What is the difference between a roll-in and a walk-in shower?

A roll-in shower has a barrier-free, curb-less base with no threshold at all, so a wheelchair or shower chair rolls straight in and a flexible rubber dam holds the water in the stall. A walk-in shower has a low raised edge that you step over, such as Ella's three-inch step-in threshold base, which keeps water in without any dam. Both are showers you enter on foot or on wheels rather than tubs you climb into, and the related naming question, whether a walk-in shower is the same thing as a shower stall, is answered in What is the difference between a walk-in shower and a shower stall?.

The Entry Is the Whole Difference

Walk-in shower describes how you get in rather than a particular product. Ella's version is a three-inch step-in threshold. The raised edge holds water inside the shower without a dam, and the step over it is far lower than the side of a conventional tub. If you can lift a foot over a low edge, this is the style most people mean when they say walk-in shower. Ella's one-piece and three-piece stalls work the same way with a 4 inch threshold, and the complete stall ships with the grab bar set listed for that kit and the drain in the carton.

A roll-in shower removes that edge entirely. Ella's wheelchair accessible roll-in base is a curb-less pan. AcrylX barrier-free bases have a beveled roll-in entry of 3/4 inch to 1 1/8 inch depending on size, and SMC bases are 1 inch or 1 1/8 inch, the lowest entry of any Ella product. Because there is nothing molded into the base to hold the water back, Ella pairs the roll-in base with a collapsible rubber shower dam. The wheels of a chair compress it on the way in and out, and it returns to its original shape to keep the water in the shower. If a wheelchair user will bathe in the shower, the roll-in base is the better fit, because nothing has to be crossed at the entry. If the bather can step but would rather not rely on a dam, the 3 inch step-in base is the answer.

How the Ella Options Compare

The table below puts the entry styles side by side using only the figures printed in Ella's published shower pages. Where a size is not printed, the cell says so.

Read the table from the top down as a scale of how much the entry asks of the bather. The roll-in bases ask nothing, but they depend on the dam to keep the floor outside dry. The three-inch and 4 inch thresholds ask for one small step and in return hold the water with a solid molded edge. The custom thresholds show the trade directly: dropping from a 4-inch to a 2-inch front edge takes the inside basin depth from approximately 2 inches down to approximately 0.25 inch, so a lower step means less water the base can hold before it reaches the edge. The right choice depends on whether anyone in the household bathes from a chair now or is likely to, and your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can talk through which base fits your bathroom.

The Roll-In Base and Its Flexible Dam

The dam is what makes a curb-less base practical in a home bathroom. Ella's flexible shower dam is made for exclusive use with the barrier-free wheelchair accessible shower base. It is a compressible, waterproof strip set along the front of the base, and the video on this page shows it being installed and then holding water back while a chair rolls over it.

In the video the installer measures the opening, cleans every surface with denatured alcohol, lays a tape line down as a guide, cuts the dam to length and fits the plastic end caps. Silicone goes into all gaps, the red tape backing is pulled back about an inch, and the dam is set snugly against the shower wall and floor while the backing is peeled away along its length. Firm pressure along the whole dam seats it. Painter's tape then goes down on both sides, a thin bead of silicone is run along the lower edge on both sides and over both end caps, and the gaps are smoothed. The final shots show the finished result and how effective the dam is at containing water. Because the dam is sealed with silicone rather than molded in, a local licensed installer fits it on site when the base goes in.

Thresholds, Basin Depth and Custom Sizes

Ella's roll-in bases come in the standard footprints shown in the table, with the 32 by 60 inch barrier-free base offered in left and right side configurations. When a standard footprint does not suit your space, a custom size shower base can be made, and the custom base is where you choose the front threshold. You pick either a 2-inch or a 4-inch front edge, and that choice sets how deep the basin is inside the shower: a 4-inch threshold gives an inside basin depth of approximately 2 inches, while a 2-inch threshold gives approximately 0.25 inch. The drain on a custom base can be placed on the left, on the right or in the center to line up with your existing plumbing.

A custom base also has a tile flange, which is why it works well in a shower where the walls will be tiled. The full set of standard and custom options is laid out in Shower Bases and Walls: Roll-In, Seat, Custom Sizes, Thresholds and Wall Systems, which also covers the seat shower base, the second of Ella's two base styles.

Walls, Filler Pieces and What Your Plumber Still Does

Whichever entry you choose, the walls are a separate decision. Ella offers acrylic wall systems, including three-piece systems in white, CNC and digital print finishes with ADA accessories available, and large panels such as 98 by 60 inch back walls and 36 to 38 by 96 to 98 inch side walls. Shower wall sample binders show the color choices. If a base and an adjoining wall or fixture leave a gap, an 8 inch wide L-shaped plastic filler piece with brackets closes it and can be trimmed down to fit. Sizes and the filler piece are detailed in Shower Bases, Walls, and Filler Pieces.

Two things stay with your plumber on either style. A complete Ella stall does not include a shower head, a hand shower, a mixing valve or valve trim, and the wall arrives solid with no valve cutout, so the valve is chosen and the openings are cut on site. On the multi-piece gel coat roll-in showers the panels can be cut to route supply lines or clear an existing valve, but they carry steel reinforcing rod around the perimeter, so check with the team before cutting through a rod, as explained in Cutting a Roll-In Shower Back Wall Panel to Route Supply Lines or Clear a Valve. And if you are weighing a roll-in shower against a seated soak behind a door, What is the difference between a walk-in tub and a roll-in shower? sets the two products side by side.

Watch: The Ella Shower Dam, Keep Water In, Roll In With Ease | Ella's Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• What is a roll-in shower and who is it designed for?
• What sizes do roll-in shower bases come in, and which include a seat?
• What Is a Shower Dam and When Do You Need One?

Common Questions