What Is a Roll-In Shower and What Does It Look Like?

A roll-in shower is a shower built on a curb-less base, so there is no threshold to step or roll over and a wheelchair can roll straight in from the bathroom floor. In the Ella's Bubbles line it looks like a finished acrylic pan set between the bathroom walls, with wall panels above it and a soft, compressible dam across the open front that keeps the water inside. The standard sizes and drain choices are laid out in Wheelchair Accessible Shower Base Sizes, Drain Positions, and What Is Sold Separately.

What Makes a Shower a Roll-In Shower

The entry is what defines it. A conventional shower base has a raised edge at the front, and Ella offers that style too, as a 3 inch step-in threshold base for bathers who prefer a slightly raised edge. A roll-in shower removes that edge. Ella's wheelchair accessible roll-in bases are ADA curb-less roll-in pans, which means the front of the pan has no threshold to step or roll over, and a wheelchair, a shower chair or a walker can cross it without being lifted.

You will see three terms used together on Ella's pages: roll-in, curb-less and barrier-free. They all describe this same open entry. Zero threshold bases sit flush with the surrounding floor, so the bathroom floor and the shower floor meet without a step between them. That flush meeting point is the first thing most people notice when they see a roll-in shower for the first time.

What a Roll-In Shower Looks Like, Piece by Piece

A roll-in shower is not one molded unit. Ella shower products are sold per item, so the finished shower is put together from the pieces your bathroom needs. Here is what you would see, from the floor up:

• The base. A finished acrylic pan with the slope and the drain molded in. It is the walking and rolling surface as shipped, it is ready to use once it is set, and it is not tiled over.
• The dam. Roll-in and barrier-free bases ship with a self-adhesive collapsible rubber dam. It runs along the open front of the base, where a curb would sit on an ordinary shower.
• The walls. A wall system sized to the base. The choices include a plain white acrylic three-piece panel kit, a CNC engraved pattern in acrylic, and a marble-look three-piece panel kit. Ella's acrylic shower wall panels are 98 inches high.
• The accessories. Grab bars or a shower door, added as separate items to suit the bather.

The overview in Shower Bases, Walls, and Filler Pieces shows how the base family, the wall systems and the matching pieces relate to each other.

How a Shower with No Curb Keeps the Water in

This is the question almost everyone asks next, and the video on this page answers it. It presents the Ella flexible shower dam, made for use with a barrier-free wheelchair accessible shower base. The dam is flexible, compressible and waterproof. The wheels simply roll over the compressible material on the way in or out, and the dam returns to its original shape so the water stays in the shower stall. The video closes with the finished result and a demonstration of how well the dam contains water.

The video also shows the installation, which follows this order:

1. Measure precisely, then clean all surfaces thoroughly with denatured alcohol.
2. Place a tape line on the surface as a guide, measure how much dam material is needed, mark it and cut it carefully.
3. Insert the plastic end cap as indicated and apply silicone to all gaps.
4. Pull the red tape covering back about an inch, set the dam snugly against the shower wall and floor, and slowly pull the tape cover away while working along the dam.
5. Secure the dam with pressure along its entire length, then remove the tape guide and clean the surfaces again.
6. Place painter tape on both sides of the dam, apply a thin bead of silicone along the lower edge on both sides, and smooth the gaps, including both end caps.

Sizes, Entry Styles and Which Option Has a Seat

The roll-in base comes in three standard sizes. The table sets them beside the other base options named on Ella's current pages, so you can see where the roll-in pans sit in the lineup and where a seat appears.

Here is what those differences mean for you. All three standard roll-in bases share the 60 inch length and differ only in width, so the width of your alcove usually decides which one fits. A seat is not listed for the standard roll-in bases. The option with a molded seat on Ella's current pages is the 60 by 33 inch three-piece low-threshold kit, and that kit uses its own pan and a low threshold instead of a curb-less entry. If you need both a true roll-in entry and seating, tell your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 so the right combination can be confirmed for your order. The full range of footprints is covered in What sizes do shower pans come in, from smallest to largest?

Planning a Roll-In Shower for Your Bathroom

A few details decide whether a roll-in shower drops neatly into your space:

• Measure the finished opening, not the framing. The base is ordered to the finished size of the space so it arrives ready to set.
• Know where your drain line sits. The drain position is specified when you order. Left-hand and center-drain bases are among those that have been supplied, so share where the existing drain line sits in the floor and the team confirms which drain position matches your size.
• Ask about custom sizes early. When none of the three standard sizes fits, a rectangular base can be made to order. Only rectangles are made, and the drain must sit at least 9 inches from each wall.
• Confirm the threshold on a custom base. A custom base typically has a threshold of about 3 inches. If a roll-in entry is the goal, say so, because zero threshold bases sit flush with the surrounding floor instead. The details are in Who Makes Custom Shower Pans and Bases for Accessible Showers?
• Line up your contractor. Your local licensed contractor sets the base, connects the drain and finishes the walls around it.

With the opening measured and the drain located, choosing a roll-in shower becomes a pleasantly simple conversation with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850.

Watch: The Ella Shower Dam, Keep Water In, Roll In With Ease | Ella's Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• What the Ella Acrylic Shower Base Is Made Of and How It Is Installed
• Installing Ella Shower Bases, the Flexible Shower Dam, and Shower Walls
• What Is a Collapsible Rubber Dam on a Roll-In Shower?

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