What Is the 4-Fold Shower Screen on a Walk-In Tub?

The 4-fold shower screen, also called the folding glass screen, accordion screen or four-panel bath screen, is a 44 by 42 inch tempered glass screen in a chrome ionized aluminum frame that mounts to the side wall beside your walk-in tub and keeps shower spray inside. Its four panels fold flat against the wall when not in use, and by removing one section it converts to a 32 inch wide 3-fold screen.

How It Works

The panels are 1/8 inch tempered clear glass joined by PVC geared hinges, with a doorknob on both sides and a 90 degree pivot at the wall channel. The screen is reversible for a left or right installation. Along the bottom runs an inward-angled rubber gasket that brushes the tub deck lightly and evenly; that gasket is the seal, so the height and level of the wall channel decide whether the screen stays dry. Set too low, the gasket gets damaged; set too high, water escapes underneath.

Which Ella Models Have It

The screen is an accessory rather than a per-model feature. It mounts to the wall beside any Ella walk-in tub that sits in a corner or alcove, on the wall side away from any extension panel, and it can be added after the tub is installed. In a 60 inch alcove where a 52 inch tub uses an extension panel, one section is removed to make the 32 inch 3-fold screen. Other glass choices, including sliders and the Tidy screen, are compared in glass door and screen options beyond the 4-fold.

What to Know as an Owner

If water shows up at the bottom of the screen, level the screen and set the height so the gasket seats on the deck, and confirm the rubber gasket is angled inward toward the tub. Clean the glass with warm soapy water and a lint-free cloth after use; never use alcohol, petroleum liquids or chemical cleaners on the screen, and never anything gritty. Cleaning the glass shower screen, stainless door and chrome fixtures has the routine. The mounting steps and the 3-fold conversion are in installing glass shower screens, and gaskets, glass panels and knobs are covered in replacement parts for glass shower screens and doors. For a ticket, have your tub model and serial number, whether the screen is set up as 4-fold or 3-fold, and a photo of the gasket and of where the water appears.

Related Guides

• Four-Fold Glass Shower Screen: Damaged Hardware, the Return Window and Why Panels Cannot Be Added
• Folding Glass Shower Screen: Which Side It Mounts On, How Much Room It Takes Folded, and Confirming Stock
• Which Glass Shower Screen Fits Your Ella Tub and Where It Mounts
• Is There a Lock on the Walk-In Tub Door, and How Do I Stop Hand-Shower Splashing?
• Four-Fold Shower Screen on Backorder: How the Rest of Your Order Ships and How the Screen Follows
• What Is the Best Walk-In Tub and Shower Combo?

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