What Is a Three-Piece Shower and How Is It Installed?

A three-piece Ella shower is a low-threshold shower stall that ships as a pan and separate wall panels, which your installer dry-assembles, checks against the framing, and then sets into the framed pocket in the bathroom. It exists mainly so a stall can get into a finished home, because the one-piece unit is a single molded piece that needs at least 33 inches of clear opening at every doorway and hallway on the way to the bathroom, as Will a One-Piece Ella Shower Fit Through My Doorways? The 33-Inch Clearance Rule and New Construction explains. This page describes what the three-piece stall is, what arrives in the carton, and the installation sequence shown in Ella's installation videos.

What Three-Piece Means

A one-piece shower arrives as one molded shell, which is why it is intended mostly for new construction, where it can be set in place before the framing and doors are finished. The three-piece stall ships as separate sections instead. Ella's installation video for the low-threshold three-piece shower refers to the panels and the pan, so the pieces are the shower floor and the wall sections that join on site. Because each section is smaller than a one-piece shell, the three-piece stall is the unit to compare when your home is already built and the openings are narrower than 33 inches.

Ella also makes a five-piece stall, which is a base plus four wall sections that assemble on site. That unit is ordered with soap ledges, a bench and 24-inch or 36-inch grab bars, and it has a molded foot ledge 17 5/8 inches long rather than a molded seat. Ordering the 5-Piece Shower Stall With Soap Ledges, a Bench, or Grab Bars covers those options. The walls on Ella's multi-piece units are acrylic wall systems, and the base and wall choices are listed in Shower Bases, Walls, and Filler Pieces.

The difference for your project is access and sequencing. A one-piece unit has to be measured against the narrowest point of every door, hallway and stairway before it is ordered, because one tight spot stops it. A multi-piece unit removes that constraint but adds an assembly step, which is why the installation starts with a dry assembly outside the bathroom.

What Is in the Carton, and What You Still Buy

An Ella shower kit ships with the stall sections, the grab bar set listed for that kit, and the drain. The grab bars are packed loose, not pre-installed, so mounting them is part of the installation. The kit does not include a shower head, a hand shower, a mixing valve or valve trim, and the wall arrives solid with no valve cutout and no preset height or offset. Your plumber selects the valve, marks and cuts the valve and shower head openings on site, supplies the rough-in piping, and connects the drain to the house waste line. What Comes in the Box With an Ella Shower Kit, and What You Still Need to Buy lists what to have on site before installation day.

Before Demolition: Receive, Inspect and Dry-Assemble

Both installation videos on this page open with the same advice, and it is the part most often skipped.

1. Have an adult present when the unit arrives to receive it, inspect it and note on the bill of lading any visual damage to the carton or crate. Do not let the driver leave until this is done, because failing to note damage can limit or void a claim with the freight carrier.
2. If the unit cannot be inspected on the spot, for example in bad weather, sign the bill of lading with the words subject to further inspection, so concealed damage can still be claimed.
3. Photograph any suspected damage and report it right away to where you purchased, keeping all packaging material.
4. Dry-assemble the shower in any clean, dry, open space before moving it into the bathroom. This confirms you received the correct panels and the correct drain location, that the panels and pan are free from damage and defect, and that the panels align properly when assembled.
5. Take a picture of the dry-assembled unit. The video explains that this photo is used later in the installation.
6. Delay demolition of the existing bathtub area until you are confident the new unit is the correct size and condition, so nobody is left without a working bathroom while waiting for a replacement. The video sums it up as slow is fast.

Preparing the Framing Pocket

The installation manual for your unit carries the required tools and materials lists and a framing diagrams page, and the video's framing checks follow that page.

• Check the framing pocket against the dimensions on the framing diagrams page in the installation instructions.
• Check the pocket for square, plumb and level, and make adjustments. The video notes that it is more common than not that adjustments are needed.
• Hang a plumb bob from the framing at the back wall. In the video the wall was not plumb, and the solution is either to shim the pan away from the wall or to notch the stud. This matters because slight variances affect plumb walls and show up as uneven grout lines.
• Inspect the subfloor before the pan is set.

From there the installer sets the pan, connects the drain, fits the wall panels in the order the manual gives, cuts the valve and shower head openings for the valve you chose, and anchors the grab bars. Ella does not send technicians, so a licensed local plumber does this work, and the team at (800) 480-6850 supports your installer through the manual by phone.

Related Guides

• Installing an Ella One-Piece AcrylX Shower Stall: Alcove Prep, Drain Opening, Fastening and First Use
• Installing the 60 x 33 Three-Piece Low-Threshold Shower With Molded Seat (Liberty 24 and 36)
• Shower Bases and Wall Panels

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