How Wide, High and Deep Is a Walk-In Tub Seat and Backrest?

Across Ella's walk-in tubs the molded seat runs 19 to 29 inches wide, its surface sits roughly 17 inches above the tub floor on most models, within the 17 to 19 inch range used for accessible seating, and the seat depth from front to back varies by model, with the Standard's seat printed at 22 inches wide by 18 inches long. There is no published backrest height, so that is the one figure to confirm with the team for your model. What Are Seat Width and Seat Height on a Walk-In Tub? defines the first two figures, and this page adds seat depth, the backrest, and how to use all three when you measure a seated bather for a tub.

Three Seat Figures, and Where Each One Is Printed

Seat width is measured across the seat surface at hip level and is the figure that must exceed your seated hip measurement. Seat height is measured from the tub floor to the seat surface, and on most Ella models it is about 17 inches, a chair-like height that makes sitting down and standing back up feel natural. Seat length, which is what most people mean by seat depth, is the front to back dimension of the seat and is the figure that changes most between models. Seat width and seat height are printed on the spec drawing for each model, and seat length appears in the published figures for some models as a pair, such as 22 by 18 inches for the Standard, 20 by 15 for the Zen and 20 by 13 for the Flow. The seat is molded into the shell as one piece, so none of these can be moved or adjusted after installation. If you would like to sit higher, a seat pillow riser adds a few inches on the models it fits. How to read the three outside figures on the same drawing is covered in Walk-In Tub Dimensions Explained: Which Figure Is the Width, the Length and the Height, and Where to Find the Spec Drawing.

Published Seat Figures by Model

Width is the figure every model publishes and it spans 10 inches from the Petite to the TransferXXL, so it does the most to decide fit. Seat length is printed for fewer models, but where it is, the spread from 13 inches on the Flow to 18 inches on the Standard is large enough to change how the seat feels under the thigh and how much interior length is left for the legs. Seat height barely varies, which is why the general figure of about 17 inches serves for most models while only the Ultra prints its own. Every model's figures are on its spec drawing, so ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 for the drawing of the tub you are considering rather than relying on the table alone. The widest seats, the Escape's 27 and 29 inch pair, the ShaK's 28 inches and the TransferXXL's 29, are covered in Seat sizes and soaking depth: how to measure yourself for a comfortable fit.

The Backrest

No backrest height is published for any Ella walk-in tub, and this page will not estimate one. The backrest is the part of the tub the heated seat option warms along with the seat; the video on the heated option shows a single button that activates the heated seat and backrest, turned on 10 to 15 minutes before entering and switching off automatically after 20 minutes. If the backrest height matters for a bather's shoulder support, have the model name ready and ask the team for that figure directly. Do not confuse it with the tub's overall height, which is the outside wall from floor to rim, 35 inches on the Petite and Elite and 21 inches on the LayDown 30x60, as explained in How tall are bathtubs and walk-in tubs, and why does it matter?. Height, soaking depth and seat depth are three different numbers, and the backrest is a fourth.

How Seat Length Sets Your Soaking Depth

The video on this page explains that the overall soaking depth of a walk-in tub is determined by three factors: the interior length of the tub, the length of the seat, and the depth from the top of the seat to the center of the overflow drains. Seat length is the one of those three that this page adds, and it works against interior length. A longer seat on the same interior length leaves less room for the legs, while a shorter seat leaves more. The bather's own size then decides the final result, which is why Ella's measuring guidance warns that the extra-large tubs with very long seats, designed for taller bathers, can be uncomfortable for an average or shorter person. Bigger is not automatically better; the right seat length is the one that matches the bather's seated length from head to feet.

Measuring a Seated Bather to Pick a Transfer Tub Width

The same method applies to any model, and the Transfer family is where seat width is most often the deciding figure because its seats span 19 to 29 inches. Sit in a straight chair facing a wall in a relaxed position. Measure the hips while seated, because the tub seat must be wider than that figure. Measure the shoulders while seated to make sure the tub has the proper shoulder width. Then measure from the top of the head to the feet while sitting to gauge the tub length. Compare those three numbers with the seat width, interior length and seat-to-overflow depth on the drawing for each tub, and be exact, since different body sizes call for different size tubs. For the Transfer seats, the published widths are 19 inches on the Transfer26, 22 inches on the Transfer30 and Transfer60, 24 inches on the Transfer32 and 29 inches on the TransferXXL. If the tub is already installed, have the model name and serial number ready when you call.

Watch: How to Measure the Soaking Depth of Your Walk-In Tub | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

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