Which Ella Shower Kits Can a Homeowner Install Themselves?

A homeowner can install the wall panel side of an Ella shower project, set the stall or base and the loose grab bars by following the published manual, and fit the tub shower column kit, while the water side of the job, meaning the valve, the wall openings and the drain connection, belongs to a licensed plumber. The cultured marble surrounds are the kit most often installed by one person, the acrylic and SMC panel kits go up from the front on a pin and slot system, and the roll-in bases and stalls arrive with the drain and grab bars in the carton. Can I Install a Walk-In Shower or Wall Panel Kit Myself? sorts a single installation into homeowner and trade steps; this page goes kit by kit so you can see which products are realistic to take on yourself.

Ella Shower Kits and Who Normally Installs Each One

The pattern in the table is that anything glued or screwed to a wall, or set onto a floor, is homeowner territory, and anything that carries water is not. The cultured marble surrounds are the easiest entry point because they go over a sound existing wall without demolition. The acrylic and SMC kits ask more of you, since the base has to be level and the back wall square and plumb before the first panel goes up. A base or a stall can be set by a careful homeowner, but the drain under it and the valve behind the wall are the plumber's, and an Ella shower is open-top, so any light above it belongs to a licensed electrician. Ella's Bubbles does not send technicians, so plan the trade visits before the carton arrives.

Wall Panels: The Kit Homeowners Most Often Install

The cultured marble surrounds are made from natural quartz and granite composite with a gel coat surface. They come as eight, six or four panel sets, can be carried and installed by one person, and glue over drywall, plaster, painted walls, Durock or even existing tile. The edges are factory finished for seamless joining and can be trimmed and cut, which is what makes them forgiving in an alcove that is slightly out of square.

The acrylic and SMC kits are built for a fixed alcove footprint and are not glued. They are set from the front on a pin and slot system, with silicone on the base ledge and screws through the panel flange into the studs. Three things decide whether the panels meet cleanly: the base must be level, the back wall must be square and plumb, and a dry fit comes before any silicone. The sequence for each system is in How do you put up and fasten shower wall panels?, and the instructions packed with your kit govern wherever they differ.

Stalls and Bases: What You Set and What the Plumber Connects

A basic Ella shower kit includes three things: the stall itself, the set of grab bars listed for that kit, packed loose rather than pre-installed, and the drain. The installation manual is published with the product listing and is also available from the team at (800) 480-6850, so you can read the whole procedure before ordering and decide which steps you will take on. The carton contents are listed in What is included in a basic DIY walk-in shower kit?.

• You can do: unpack and set the stall or base following the manual, confirm the drain position matches the rough-in in your floor, and mount the grab bars once the walls are up.
• The plumber does: choose the valve and trim, mark and cut the valve and shower head openings in the solid wall, supply the rough-in piping and fittings, and connect the drain to the house waste line.
• Buy separately: the valve and trim, a shower head, and a hand shower with slide bar if you want one, since nothing in the box detaches for hand-held use. Choose the hand shower hardware with your plumber at the same time as the valve so the openings are planned together and cut once.

Standard roll-in bases come in 30 by 60, 32 by 60 and 36 by 60 inches, each with a left or right drain. If your project starts from a base rather than a full stall, the wall panels are separate items, so confirm whether your order is a stall or a base with walls before assuming the walls are included.

The Tub Shower Column Kit

On the walk-in tub side, the shower column kit is simple enough that a homeowner or a local licensed plumber can fit it. The video on this page shows the column being attached to the Ella 5-piece fast fill faucet set: the metal screw collar and washers come off the column base, a thin bead of silicone goes around the collar and the outside of the rubber gasket, the base is inserted into the pre-drilled hole on the tub deck and the collar is hand tightened from below. The elbow joint and supply line are then attached, the riser tube is secured, the rain shower head goes onto the upper angle arm, and the mounting collars are measured, drilled and anchored to the wall. The video recommends seven inches of clearance from the tub deck to the center of the on-off lever, and it repeats one warning throughout: tighten securely but never over torque, because over tightening damages the rubber washer and can cause a leak. The kit connects a half inch supply line to the faucet diverter and needs access to the back of the tub, so it goes in before the tub's final installation.

What No Kit Includes

The wall surround pictured behind a walk-in tub is not part of the tub package, and a surround bought with a tub ships on top of the tub order rather than inside the tub crate, as explained in Does the walk-in tub package include the wall surround shown in the photo?. Shower kits likewise never include the valve, the trim, the shower head or the rough-in plumbing. Ask for the spec sheet and the installation manual up front so you know exactly what will be in the carton before it arrives.

Watch: Ellas Bubbles - Walk In Bathtub Shower Column Kit Install With Five Piece Faucet with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• What Is an Acrylic Shower Base and How Does It Compare?
• How do you install a shower wall panel kit from Ella's Bubbles?
• Shower Bases and Wall Panels

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