Can you tile an Ella shower pan, and is 47x34 available?

No, tile should not be laid on top of an Ella acrylic shower pan. The pan is the finished walking surface as shipped, with its slope, threshold and drain molded in, and tile, thinset or a waterproofing membrane on top would bury that slope and could trap water with no path to the drain. A 47 by 34 inch pan is not a stock size, but as a rectangle 34 inches wide by 47 inches long it falls inside the published custom range of 30 by 30 up to 44 by 80 inches, so it is a custom request to confirm with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850. The tiling rule on its own is explained in Can You Tile Over an Ella Acrylic Shower Base?; this page pairs it with the size question so you can plan the whole shower floor at once.

Why Tile Stays Off the Pan

Tile needs a rigid, absorbent substrate that mortar can bond to. Acrylic is a smooth finished surface that does not accept thinset, so tile laid over it would not bond reliably and could trap water underneath with no path to the drain. The second problem is the shape of the pan itself. Three features are molded into every Ella base before it leaves the factory: the floor is pitched toward the drain, the threshold is formed as part of the same molding, and the drain opening sits in a fixed position. Water moves to the drain because of that molded slope, not because of any depth, so a layer of tile and mortar on top would bury the very feature the pan relies on.

What makes the base feel solid is support from underneath when it is installed, not a layer added on top. What Is an Acrylic Shower Base and How Does It Work? walks through how the shell is set and supported, and the same rule applies to every size, standard or custom. If the pan you are looking at does not match your design, the answer is a different base, not a covering.

Where a Tiled Look Belongs

Plan tile for the walls above the base. The base meets the walls along its edges, and whatever wall finish you choose comes down over that edge so water runs onto the pan rather than behind it. If you are pairing tiled walls with an Ella base instead of Ella wall panels, confirm the wall detail with your tile installer and with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 before work begins, so the joint between tile and base is sealed correctly.

The video on this page shows Ella's groutless tongue and groove PVC Carrara tile going onto an enclosure: each piece is measured, scored and snapped to size, adhesive goes on the back, a thin bead of silicone is run at each joint for a watertight seal, and the pieces set and snap together. That is a wall finish, and it is the kind of tiled look that works with an acrylic pan, because the pan below it stays exactly as it was molded.

Is a 47 by 34 Inch Pan Available?

There is no stock pan in that size. Ella's standard low-threshold bases come in three footprints, all 60 inches long, and anything else is a custom build. The custom program is wide enough to cover a 47 by 34 request as long as the pan is a plain rectangle. The table lays out where the request sits against the published sizes.

What the figures mean for your room: the custom maximum is 44 inches wide by 80 inches long with the threshold on the longer side, so the 47 inch side of your pan is the long side that carries the step-in edge, and the 34 inch dimension runs from the back wall to that edge. Both numbers sit inside the range, which is why the request is routine rather than a stretch. Pans shorter than 60 inches are common custom work; sizes such as 46 by 46, 50 by 30 and 36 by 44 inches have all been built, and a 58 by 30 inch base with a center drain has been produced. If your opening instead needs a pan 47 inches deep from the back wall with a 34 inch entry, that depth is past the 44 inch limit, so measure the orientation carefully before you call. The complete size list is in What sizes do shower pans come in, from smallest to largest?.

Threshold and Drain on a Custom Pan

A custom base typically has a threshold of about 3 inches, and the published example of a 32 by 60 inch low-threshold base is built in 4 inch and 2 inch versions, so state which step height you want. Barrier-free bases sit flush with the floor and ship with a collapsible rubber dam that keeps water in. Depth does not change drainage; every Ella base has a textured, slip-resistant floor with the slope and drainage channels molded in, so a 2 inch threshold drains the same way a 4 inch one does. How Deep Is a Shower Pan and Does Depth Matter? compares the threshold heights in one place.

The drain is the detail that most often decides whether a custom pan works. On a custom base the drain can be placed left, right or center, but it must sit at least 9 inches from each wall, and a drain only 7 inches from the threshold edge is not possible even on a custom pan. Its position has to match the drain line in your floor, so measure from the walls to the center of the existing drain and bring that figure to the conversation. On a pan 34 inches deep the 9 inch rule applies from the back wall and from each side wall, which leaves a defined band where the drain can go.

What to Have Ready Before You Call

• The finished opening, measured wall to wall at the back and from the back wall to the entry edge, after any wallboard or tile backer is in place.
• Whether the pan sits in a three-wall alcove or a corner, since the corner range tops out at 42 by 60 inches.
• The drain location measured from each wall, so the team can confirm it clears the 9 inch rule.
• The threshold style you want: a low step of about 3 inches, a 2 or 4 inch step where offered, or a flush barrier-free edge.
• Your wall plan, Ella wall panels or tile, so the edge detail is settled before the base is built.

With those figures in hand, your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 can confirm the exact 47 by 34 build, the drain position and the threshold, and you receive a pan that is the finished floor you want from the first day, with nothing to lay on top of it.

Watch: Ella's Bubbles: Grout-less Tongue & Groove PVC Carrara Tile Installation with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Custom-Size Shower Bases: Size Ranges, Threshold Options, Drain Placement Rules, Construction, and How to Request One
• How do you build a custom shower pan or base?
• Shower Base Sizes and Thresholds Compared: AcrylX Barrier-Free, SMC Linear-Drain, Molded-Seat and Cultured Marble Bases

Common Questions