What Is a Three-Piece Shower and How Is It Installed?

A three-piece Ella shower is a shower stall that ships as separate sections rather than as one molded unit, which is what lets it pass through the finished doorways and hallways of an existing home. Installing it is a job for your licensed contractor: the sections are set in the alcove following the kit's installation manual, the drain that ships with the kit is connected to the house waste line, the valve and shower head openings are cut on site, and the grab bars that arrive packed loose are mounted into solid backing. The reason the three-piece exists is explained in Will a One-Piece Ella Shower Fit Through My Doorways? The 33-Inch Clearance Rule and New Construction, and the carton contents are in What Comes in the Box With an Ella Shower Kit, and What You Still Need to Buy.

Why the Three-Piece Stall Exists

A one-piece Ella shower arrives as a single molded piece and needs at least 33 inches of clear opening at every doorway and hallway on the path to the bathroom. It does not fit through an average finished doorway or hallway, which is why the one-piece stall is intended mostly for new construction, where it is set in place before the framing and doors are finished. Because that unit cannot be broken down, the team contacts you before a one-piece order goes to production to confirm that you understand the clearance, the seat side and drain side you selected, and the number of grab bars. If your home is already built and any opening on the route is narrower than 33 inches, the three-piece stall is the alternative, because its sections come in separately. One tight spot is enough to stop a one-piece unit, so measure the narrowest point of every exterior door, interior door, hallway and stairway between the delivery point and the bathroom before you decide which stall to order.

How the Stall Families Compare

For your bathroom, the difference comes down to access and seating. The one-piece is the simplest to finish but only if every opening on the route clears 33 inches, which usually means the shower goes in before the doors are hung. The three-piece gives you the sectional route into an existing bathroom. The five-piece adds the most ordering choices, including soap ledges formed in the wall panels, but seating on it is a bench rather than a molded seat, as Ordering the 5-Piece Shower Stall With Soap Ledges, a Bench, or Grab Bars explains.

What Arrives and What You Still Buy

An Ella shower kit ships with the stall itself, whether one-piece or multi-piece depending on the model, the grab bar set listed for that kit, and the drain. The grab bars are packed loose rather than pre-installed, so confirm the count against your order when you unpack. The installation manual for your kit is published with the product listing and is also available from the team.

• No shower head or hand shower is included, so nothing in the box detaches for hand-held use.
• No mixing valve, valve trim or supply plumbing is included. The rough-in piping and fittings are supplied by your installer.
• The wall arrives solid, with no opening for a valve or shower head and no preset height or offset. The correct location depends on the valve you choose, the rough-in behind the wall and the needs of the person using the shower, so your plumber marks and cuts the openings during installation.
• If you want a hand shower on a slide bar, choose that hardware with your plumber when you select the valve so the openings can be planned together.

What the Installer Does

1. Confirms that the drain position on the stall matches the rough-in in your floor. The base is ordered with a left-hand or right-hand drain so it matches your rough plumbing.
2. Sets the sections in the alcove following the installation manual for your kit.
3. Connects the drain that ships with the kit to the house waste line using installer-supplied rough-in piping and fittings.
4. Marks and cuts the valve and shower head openings for the valve you selected together.
5. Mounts the grab bars into the reinforced backing zones with the grab bar screws, since bars ship loose and mounting them is part of the job.

Around the stall, Ella's shower lineup includes three-piece acrylic wall systems in white, CNC and digital print finishes with ADA accessories, a 32 by 60 inch barrier-free roll-in base in left and right configurations, a three-inch step-in threshold for a slightly raised entry, and an 8 inch wide L-shaped filler piece with brackets that can be trimmed to close a gap between a base and an adjoining wall. Those options are listed in Shower Bases, Walls, and Filler Pieces.

Ordering and Delivery

When you place the order with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, state the drain side, the seat side and the number of grab bars, and have the shower valve, trim, shower head and any hand shower on site before the stall is set. Ella's Bubbles is the manufacturer of the shower. If you bought it through a retailer, the retailer sends your tracking once the unit ships, and the freight carrier then calls to schedule a delivery appointment, so someone needs to be available to receive it. Inspect the sections on arrival, keep all packaging material, and report any shipping damage right away to where you purchased. Ella showers are built to order, and the team can confirm current timing for your specific order.

Related Guides

• Installing the 60 x 33 Three-Piece Low-Threshold Shower With Molded Seat (Liberty 24 and 36)
• Installation Instructions and Spec Drawings for One-Piece and Multi-Piece Shower Units
• Ella Shower Stalls Compared: One-Piece AcrylX E-Series, Three-Piece 60x33 Molded Seat, and the Legacy ESM Gel Coat Stalls

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