What are my options when the tub door must go on the short end?

If the door has to be on the short end of the tub, the Ella Front Entry is the model built for that layout. It is the one Ella walk-in tub you enter from its end rather than its side, with the outward-swing U-shape door mounted on its 32 inch end, and every other Ella model is a side-entry tub ordered with the door on the left or the right. Ella Front Entry vs Mobile: which compact tub fits a tiny bathroom? sets the Front Entry beside the smallest side-entry tub, and this page covers what an end door changes about your room, how the Front Entry compares with the compact side-entry tubs, and what to check before you order.

The Front Entry Is the One Tub You Enter from the End

The Front Entry measures 32 inches wide by 40 inches long by 40 inches high, which is the shortest footprint front to back in the Ella line. Its outward-swing U-shape door sits on the 32 inch end, so the bather walks up to the end of the tub and steps through, and the tub slides into a spot only 40 inches long. Because the door faces the front, the Front Entry is the one Ella model that is not ordered as left-hand or right-hand; there is no door side to specify. The seat is listed at 25 inches wide on the spec sheet and 24 inches in the product video, and it is 13.5 inches long, which gives a larger bather more room than the compact side-entry tubs offer. The step-in is a low threshold, although no figure for it is published.

The tub holds 70 gallons of water unoccupied and 25 to 55 gallons occupied. It weighs 200 pounds net and 280 pounds in its shipping crate, and the crate measures 35 by 43 by 43 inches. Therapy packages for the Front Entry are Air plus Hydro, Hydro plus Microbubble, Hydro and Soaking. There is no Hydro plus Foot option and no LED light with any package, so a short space does not mean giving up jets, but the menu is narrower than on the side-entry models.

End Door or Side Door: The Compact Tubs Compared

Most people asking about a short-end door are working in a tight room, so the useful comparison is between the Front Entry and the two compact side-entry tubs, the Mobile and the Flow. The figures below are the actual sizes from the current spec sheets, not the nominal names.

What the differences mean: the Front Entry wins on length and the Mobile wins on width. If the room is short and you can stand at the end of the tub, the end door is the answer, because no side-entry Ella tub is as short as 40 inches. If the room is narrow or the doorway is the obstacle, a side-entry tub such as the Mobile is the better fit even though it is longer, since its 26 inch shell is the narrowest in the line. The Flow sits between the two on every dimension and is the only one of the three with an inward-swinging door. Neither the Mobile nor the Front Entry offers an extension panel, so both suit a corner or a short space rather than a 60 inch alcove.

What an End Door Changes About Your Room

• You approach from the end. The Front Entry only works where the bather can walk up to the short end of the tub, so the end of the tub, not its side, is the part of the room that has to stay open.
• Width still matters. The tub needs 32 inches of width even though it needs only 40 inches of length.
• There is no door side to decide. Every other Ella model is built left-hand or right-hand; the Front Entry is ordered as one tub, which removes one decision from the drawing.
• Two removable side panels are included for corner or single-wall placement, so the tub can finish cleanly against one wall or in a corner.
• It does not fill a 60 inch alcove on its own. No extension panel is offered, so plan on a corner or a short space, not a standard alcove.

Panels deserve a sketch before you order. Across the lineup every Ella tub includes one end panel, and a second one is needed only when the tub sits against the back wall with both short ends open to the room; in a corner or a three-wall alcove the wall covers the other end. How to Add a Second End Panel to Your Walk-In Tub Order or Buy One Later explains how a panel is added at order time or bought afterward. Because the Front Entry is listed with its own two removable side panels, show your layout to your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 and confirm which panel set your placement calls for.

Getting the Tub into the Room and Checking the Floor

In a small home the doorway is often harder than the bathroom, so measure the path first. Check every exterior and interior door width and every hallway along the route, and plan the carry-in around the Front Entry crate at 35 by 43 by 43 inches. The Front Entry and the Mobile are the two tubs Ella's team points single-wide mobile home owners toward, as Where can I buy a walk-in tub sized for a mobile home? describes, and the same doorway and route checks apply in any compact bathroom.

A walk-in tub places three loads on the floor at once: the tub, the water and the bather. Ella's owner's manuals require a level subfloor that can support the total weight of all three and that meets local code. Water weighs about 8.34 pounds per gallon, so with the Front Entry's 70 gallons the water is usually the largest share of the load, on top of the tub's 200 pounds. Inspectors start from the International Residential Code minimum of 40 pounds per square foot for living areas, but a tub is a concentrated load on a small footprint, so joist size, span, spacing and condition all matter. Are walk-in tubs a good option for mobile homes? walks through that structural check, which your contractor or an engineer should make before the tub is ordered.

Ordering a Front Entry

Order through your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 and say that the door must be on the short end. Settle the therapy package before the tub is built, choosing from Air plus Hydro, Hydro plus Microbubble, Hydro or Soaking, and confirm the panels on your order paperwork. If you are still weighing the Front Entry against a side-entry tub, What is the shortest walk-in bathtub Ella's Bubbles makes? separates the three ways a tub can be the shortest, since the Front Entry wins on length while the 35 inch Petite, Elite and Royal are the lowest tubs to step into. When the tub arrives, inspect it as soon as it is delivered, keep all packaging, and report any shipping damage, including concealed damage, within 48 hours of receipt.

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