How tall are walk-in tubs and how high is the step-in?

Ella's seated walk-in tubs stand 35 inches tall at their lowest, on the Elite, Petite and Royal, rise to 35 3/4 inches on the Ultimate and 39 inches on the Deluxe, and the lie-down LayDown 30x60 is only 21 inches high at the deck edge. The step you actually lift your foot over is the low door threshold, not the outside wall, and that is a matter of a few inches: roughly 3 1/2 to 4 inches on the Capri and 6 inches on the Elite. How tall are bathtubs and walk-in tubs, and why does it matter? compares walk-in heights with conventional tubs; this page puts the overall height and the step-in height side by side so you can plan around both.

Overall Height and Step-In Are Two Different Numbers

A regular bathtub is an open basin you climb into over its wall, so its height and its step are the same thing. A walk-in tub is entered through a sealed door, so the outside wall can be taller without the entry becoming harder. Inside is a molded seat at chair height, about 17 inches on most models, with a footwell in front of it, and that seat is why a seated walk-in tub stands well above a conventional tub. Ella's dimensions guide describes a typical walk-in tub height of 38 to 43 inches, and the published figures for Ella's own seated models run from 35 inches up to 41 3/8 inches on the HomeCare assisted-bathing tub.

What a taller shell mostly buys you is deeper water around a seated bather, not a harder entry. The entry is set by the threshold in the door opening, and every model's threshold is listed on its spec sheet. When you compare models, keep three figures separate:

• Overall height is the outside wall, measured from the floor to the top of the deck. Use it for window sills, vanity tops and the wall finish above the tub.
• Step-in height is the threshold you lift each foot over in the door opening. This is the number that decides how easy the tub is to enter.
• Soaking depth is how deep the water can be. The LayDown offers 15 inches, compared with about 11 inches in a standard bathtub.

Published Heights and Step-In Figures by Model

The table uses only figures printed on the current spec sheets or in Ella's published articles. Where a figure is not published, the cell says so rather than estimating, and the size in a model's name is a rounded nominal figure, so plan against the actual inch value.

What the differences mean: the seated tubs cluster between 35 and 40 inches, so the outside height varies by only a few inches across most of the line, and the choice among the 35 inch tubs comes down to width, 27.5, 30 or 32 inches. The step-in figures that are published are all low, and they do not track the overall height; the Elite is one of the shortest tubs and has a 6 inch threshold, while the Capri's step-in is roughly 3 1/2 to 4 inches. If entry is your main concern, compare the threshold on the spec sheets for the models you are considering rather than their overall height. The LayDown is the outlier in both directions: the lowest exterior by far, with a deeper soak than a standard bathtub, but no seat.

Which Models Come in Under 35 Inches

Only the LayDown models. The LayDown60 measures 21 inches high at the deck edge, with the backrest end rising to 25 3/4 inches, and the LayDown72 sits just over 21 inches at the deck edge with the backrest end rising to 27 7/8 inches. Both recline you rather than seat you, so there is no molded seat in either one, and the interior is laid out like a conventional bathtub with a long flat floor and straight sidewalls. Which Ella Walk-In Tubs Have No Seat, and How High Are the Sides? covers the interior figures.

If a seat is essential, 35 inches is as low as Ella goes. The Elite, Petite and Royal with the stainless steel inward-swing door are the shortest seated tubs, and seated tubs cannot be built shorter than that. The leveling legs cannot be turned down to lower a tub either, because their job is to keep every foot evenly planted so the door aligns and seals. Which walk-in tub models have a finished height of 35 inches or less? filters the lineup at that limit. If you have seen a 15 inch figure, that is the LayDown's soaking depth and not a tub height, as explained in Do they make a bathtub that is only 15 inches high?.

What the Height Means for Your Bathroom

Height rarely decides whether the tub fits, because a walk-in tub goes into the same three-wall opening a standard 60 inch bathtub used to occupy, and most 52 and 55 inch models use an extension panel to fill the gap at one end. Height does decide a few things around the tub:

1. Check anything beside or above the planned location, such as a window sill, a shelf or a vanity top, against the overall height of the model you are considering.
2. Plan the wall finish above the deck. The walls are finished with tile or a surround over a tile flange, and a 35 inch deck sits noticeably higher than the 24 inch rim of Ella's conventional step-over Solo and Fiji tubs.
3. Measure the opening wall to wall at the back and at the front, and compare it with the actual size on the spec sheet rather than the nominal name.
4. For a LayDown, confirm the 21 inch height against any window, shelf or fixture near the location, following Laid-Down Walk-In Tub Dimensions and Fit.

Tell your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 which model you are considering, and they can confirm both the exterior height and the step-in for it.

Related Guides

• Walk-in tub dimensions by model: exterior sizes, seat widths, and door types
• How Deep Is the Water Really in a Walk-In Tub?
• Step-In Threshold Heights by Model and How Low It Can Go

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