is the part of the job with firm requirements. Ella marks all electrical components clearly, labels the electrical lines at the production facility and makes the pumps, heaters and other components certified and easy to identify, so the installer is matching labeled cords to outlets rather than wiring components from scratch. What the home has to provide is the demanding part: each powered component plugs into a dedicated outlet on a GFCI protected circuit, and the circuits are sized to the pumps and heater in your tub.

• Will a licensed electrician run the dedicated GFCI protected circuits, sized to the pumps and heater in the tub I am ordering?
• Have you looked at the electrical diagram for my therapy package? A soaking tub with no jets has different requirements from a hydro massage or air plus hydro tub, so the diagram is tied to the configuration.
• Where will the outlets sit so the labeled cords reach them, and will the removable front panels still come off afterward? The model and serial label sits inside one of these panels, so it needs to stay reachable.

Does a Walk-In Tub Need Professional Installation, and How Complex Is It? describes each part of the job and how demanding it is.

What Labor Warranty They Will Put in Writing

Ella's Lifetime Limited Warranty covers parts and excludes labor, installation and removal, and Ella is not responsible for warranties or representations made by dealers, retailers, distributors or contractors. That means labor coverage comes from the installer, and any labor warranty is between you and them. If a part ever needs exchanging, Technical Support troubleshoots by phone and live video, ships the verified part under the warranty, and a local licensed plumber or electrician fits it, so the return visit is something to agree on now. Ask for the terms in writing before the tub goes in:

• Scope: plumbing connections, electrical work, leveling, and reinstalling the access panels.
• Length: how long the labor coverage runs, written down rather than promised.
• Return visits: whether the contractor will come back to fit a part Ella ships under the parts warranty, and on what terms.
• Testing: whether the tub is filled and run before the walls are closed and the panels go back on.

Whether They Will Use Ella's Support

Ella's free lifetime technical support answers questions from any licensed installer by phone and live video, and complete installation manuals and specification sheets for every model are on each product page's Downloads tab, along with an installation videos library in the order an installation actually happens. Ask whether the contractor will call (800) 480-6850 during the job if a question comes up. If your project also includes an Ella walk-in shower, the shower kit ships without a mixing valve or valve trim and the wall arrives without a valve cutout, so ask whether the plumber will select the valve and cut the openings. Who installs walk-in showers, and does Ella's Bubbles install them? covers that side of the job.

Related Guides

• What Installation Involves, How Long It Takes, and What Drives the Cost
• Electrical requirements by model: dedicated GFCI circuits for your walk-in tub
• What Size Water Heater Do I Need for My Walk-in Tub?

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