What is a stall shower, and what comes with an Ella stall?

A stall shower, also called a shower stall, is a shower built as its own compartment: a molded base with a drain, walls that rise around it, and an entry you step or roll through, rather than a shower added over a bathtub. An Ella shower stall is that compartment in acrylic, shipped either as one molded unit or in sections, with the grab bars and the drain in the box and the valve, shower head and hand shower chosen separately. What Comes in the Box With an Ella Shower Kit, and What You Still Need to Buy lists the carton contents in detail.

The Parts That Make a Shower a Stall

Three parts define a stall, and knowing them helps you read any Ella shower listing.

• The base. The floor of the stall is a molded base with the drain in it. You choose a left-hand or right-hand drain so the base matches your rough plumbing. On the 5-piece stall a foot ledge is part of the molded base, and that ledge measures 17 5/8 inches long. Some stall families mold a seat into the base; the 5-piece stall does not, and offers a bench instead.
• The walls. The walls arrive solid, with no opening for a valve or shower head and no preset height or offset, because the correct location depends on the valve you choose, the rough-in behind the wall and the person using the shower. Your plumber marks and cuts the openings during installation. Reinforced backing is built into the wall panels so the grab bars can be fastened securely, and on the 5-piece stall soap ledges can be formed into the panels when you order.
• The entry. Ella showers are built as accessible residential showers with a low step-in and factory grab bars. A barrier-free, wheelchair accessible base takes a roll-in entry instead, with a flexible dam to keep the water in.

What is not in a stall kit matters just as much. No shower head, hand shower, mixing valve, valve trim or supply plumbing is included, so nothing in the box detaches for hand-held use. Your plumber connects the drain to the house waste line and supplies the rough-in piping and fittings. Choose the valve and trim with your plumber, buy the shower head and any hand shower and slide bar, and have them on site before the stall is set.

One-Piece, Three-Piece and Five-Piece Stalls

Ella's stalls differ mainly in how many pieces they arrive in, and that decides whether a stall will reach your bathroom at all. The table uses only figures from the published guides.

The practical difference is the path into the room. Most finished homes have at least one opening narrower than 33 inches, which is why the one-piece stall is aimed at new construction and why the team calls you before a one-piece order goes to production to confirm you understand it cannot be broken down. The three-piece and five-piece stalls solve that problem by arriving in sections. How Do I Measure Doorways and Hallways for a One-Piece Ella Shower? walks the route step by step, and Ordering the 5-Piece Shower Stall With Soap Ledges, a Bench, or Grab Bars covers the options on the sectional unit.

Step-In and Roll-In Stalls, and What ADA Means Here

A stall can be entered over a low lip or rolled into with no lip at all. The video shows the roll-in version: a barrier-free wheelchair accessible shower base fitted with the Ella flexible shower dam, a compressible waterproof strip that the wheels simply roll over on the way in and out, after which it returns to its original shape and keeps the water inside the stall. The video also shows how the dam is installed, with the surfaces cleaned with denatured alcohol, the dam measured and cut, the end caps inserted, the dam pressed down snugly against the wall and floor, and silicone run along both lower edges and both end caps.

Whichever entry you choose, Ella shower stalls are not ADA compliant, and Ella gives that answer directly. The Americans with Disabilities Act standards for a shower compartment cover the dimensions, the threshold height, the seat, the placement and strength of grab bars and the reach range for the controls, and a shower is only compliant when the full configuration satisfies every requirement. One accessible feature does not make the stall compliant. For a private residence that certification is generally not a code requirement, and most homeowners choose the stall for its low step-in, grab bars and seat or bench. For a commercial building or any inspected project, confirm the requirement with your local code official before ordering. Are Ella Shower Stalls ADA Compliant? explains the distinction.

Ordering a Stall

1. Measure the alcove the stall will occupy and every opening on the route in, comparing each with the stall you want.
2. State the drain side, left-hand or right-hand, and on stalls with a seat, the seat side.
3. Tell your dealer how many grab bars you need and, on the 5-piece stall, whether you want the 24-inch or 36-inch bar, soap ledges and a bench. Grab bars ship loose for your installer to anchor.
4. Ask which door, if any, fits the opening of the size you are ordering, since Ella does not carry a matching door for every stall size.
5. Keep the phone number on the order answered. For a one-piece stall the team confirms the fit, the seat side, the drain side and the grab bar count before release, and the freight carrier calls to schedule delivery.

Place the order with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, and if you bought through a retailer, the retailer sends your tracking once the unit ships.

Caring for an Acrylic Stall

The walls and the floor of a stall take different tools. The manufacturer's care instructions call for Soft Scrub applied with a cloth on the walls and worked in with a brush on the floor, because a cloth alone does not lift the buildup that settles there. Work across the whole floor rather than one spot, then rinse thoroughly. For hard water staining the team recommends Goo Gone or rubbing alcohol, and any other cleaner is acceptable as long as it contains no ammonia, bleach or Clorox, which dull the gloss. If the floor still looks wrong after a proper cleaning, The Shower Floor Looks Dull or Dirty Compared to the Walls explains which photos to send with a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support.

Related Guides

• Installing an Ella One-Piece AcrylX Shower Stall: Alcove Prep, Drain Opening, Fastening and First Use
• What Is a Three-Piece Shower and How Is It Installed?
• Does the Ella Shower Stall Come With a Door, and What Size Door Fits the Opening?

Related Videos

Common Questions