How Do You Replace Old Shower Walls With New Panels?

Old shower walls are replaced with Ella panels in one of two ways: cultured marble surround panels that are glued directly over the existing wall surface, including old tile, or acrylic wall panels that are sized for the shower footprint and paired with an Ella base. The right route depends on whether your base is staying and on the size of the finished opening, so start with the measuring steps in Will a Walk-In Tub Fit Where My Old Tub or Shower Stall Is Now?. The panel sizes, finishes and the filler piece that closes a gap at the edge are listed in Shower Bases, Walls, and Filler Pieces.

Two Ways to Replace the Walls

The first video shows Ella's cultured marble travertine shower walls, which are the panels most people have in mind when they want to cover old shower walls without a full tear-out. The panels are made from natural quartz and granite composite with a gel coat surface, so they have a natural look and feel while staying durable and easy to clean. They come as multi-piece surrounds of eight, six or four panels, and each panel can be carried and installed by one person. The detail that matters most for a replacement job is the substrate: the panels can be glued over drywall, plaster, painted walls, Durock, or even existing tiles, so sound old tile does not have to come off the wall first. The edges are factory finished for seamless panel joining, and they can still be trimmed and cut for a custom fit where the opening is out of square.

The second route is Ella's acrylic wall panels, which are the walls used with Ella shower bases. Large acrylic panels are available, including 98 by 60 inch back walls and 36 to 38 by 96 to 98 inch side walls, and three-piece acrylic wall systems come in white, CNC and digital print finishes with ADA accessories available. These are the right choice when the old base is coming out too and you are building a complete shower, because the walls and base are meant to pair with each other.

Here is what the differences mean for your bathroom. If your shower base is staying and the old walls are solid, the cultured marble surround is the lighter job, because it goes over what is already there and one person can handle each panel. If the base is being replaced, choose the acrylic walls together with the base so the footprint, the drain position and the wall sizes all match. In either case, a gap between the base and an adjoining wall or fixture is closed with the 8 inch L-shaped filler piece, which comes with brackets for installation and can be trimmed down because it is plastic.

Measure the Finished Opening, Not the Old Walls

1. Remove the seat, glass enclosure and curb first, since those parts are not part of the finished opening, then measure the wall-to-wall distance.
2. Measure the length between the finished walls, the width from the back wall to the front edge of the opening, and the height from the floor to the bottom of any window sill.
3. Measure the doorways and hallways the panels or a new base must pass through on delivery day.
4. Have your plumber confirm whether the existing drain and supply lines need to move to meet a new base. If the replacement is a walk-in tub rather than a shower, your electrician also confirms the electrical supply it needs.

Custom shower bases can be ordered to specific dimensions, for example a 36 by 36 inch corner base, with the drain placed to your measurements such as 9 and 5/8 inches from each of two adjacent walls. Because the online drain placement tool can round measurements up to the nearest inch, confirm your exact drain location with the team at (800) 480-6850 before the base is built. The standard footprints and the measuring method are in Walk-In Tub and Shower Base Sizes and How to Measure for Fit.

Sealing the Joint Between the Walls and the Base

Where new walls meet a base or tub ledge, Ella's glue-up tile flange kit creates the waterproof joint, and the second video shows the whole process. The kit contains a roll of Sealux cut to your requirements, alcohol surface cleaning cloths, a custom spatula tool and a strip alignment card, and Sealux is also offered in bulk form for contractors. Sealux is a flexible flange made of a durable, waterproof adhesive fabric and a siliconized membrane that reacts with and chemically bonds to 100% silicone sealant. That bond is what keeps the seal tight through general expansion and contraction and through routine floor settling.

The first step is marking the strip position on the shower walls so the strip lines up correctly. In a two-wall enclosure, the base or tub is set temporarily in its working position, the alignment card rests on the ledge against the wall, and each wall is marked at least twice above the ledge and again where the floor ends. The base is then removed and the horizontal and vertical lines are drawn through the marks. For a tighter three-wall enclosure, the video shows a second method that works out the height of the strip's upper edge from the anticipated height of the receptor ledge, so the base does not have to be slid into place just to mark the lines.

What to Settle Before Ordering

• Decide whether the old base stays. That single decision picks between the glue-over cultured marble surround and an acrylic wall system paired with a new base.
• Count the panels the opening needs. The cultured marble surrounds come in eight, six and four panel sets, and the acrylic walls are offered as a back wall and side walls or as a three-piece system.
• Note any gap between the base and an adjoining wall or fixture that the 8 inch filler piece would need to close, and whether the piece must be trimmed.
• Ask about panels or an additional filler piece through your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, or check where you purchased your order for current availability.

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
• Acrylic 6-Piece Wall Panel Kit: Size, Shelves, Thickness and How It Compares to the 3-Piece Surround and SMC Panels
• How Shower Wall Edges Are Finished: 2-Inch Bends on White CNC Walls and Trim Options

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