Can a Walk-In Tub Be Stored in a Garage or Outside Before Installation?

Yes, an Ella walk-in tub can wait in a garage before installation, as long as the garage keeps the weather off and keeps the tub out of the cold. Storing it outside, on a driveway, patio or lawn, does not meet Ella's guidance. That guidance is to keep the tub in its original packaging, indoors and out of the weather, until the installer is ready. The complete storage guidance, including how long a tub can wait, is in How Long and Where Can I Store a Walk-In Tub Before Installation?, and this page covers the garage and outdoor question in detail.

What the Storage Guidance Asks for

There is no deadline to install an Ella walk-in tub once it has been delivered. The question is never how long the tub can sit, only where it sits. The guidance is short, and every part of it matters when you are choosing between the garage and the yard:

• Original packaging. The tub stays in the packaging it arrived in until the installer is ready for it. Keep every piece of that packaging, because it also matters for a freight damage claim or a return.
• Indoors. The tub belongs inside a building, not beside one.
• Out of the weather. Rain, snow and sun should never reach the crate.
• Out of the cold. When a tub arrives before the installer can set it, staff recommend keeping it out of the cold to be safe.

A garage can satisfy all four points. An outdoor spot cannot satisfy the second or third point, no matter how well the crate is covered.

Garage, Outside or Another Spot: How Each Option Compares

The table below applies the guidance to the places owners ask about most often.

In practice, the word garage is not the deciding factor. A garage that stays dry and stays out of the cold is a good home for the crate for months. The same garage during a freezing winter no longer meets the recommendation, and the tub should move into a conditioned part of the house or stay at the Ella dock until installation day is close. Outside storage is the one option the guidance rules out in every season.

Getting the Crate from the Curb into the Garage

Many owners plan to store the tub in the garage and then learn on delivery day that the crate stops at the curb. Every Ella walk-in tub ships with curbside delivery with liftgate service. The freight carrier lowers the crate to the ground at the curb, and moving it from there is up to you and your installer. Ella's Bubbles does not offer white glove delivery, so no crew unpacks the tub or places it in a room.

You can ask for inside delivery, a narrower service in which the carrier moves the crate from the truck to an agreed spot on your property, such as inside the garage. It is an added carrier service with an additional charge, and it is not available from every carrier or at every address. The request steps are in White Glove and Inside Delivery Options for a Walk-In Tub Order, and the essentials are:

1. Ask before the tub ships, because adding services once the tub is on the truck is far harder.
2. Describe the route in detail: gates, side entrances, distance from the truck, steps, and the surfaces the crate will cross.
3. Name an on-site contact who will meet the truck and direct the drivers.
4. Approve the charge. Nothing is added to your order until you, or the dealer who placed your order, approve it.

One detail is easy to miss. A patio is listed as a possible inside delivery drop point, but a patio is still outdoors. If the carrier leaves the crate there, line up your installer or helpers to move it under a roof, so the patio is a stopping point and not the storage spot.

Inspect First, Then Store

Putting the tub in the garage does not pause the two dates that start at delivery. Freight damage must be reported within 48 hours of receipt, and that window does not reopen when you finally uncrate the tub for installation. A complete inspection includes both a visual check and an operational one, and all packaging material should be saved. Inspect during those first 48 hours, then settle the tub into its storage spot in its original packaging.

The second date is the 30-day return window. It applies only to brand new, uninstalled tubs in original packaging, it does not pause while the tub waits, and a 25% restocking fee applies to returns. If you take delivery well ahead of installation, that window will very likely close before the tub goes in.

Where you store the tub also matters if a return ever comes up. A returned tub must arrive in perfect, as-new condition with no scratches or damage of any kind, and missing parts or damage found at the warehouse inspection are deducted from the refund. That is why the return instructions say to keep the crate on a clean, flat surface and never to set the tub or panels directly on gravel or rough ground. A clean garage floor meets that standard, and a gravel drive or a lawn does not. The packing and pickup requirements are in Preparing a Returned Walk-In Tub for Carrier Pickup.

What Waiting in Storage Does Not Change

Owners who store a tub for a season sometimes worry that the wait itself costs them something. It does not. The tub is covered once it is installed and the warranty is activated, and the months it spent waiting do not change that. The warranty is not activated at delivery. It goes into force when the activation form signed by you and your installer is returned with the required documents, so a tub in storage is simply waiting for that step. Ella walk-in tubs are assembled and tested to order, so taking delivery ahead of a remodel also secures the exact configuration for your project.

A common surprise after storage is the fill spout. When the hardware box is opened on installation day, the inside of the spout can look dark, mottled or oxidized, and it is easy to blame the garage. That color is the natural look of rough, unfinished brass. It appears even when the spout has never left its original shrink wrap, and it is not a sign that humidity reached the part while it waited. The explanation is in Why Does the Inside of My New Fill Spout Look Discolored or Oxidized?, and the spout does not need to be replaced before installation.

If You Have No Dry, Warm Place to Keep It

If the only options are an unheated garage in freezing weather or a spot outside, the better route is to not take delivery yet. The tub can stay at the Ella dock, with delivery scheduled close to installation day. Talk with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 before you authorize shipment, or open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support. The tub will then arrive when your installer is ready to bring it straight inside.

Common Questions