Which Ella Walk-In Tubs Have No Seat, and How High Are the Sides?
The only Ella walk-in tubs without a seat are the two LayDown models, the LayDown 30x60 and the LayDown 32x72. The LayDown 30x60 stands 21 inches high overall and has a 15 inch soaking depth, and those are the two published side figures to plan around. The seat question itself is answered in Does the Ella LayDown Walk-In Tub Have a Seat or Is It Lie-Down Only?, and this page puts the seatless tubs and their side heights next to the seated models so you can compare them in one place.
The Two Ella Tubs with No Seat
Nearly every Ella walk-in tub is built around a molded seat at chair height, about 17 inches high on most models, with a footwell in front of it. The LayDown family is the happy exception. The two LayDown tubs are the Ella models built for lying down rather than sitting, and the interior is laid out like a conventional bathtub, with a long flat floor, straight sidewalls and nothing raised to sit on.
- LayDown 30x60. Actual size 60 inches long by 30 inches wide by 21 inches high, with an interior floor of 46 inches long by 20 inches wide. The soaking space opens up to 53 inches by 25 1/2 inches above the floor.
- LayDown 32x72. 32 inches wide by 72 inches long nominal, with the drawing printing the overall length as 71 3/4 inches. The interior floor is 22 1/2 inches wide, and the interior is listed at 61 inches by 28 inches.
Both sizes share the same simple interior: a textured, slip-resistant floor, straight sidewalls, a single oversized 2 inch brass drain, and a tempered glass side door in a brushed aluminum frame with a low threshold. One detail causes confusion. The LayDown spec sheet uses the same template as the seated tubs and prints a seat line, even though LayDown tubs have no seat. If you spot a seat reference on the sheet, set it aside and plan around the floor and depth figures. A fuller profile of the family is in What is the Ella LayDown walk-in bathtub and which sizes are available?
How High the Sides Are on the 30x60 LayDown
Two figures are published for the sides of the LayDown 30x60, and they describe different things.
- 21 inches is the overall height of the tub, measured on the outside. This is the figure to use when you plan the wall finish above the tub and compare the tub with the one you have now.
- 15 inches is the soaking depth, which describes how deep the water can be. A standard bathtub offers about 11 inches, which is why the LayDown is described as much deeper and roomier than an average tub while sitting only 21 inches high.
A separate interior side wall measurement, taken from the tub floor to the top of the rim, is not listed in the published figures. If your plans depend on that exact number, ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 to read it from the spec drawing instead of estimating from a photo. The height of the LayDown 32x72 is also not listed, so confirm it the same way before you plan around it. The background to the 15 inch figure, and why it is water depth and not tub height, is explained in Do they make a bathtub that is only 15 inches high?
Seatless and Seated Ella Tubs Side by Side
The table uses only published figures. Where a figure is not published, the cell says not listed.
| Model | Seat | Overall height | Interior or seat figure | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LayDown 30x60 | No seat, lie-down only | 21 inches | 53 by 25 1/2 inch soaking space, 46 by 20 inch floor, 15 inch soaking depth | A full-length reclined soak in the space of a standard 60 inch bathtub |
| LayDown 32x72 | No seat, lie-down only | not listed | 61 by 28 inch interior, 15 inch soaking depth | Bathers over six feet tall who have a longer run of wall available |
| Petite 28x52 | Molded seat | 35 inches | 19 inch seat | The narrowest seat in the line, for compact bathrooms |
| Elite 30x52 | Molded seat | 35 inches | 22 inch seat | The same height as the Petite with a wider seat |
| Ultimate 30x60 | Molded seat | 35 3/4 inches | 21 inch seat | A full-length seated tub for taller bathers |
| Deluxe 30x55 | Molded seat | 39 inches | 21 inch seat | Sitting upright in deeper water with extra legroom |
The difference is easy to see. The seated tubs stand 35 to 39 inches tall because the shell has to rise above a chair-height seat and still hold water up around a seated bather. The LayDown 30x60 has no seat to rise above, so it stands only 21 inches high and puts its room into length and width instead. If you want to sit down and stand up from a raised seat, a seated model is the right family. If you want to stretch out at full length, the two LayDown tubs are the ones built for it. More model heights are compared in How Tall Are Walk-In Tubs Compared to Standard Tubs?
What the Low Sides Mean When You Step in
On a conventional bathtub the height of the rim is the wall you have to climb over. On a LayDown you do not climb the side at all. The tempered glass door swings inward through a 115 degree arc with a door opening of 19 5/8 inches, so no floor clearance is needed in front of the tub. You swing the door in, step over the low threshold, close the door while you are still standing, and rotate the handle fully. The tub must drain completely before the door is opened again.
That is why the side height matters less for entry than it first appears. What you actually step over is the threshold in the door opening, not the 21 inch wall. The showroom walkthrough presents the LayDown as a tub for the whole household: children step in through the glass door, and seniors or anyone with limited mobility get a conventional lying-down bath without the high step over a standard tub wall. Each of the videos is described in LayDown Tubs on Video, including the door handle, the gasket and where the controls sit.
Keep one practical point in mind. With no seat, you bathe lying on the flat tub floor, not on a raised chair-height seat. The textured, slip-resistant floor and the straight sidewalls are there to make that comfortable and secure, and the straight walls keep the bathing space wide.
What to Check Before You Choose a Tub with No Seat
- Decide how you want to bathe. A LayDown is lie-down only. If a raised seat matters to you or to the person who will use the tub, compare the seated models in the table first.
- Measure the alcove both ways. The LayDown 30x60 fits the space of a standard 60 inch bathtub. The LayDown 32x72 is wider as well as longer, so measure the width of the alcove as carefully as the length.
- Find your house drain. The LayDown tubs are offered with a left or right drain, so locate your drain before your order is confirmed.
- Plan the faucet. No LayDown tub includes a faucet by default. The LayDown 30x60 has no factory faucet option, so it relies on a pre-existing or new customer-supplied faucet, typically wall-mounted.
- Plan the walls above the tub. At 21 inches high, the LayDown 30x60 leaves much more wall to finish above the rim than a 35 inch seated tub does. A folding tempered glass shower screen is an optional accessory on both sizes.
- Confirm any figure that is not listed. For the interior side wall measurement or the height of the 32x72, ask your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 for the current spec sheet.
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Common Questions
Which Ella walk-in tubs do not have a seat?
How high are the sides on the LayDown 30x60?
Is the 15 inch figure the height of the tub?
How tall is the LayDown 32x72 walk-in tub?
Why does the LayDown spec sheet mention a seat?
How much taller are the seated Ella walk-in tubs?
About this guide. Answers in the Ella’s Bubbles Support Center are compiled from real conversations with tub owners, our technicians’ notes and the product documentation, then reviewed by our team. Tub models and options have evolved over the years, so a detail here may differ slightly from your exact tub. If something looks different on yours, send us your serial number and a specialist will confirm it for your model.
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