Is the Ella Shower Stall Molded Seat Hollow, and What Is It Made Of?

On Ella's one-piece and three-piece shower stalls, the seat is molded as part of the stall itself, so it is made of the same fiberglass reinforced shell with the AcrylX applied acrylic finish as the walls and floor, surrounded by Armorcore reinforced walls. The molded seat is hollow underneath, and no weight rating is published for it, so for a heavier bather contractors add framing under that hollow space for support. How the layers of the stall are built is explained in What Is Armorcore Reinforcement on Ella Shower Stall Walls and Why Does It Matter?, and this page covers the seat on its own.

What the Molded Seat Is Made of

An Ella AcrylX stall is built in layers, and the seat is formed from the same layers as everything around it. The fiberglass reinforced shell gives the unit its shape and strength, the AcrylX finish is the applied acrylic surface you see and sit on, and the Armorcore reinforcement sits behind the surface in the walls on all sides. There is no separate seat part bolted into the stall; the seat is a shape in the shell, which is why the spec sheets describe it as a molded seat rather than a bench. Because it is molded in, the seat cannot be moved to the other side on site. The 48 by 37 by 80 inch one-piece stall is documented as two models, E-3648LWH and E-3648RWH, handed by seat, and the 60 by 33 and 60 by 36 one-piece stalls are each listed with a left or right seat. The three-piece Liberty follows the same convention, as Can the Liberty three-piece shower seat be on the left or right side? explains, so left or right is a decision for the order, not for the day of installation. Ella's care instructions treat AcrylX exactly like any acrylic fixture, so the seat is cleaned the same way as the walls.

Hollow Underneath, and What That Means for Support

The underside of the molded seat is an empty space inside the shell, not a solid block. Ella publishes no weight rating for the seat, so this page cannot give one. What contractors do for heavier users is add framing under that hollow space so the seat bears on blocking rather than on the shell alone. Decide on that framing before the stall is set in place and talk it through with your contractor, because it is part of how the base is supported rather than something added later. A few points to settle with the installer:

• Whether the bather's weight calls for framing under the seat at all, given that no rating is published.
• How the framing ties into the support under the rest of the base so the stall sits level.
• Where grab bars will anchor, since the Armorcore reinforced walls on all sides are what let bars and seats mount into the wall itself.

Ella's support team can answer questions about the stall, and the framing itself is the contractor's work. If your stall is a legacy gel coat unit rather than AcrylX, the construction is gel coat over fiberglass with a 3 year limited warranty and no Armorcore printed, as covered in Is the legacy ESM gel coat shower stall still available or replaced?, so confirm which generation you have before planning around the wall reinforcement.

Molded Seat Sizes by Stall

The seat figures tell you how much floor is left to stand on and how much seat the bather gets. These are the published figures by stall, as printed:

• One-piece AcrylX 48 by 37 by 80 inches (E-3648): left or right seat, 25 1/2 by 13 3/4 by 20 inches, with a 4 inch threshold.
• One-piece AcrylX 60 by 33 by 77 inches: left or right molded seat, 21 1/2 by 18 1/2 by 21 inches, or a center drain version with no seat.
• One-piece AcrylX 60 by 36 by 77 inches: left or right seat, 25 by 18 by 21 inches.
• Three-piece Liberty 60 by 33: molded seat taking 18.5 inches of the 55.75 inch interior width, leaving a 37.25 inch standing area beside it.
• One-piece AcrylX 42 by 42 by 80 inches: center drain, no seat listed.
• Five-piece stall: no molded seat; a bench is the seating option.

The full size comparison, including thresholds and which stalls suit new construction versus a finished bathroom, is in What is the standard size of a basic shower stall?. The Liberty three-piece and the 60 by 33 one-piece share the molded seat, and the three-piece is the way to get it into a bathroom whose doorways are already finished, since the base and two wall sections assemble from the front.

When a Bench Is the Better Choice

If the lack of a published seat rating is a concern, or you are ordering the five-piece stall, a bench is the alternative. Ella's teak benches are rated to 500 pounds and come in 18, 24, 30 and 36 inch widths, which gives you a published figure to plan around. On the five-piece stall a molded seat is not offered at all, so the bench is specified with the order along with any soap ledges and 24 inch or 36 inch grab bars, as described in Ordering the 5-Piece Shower Stall With Soap Ledges, a Bench, or Grab Bars. Keep the five-piece base's molded foot ledge in mind when placing a bench, since the ledge is part of the base, measures 17 5/8 inches long and is not optional. Ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 which bench width fits the stall you are ordering so the seating and the grab bars arrive together for the installer.

Related Guides

• How Much Weight Can the Molded Shower Seat and Shower Base Hold?

Common Questions