What Are Ella Shower Wall Panels Made Of, and Do They Off-Gas?

Ella shower wall panels come in two material families. The standard panels are acrylic, offered in plain white, a CNC routed design with light gray grout lines, and a digital print option, and the cultured marble travertine panels are a natural quartz and granite composite with a gel coat surface. Ella's published statement on off-gassing covers the acrylic tub shell, which the team says does not off-gas volatile organic compounds when correctly installed; the shower wall pages describe the panel materials without a separate off-gassing statement, so ask the team at (800) 480-6850 if you need an answer for a specific panel package. Sizes and finishes are listed in Shower Bases and Wall Panels.

The Acrylic Wall Panels

Ella manufactures its own acrylic shower wall panels at a consistent 98 inch height. In the three-piece kit the two side panels measure 40 inches wide and the back wall panel measures 60 inches wide. Larger acrylic panels are also offered, including 98 by 60 inch back walls and side walls from 36 to 38 inches wide by 96 to 98 inches tall, so a kit can be matched to the width of the base and the height of the room.

The acrylic panels come in three looks:

• Plain white, a smooth finish with no pattern.
• A CNC routed design with light gray grout lines, which gives the appearance of tile without any grout to scrub.
• A digital print option.

ADA accessories are available with the three-piece acrylic systems. Acrylic is also the material of the wall surrounds that enclose the area around a walk-in tub, including the acrylic top portion that finishes the surround above the tub deck. The panel sizes, the matching bases and the 8 inch wide L-shaped filler piece that closes a gap to an adjoining wall are listed in Shower Bases, Walls, and Filler Pieces. Because styles and finishes vary, your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can show you samples before you choose.

The Cultured Marble Travertine Panels

The second family is the cultured marble travertine shower wall surround shown in the video on this page. These panels are made from a natural quartz and granite composite with a gel coat surface, which gives the look and feel of natural stone while staying durable and easy to clean. They come as multi-piece surrounds of eight, six or four panels, and each panel is light enough to be carried and installed by one person.

The video also shows how they go up. The panels are glued directly over drywall, plaster, painted walls, Durock cement board or even existing tile, so a remodel does not always have to start with demolition. The edges are factory finished for seamless panel joining, and they can be trimmed and cut for a custom fit around a window, a niche or an out-of-square corner.

The difference comes down to look, weight and how the walls are prepared. The acrylic kits are sized to Ella's own bases and come in a plain or tile-look finish, while the cultured marble surround is chosen for a stone look and for the option of gluing it over the walls you already have. If you want a specific pattern or color, ask to see samples through your Ella dealer, because the finishes offered can vary.

What Is Published About Off-Gassing

Off-gassing questions usually come from people who notice the smell of new building materials or who have respiratory concerns. Ella's team answers the question for the tub in What Are the Shell, Frame, Door and Towel Bar of an Ella Walk-In Tub Made Of?: the shell is thermoformed from an acrylic sheet, fiberglass is applied only to the underside for reinforcement, no fiberglass touches the bather side, and a correctly installed tub does not off-gas volatile organic compounds.

For the shower wall panels, the published pages describe the materials but do not make a separate off-gassing statement. What can be said from the published material:

• The standard panels are acrylic, the same material family as the bathing surface of the tub shell.
• The cultured marble panels are a quartz and granite composite with a gel coat surface.
• Neither panel type is tiled or grouted on site, and Ella's acrylic shower bases are finished acrylic that does not need to be tiled over, so a finished Ella shower has fewer site-applied materials than a tiled enclosure.

The video shows the cultured marble panels being glued over the existing wall, so the adhesive your installer uses is a separate product from the panels themselves. If a chemical sensitivity or a specific material question matters for your household, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support and name the exact panel package you are considering so the answer applies to what you would receive.

What This Means for Your Bathroom

Ella showers are open at the top. There is no dome, ceiling panel or light, so the bathroom ceiling finishes the enclosure and the room's ventilation handles steam and moisture, as explained in Can I Add a Ceiling Light Above an Open-Top Ella Shower?. A few planning points follow from the materials:

1. Choose the family first, acrylic or cultured marble, and see samples through your Ella dealer so the finish is settled before anything is ordered.
2. Check the panel heights against your ceiling. The acrylic panels are 98 inches high, and the cultured marble panels can be trimmed and cut for a custom fit.
3. Decide whether the existing wall stays. The cultured marble panels can go over drywall, plaster, painted walls, Durock or existing tile, which changes how much demolition your contractor plans.
4. Finish any wiring for a ceiling fixture before the panels go up, since the electrician's fixture sits above the open enclosure.
5. Leave the base as it comes. Ella shower pans are finished acrylic and are ready to use once installed, with no tile on top.

Your contractor sets the base, connects the drain and installs the walls around it, and your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can confirm which base, wall and surround combination fits the space.

Watch: Transform Your Shower with Cultured Marble Wall Surround | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Acrylic 6-Piece Wall Panel Kit: Size, Shelves, Thickness and How It Compares to the 3-Piece Surround and SMC Panels
• Cultured Marble Shower Wall Panels: Stock Sizes, Cutting to Fit, and Finishing the Edges
• How do you install or attach Ella shower wall panels and surrounds?

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