What is the difference between a walk-in tub and a roll-in shower?

The difference is at the entry and in what happens once you are inside. A roll-in shower is a curb-less base with a beveled entry as low as 3/4 inch that a wheelchair or shower chair rolls straight into, with a flexible dam holding the water in; a walk-in tub is a sealed enclosure you enter through a door, sit in on a molded seat, and fill for a soak of roughly 14 to 17 1/2 inches of water with therapies, showering from the seat with the hand shower. Should I choose a walk-in tub or a roll-in shower? turns the difference into a decision; this page sets the two products side by side.

The Entry: A Lip You Roll over or a Door You Close

Ella's wheelchair accessible roll-in base is a curb-less pan. AcrylX barrier-free bases have a beveled roll-in entry of 3/4 inch to 1 1/8 inch depending on size, and SMC bases are 1 inch or 1 1/8 inch, the lowest entry of any Ella product. Because there is no curb, a collapsible rubber shower dam keeps the water in. The first video shows it installed with silicone along the front of the base, then compressing under the wheels of a chair and springing back to hold the water in the stall. For bathers who prefer a slightly raised edge and no dam, a 3 inch step-in base is offered, and Ella's one-piece and three-piece stalls have a 4 inch threshold.

A walk-in tub has a door instead. The bather steps over the threshold, sits, and closes and locks the door before any water goes in. On the Transfer family the door is an extra wide L-shaped outward door built for wheelchair transfer; the second video shows it opening over the toilet for easy access, with a two-latch gear and shaft lock for a leak-proof seal and dual drains for fast draining. The tub gives a wheelchair user a seated soak; the roll-in base gives a wheelchair user a shower without leaving the chair.

How the Ella Options Compare

What these figures mean for your bathroom: the roll-in base wins on entry height by a wide margin, since even the 3 inch step-in base and the 4 inch stall threshold sit well above its 3/4 to 1 1/8 inch bevel, and nothing has to be crossed by a chair. The walk-in tub wins on what you can do inside, because it holds water for a soak and carries therapy packages, and the Transfer family brings the wheelchair user into that soak through a door built for the transfer. If the person bathing will stay in the chair, the base is the answer; if they can transfer to a seat and want to soak, the tub is.

What Happens Inside: A Shower or a Soak

A walk-in tub gives a molded seat and a soak, with soaking depths of roughly 14 to 17 1/2 inches on the models toured in the product videos, and therapy packages such as air massage, hydro massage, foot massage, microbubbles, chromatherapy and a heated seat. It also gives a shower: the 2-piece and 5-piece fast-fill faucets include a pull-out hand shower, and the optional shower column adds a 10 inch rain head for seated or standing showers. Walk-in Tub Model Highlights: Longer, Deluxe, Monaco, and Transfer XXL describes how the models differ in soaking style, door swing and therapy features, including the soaker, no-jets configuration.

A roll-in shower gives a standing or seated shower and nothing to fill. A seat is optional: folding benches and seats rated from 300 to 600 pounds, or a 36 by 60 base with a molded seat. Caregiver options include a weighted anti-bacterial nylon curtain, a stainless curtain rod and a slide bar with hand shower. Shower products are sold per item, so a complete roll-in shower is put together from the base, a wall system sized to it, and accessories such as grab bars or a door; Shower Bases, Walls, and Filler Pieces lists the base and wall options, including the 8 inch wide L-shaped filler piece that closes a gap to an adjoining wall.

Size and Fit in the Space You Have

The most common walk-in tub size is 30 inches wide by 52 inches long, a footprint that fits many standard tub alcoves, and cut-to-fit extension panels close a gap between the tub and the wall. The roll-in base comes in three standard sizes, 30 x 60, 32 x 60 and 36 x 60 inches, with the drain position specified when you order, and sizes outside those three can be made to order; the 32 by 60 inch barrier-free base is ready to ship in left and right configurations. Custom bases can be built to specific dimensions, such as a 36 by 36 inch corner base with the drain placed to your measurements. Walk-In Tub and Shower Base Sizes and How to Measure for Fit explains how to measure the alcove, and because the online drain-placement tool can round measurements up to the nearest inch, confirm the drain location with the team at (800) 480-6850 before a base is built.

One more term is worth separating. A walk-in shower is a shower with a low edge you step over, such as the 3 inch step-in base, and it is not the same as a walk-in tub. What is the difference between a walk-in shower and a shower stall? sorts out the shower vocabulary.

Watch: Wheelchair-Accessible Transfer Acrylic Walk-In Tub with L-Shaped Door | Ella’s Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• What is a roll-in shower and who is it designed for?
• What Is the Difference Between a Roll-In Shower and a Walk-In Shower?
• Installing Ella Shower Bases, the Flexible Shower Dam, and Shower Walls

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