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

A walk-in shower describes how you get in: a shower with a low edge you step over rather than a tub wall to climb, such as Ella's three-inch step-in threshold base. A shower stall, sometimes called a stall shower, describes the enclosure itself: the base and walls sold as one complete unit, one-piece or multi-piece, that forms the shower compartment. The terms overlap, because an Ella stall with a low threshold such as the Liberty is a walk-in shower, and a walk-in shower can also be built from a separate base, wall kit and accessories. The two entry styles Ella offers are explained in What is the difference between a roll-in and a walk-in shower?.

What a Shower Stall Is

A shower stall is a self-contained shower compartment. In Ella's range it ships as the stall itself, whether one-piece or multi-piece depending on the model, with the grab bar set listed for that kit packed loose and the drain in the carton. It 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 your plumber chooses the valve and cuts the openings on site. That list is spelled out in What Comes in the Box With an Ella Shower Kit, and What You Still Need to Buy. Ella stalls are built as accessible residential showers with a low step-in and factory grab bars, and Ella answers directly that the stall as a complete unit is not ADA compliant, a point that matters for commercial projects and is covered in Are Ella Shower Stalls ADA Compliant?.

What a Walk-In Shower Is

Walk-in shower is a description of the entry rather than of a product. Ella's version is a three-inch step-in threshold: the raised edge holds water in the shower without a dam, and the step over it is far lower than the side of a conventional tub. This is the style most people mean when they say walk-in shower. Its counterpart is the roll-in shower, which has a barrier-free, curb-less base with no threshold at all so a wheelchair can roll straight in. Because a roll-in base has no curb, Ella offers a flexible, compressible shower dam that wheels roll over and that returns to its original shape. 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.

How the Options Compare

What the table shows is that the walk-in versus stall question is really two separate choices. The first is the entry: a three-inch step-in edge or a curb-less roll-in base, and that choice is made by who will use the shower. The second is whether you want a complete stall whose compartment size and door opening are fixed by the unit, or a shower assembled from a base and wall kit you size to the room. A stall such as the Liberty gives you one set of figures to plan around, while the piece-by-piece route lets you match an unusual opening but asks you to measure and coordinate more.

Building a Walk-In Shower from Pieces Versus Buying a Stall

Ella sells shower products per item rather than as one bundle, so a walk-in shower can be put together from the base in your size and drain position, a wall system sized to the base such as the plain white acrylic three-piece panel kit, a CNC engraved pattern or a digital print finish, and accessories such as grab bars or a door. An 8 inch wide L-shaped filler piece, which can be trimmed, closes a gap between the base and an adjoining wall or fixture. Measure the finished opening rather than the framing before you order, and confirm the drain location with the team because the online drain-placement tool can round measurements up.

With a stall, the compartment is already defined, so the figures to check are the ones on its spec drawing. The Liberty's interior opening is 55.75 inches wide and 73 inches high measured from the threshold, and a compact stall can have a much narrower opening, such as 45 inches, so read the drawing for your exact model rather than the nominal alcove size. Either way, the drain that ships with the unit is connected to the house waste line by your plumber, who also supplies the rough-in piping and fittings.

Doors, Grab Bars and What You Still Buy

Ella offers one door of its own for the Liberty opening, the Ella Duo framed sliding door, and the stall also accepts any third-party door sized to the opening. The square corners above the low threshold let framed and frameless doors seal down into the corner, so hinged, sliding and barn-style doors are all workable. Compare a door maker's minimum and maximum opening width with 55.75 inches, and if a door's minimum is a fraction wider, ask the manufacturer whether it can be trimmed rather than assuming it can. Mounting and sealing details are in Choosing a Shower Door for the Ella Liberty Three-Piece Shower.

Grab bars come in two lengths, 24 and 36 inches, both 1.25 inches in diameter and standing 1.5 inches off the wall so a hand can wrap fully around the tube. They exceed the 250 pound minimum load called for by ADA and ANSI guidelines, but a bar is only as strong as what it is anchored to, so your installer must fasten it into the reinforced backing built into the wall panels with the correct screws. On some one-piece showers even the 24 inch bar does not fit the back wall, so check wall length before choosing. The full figures are in Grab Bar Length, Diameter, Weight Rating and Wall Spacing. Whichever style you choose, the shower valve, valve trim, shower head and any hand shower are bought separately and should be on site before the stall or base is set. For help matching a stall or base to your opening, ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850.

Related Guides

• What is a roll-in shower and who is it designed for?
• Installing Ella Shower Bases, the Flexible Shower Dam, and Shower Walls
• Shower Base Sizes and Thresholds Compared: AcrylX Barrier-Free, SMC Linear-Drain, Molded-Seat and Cultured Marble Bases

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