What Are Acrylic Shower Walls, and Are They Worth It?

Acrylic shower walls are large, smooth wall panels with an acrylic bathing surface that glue to the wall in a few pieces instead of being built up from individual tiles, and Ella's Bubbles sells them as a 3-piece surround, a 6-piece kit, large individual panels, and as the AcrylX applied finish on its one-piece stalls. Whether they are worth it comes down to fit, finish, edge detail and upkeep rather than a single verdict, because Ella's published documents describe what the panels are and how to care for them but do not rate them against other wall finishes. The current kit sizes and how to order them are in Where can I buy acrylic shower wall panels for an Ella shower?.

What an Acrylic Shower Wall Is

Ella's Bubbles focuses on walk-in tubs and safety bathing equipment, and alongside them it offers acrylic shower walls and shower bases, as described in What Products Does Ella's Bubbles Offer?. The acrylic walls come in two constructions. The first is a sheet panel: the marble-look panels in the 6-piece kit are 1/8 inch thick, and the 3-piece surround is solid white glossy acrylic with a 1 inch bend at the panel edges. The second is AcrylX, a long lasting applied acrylic finish over a fiberglass-reinforced shell with Armorcore reinforced walls behind it. On an AcrylX unit the fiberglass gives the shape and strength and the acrylic layer is the surface you see and touch. Both are acrylic, and Ella's care instructions treat them exactly the same way, as explained in What is AcrylX and how does it compare to acrylic?. What acrylic is not is a substrate for tile: it is a smooth finished surface that does not accept thinset, which is why an Ella acrylic base must never be tiled over, as covered in Can You Tile Over an Ella Acrylic Shower Base?.

The Formats Ella Sells

Acrylic walls are sold per item rather than as one bundle, so the first decision is which format fits your alcove. The printed figures below are the ones on the current product pages.

What the differences mean: the 3-piece surround is deeper and taller than the 6-piece kit, so confirm your ceiling height and alcove depth before choosing it. The 6-piece kit and the SMC kits fit a 36 by 60 inch footprint, and the 3-piece surround fits 40 by 60 inches. If your alcove is a different size, give the team the measurements so they can advise on fit, and remember that the SMC subway panels and the tongue-and-groove grout-free tiles are different products, so name the exact one you want when you ask.

Finishes and How the Edges Are Handled

Acrylic walls come in white, CNC engraved and digital print finishes. The edge detail is decided at order time. White CNC walls can be made with a 2 inch bend along an exposed edge, but the bend is formed at the factory and must be specified when you order. Printed-design walls are not bent; a trim strip can be requested at order time, or your contractor can fit a white J-molding from a local home improvement store. If there is a gap between the base and an adjoining wall or fixture, the 8 inch wide L-shaped filler piece closes it. It is plastic, ships with brackets and can be trimmed to size. The bases these walls sit on, including the 32 by 60 inch barrier-free roll-in base in left and right configurations, the three-inch step-in threshold option and the wheelchair rolling bases, are listed in Shower Bases, Walls, and Filler Pieces.

What "worth It" Looks Like in the Published Documents

Ella does not publish a ranking of wall materials, but three things in its documents speak to long-term value.

• Care is simple. The one rule in every Ella care document is no abrasives. Clean with warm water and liquid detergent or a non-abrasive cleanser made for fiberglass bathroom fixtures, and never use scouring powders or pads or steel wool.
• Published warranty terms favor AcrylX over gel coat. The AcrylX with Armorcore one-piece stalls, including the E-3648 and the Millennial, print a Lifetime Limited Residential Warranty and a 30-Year Commercial Warranty, while the legacy ESM gel coat stalls and the low-threshold gel coat multi-piece showers print a 3 year limited warranty. Check the printed term for the exact product you are buying, since each product's document lists its own.
• Armorcore walls take hardware anywhere. Reinforced walls on all sides of an AcrylX stall mean grab bars and seats can be mounted anywhere on the wall, which matters when a bather's needs change after the shower is installed.

The counterweight is that acrylic is a finished surface, not a base for other finishes. If you later want a tiled floor, the answer is a different base, not tile on top of the acrylic one, so choose the base whose size and threshold suit the room from the start.

Ordering and What to Have Ready

Products ship from Ella's Chicago warehouse to its dealer network, so the panels you see are supplied through your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, and if you already own an Ella product, where you purchased can look up the matching panels. When panels are ordered together with a tub, they ship with the tub order. Have these ready when you ask:

1. Your alcove width and depth, and the height from the base or tub rim to the ceiling.
2. Which base or walk-in tub the panels will go over.
3. The edge finish you want, since a factory bend on white CNC walls has to be specified at order time.
4. Whether you need the 8 inch L-shaped filler piece to close a gap at an adjoining wall or fixture.

Complete one-piece and multi-piece AcrylX kits are carried by Home Depot, while bases, the collapsible dam and wall systems come through your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850. Ask for the spec sheet for the exact kit when you inquire so the printed size is the one you plan around.

Related Guides

• Acrylic 6-Piece Wall Panel Kit: Size, Shelves, Thickness and How It Compares to the 3-Piece Surround and SMC Panels
• Cultured Marble Shower Wall Panels: Stock Sizes, Cutting to Fit, and Finishing the Edges
• Wall Panels and Surrounds for Walk-In Tubs: Acrylic 3-Panel Kits, Cultured Marble, and PVC Tiles

Related Videos

Common Questions