How Is the Drain Installed and Connected on an Ella Walk-In Tub Without Leaks?

On an Ella walk-in tub you do not install the drain itself. The tub ships with its dual drain already installed and four open ports ready for your plumber, so a leak-free result comes down to three things: building the drain line to the house drain before the tub is set, leveling the tub before anything is connected, and testing every connection with water before the installer leaves. The planning side is covered in Choosing the Drain Side for an Alcove or Slab Installation and Prebuilding the Drain Line, and this page follows the whole job in the order it happens.

What Is Already Done Before the Tub Arrives

Many people searching for how to install a tub drain expect to assemble a drain kit in the bathroom. With an Ella walk-in tub that part is already finished. Here is what arrives on the tub:

• The dual drain is installed on the tub at the factory.
• Four open ports are ready for your plumber to connect.
• The two drains sit on either side of the tub's center line.
• The exact drain positions are dimensioned on the spec sheet for your model.
• Motors and pumps are fully installed on the tub, so there is nothing to mount in the field.

This changes the job in a helpful way. Your plumber's work is connecting the tub to the house drain and proving the connections are watertight, not building a drain from loose parts. It also means the most useful thing you can do early is share the spec sheet with your installer, so the house drain connection can be located before delivery day instead of being worked out with the tub in the way.

Confirm Which Side the Drains Are on

On every Ella walk-in tub the door and the drains sit on opposite sides. A tub with the door on the right has its drains on the left, and a tub with the door on the left has its drains on the right, with sides described as you face the tub. Choosing the drain side therefore also fixes the door side, so the two are decided together.

The item description on your final invoice states the hand of the tub. Read it carefully before you approve it, because a drain line built for the wrong side is the kind of surprise nobody wants on installation day.

In a three-wall alcove the side walls are closed off once the tub is in, so the only way to reach the drain connections afterward is through the front of the tub. The best drain side is the one that puts the drain ports where they can be reached from the front, underneath the pumps, so the final connections can be made and checked without moving the tub. Existing rough-in plumbing does not have to dictate the choice. Installers often move the supply and drain lines to the side that gives the best access and the right door swing for the room. If a side wall stays open, or the tub stands free on one end, access is easier.

Build the Drain Line Before the Tub Is Set

For an alcove or slab installation, have the dual drain line built to the house drain before the tub is set in place. Once the tub is in, working room is very limited, and a line that was prepared ahead of time turns the final step into a simple, visible connection.

One figure matters here more than any other. There is only about half an inch of clearance under the tub for the drain line to fall toward the house drain. That is very little room, so your plumber should plan the route with the spec sheet in hand. On a slab, a shallow trough in the concrete is worth considering, even where it turns out not to be strictly necessary.

Level the Tub First, Then Connect

The order of work matters. Once the tub is inside, it must be properly leveled before anything is connected. Ella tubs have adjustable leveling legs so the tub can be set correctly on the actual floor, and the full procedure is in the walk-in tub leveling guide. The short version for the day of the drain connection:

1. Start with a subfloor that is level and rated to support the tub, the water and the bather.
2. Set the tub in place and check every side with a level, reading both length and width on the deck.
3. Try to slide a piece of paper under each leveling leg. If the paper slides under, that leg is not carrying weight.
4. Adjust until every foot is securely on the ground, then tighten all legs firmly.
5. Only then make the drain connections to the line that was built ahead of time.

Leveling is the number one thing that prevents door leaks, and misleveling voids the warranty, so it is worth a few unhurried minutes before the plumbing is touched.

Test with Water Before the Installer Leaves

A drain connection is only proven when it has held water. The warranty activation form carries a checklist that your installer initials line by line, and several of its lines are about exactly this. They are explained in the sixteen installer checks. The ones that speak to the drain and to leaks are:

• Drains open and close properly. A drain that does not open fully drains slowly, and one that does not close fully loses bath water.
• Locking nut tightened on both stoppers. A loose locking nut lets the stopper creep, and the tub slowly empties during a bath.
• Supply lines checked for leaks with both diverters on. Full flow finds a loose or over-tightened connection, and over-torquing damages the internal gasket in a braided line.
• A fill of at least 20 minutes. Twenty minutes gives a slow seep time to show itself, which a quick fill and drain would miss.
• Hydro and air pumps run at least 20 minutes with every connection watertight. Connections are checked under vibration and pressure, not only while the tub sits still.

You are welcome to watch these checks and photograph them during the handover. Because an alcove leaves only the front of the tub open, this is also the moment to look at the drain connections with a flashlight while they are still easy to reach and the tub is full.

Who Does the Work

The drain connection belongs to a local licensed plumber. Ella does not send technicians. Replacement parts ship under the warranty, and a local licensed plumber or electrician does the labor. If you or your plumber have a question about the drain positions on your model, reach out at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 with your model name and the spec sheet in front of you.

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• Drainage and Fill Time
• What Size Water Heater Do I Need for My Walk-in Tub?
• Electrical requirements by model: dedicated GFCI circuits for your walk-in tub

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