A tanning ledge depth should be chosen around what will sit on the ledge, and most tanning ledges are built between 9 and 12 inches deep, according to a depth guide from the in-pool furniture retailer Majestic Fountains. The furniture, the bubblers, the shade and the water level you actually keep decide the right number for a particular pool, so those decisions come before the shell is drawn.
A tanning ledge, also called a sun shelf or Baja shelf, is a broad shallow step built into the pool. On a gunite pool it is shaped into the shell with the steel, which is why it is far easier to plan at the drawing stage than to add later.
How deep should a tanning ledge be?
There is no single correct tanning ledge depth. The Majestic Fountains guide puts most ledges at 9 to 12 inches, while Trinity Pool Construction's own custom add-ons page describes a shallow entry shelf of 6 to 9 inches built for lounge chairs. Both are normal. A shallower ledge keeps more of a lounger's body out of the water, and a deeper one keeps more of it in.
The useful question is what the ledge is for. A ledge meant for in-water loungers is sized to the loungers. A ledge meant for sitting and wading with a drink is sized to people. A ledge with bubblers has to suit the bubblers too.
Why does in-pool furniture decide the depth?
In-pool furniture decides the depth because each piece is rated for a narrow range of water. Ledge Lounger explains that its chairs, chaises and side tables stay in place because of the weight of the water inside them, which has to balance the water outside. Outside the rated range, a piece bobs or floats.
The ranges are specific. Ledge Lounger rates its Signature Chaise for 0 to 9 inches of water and its Signature Chaise Deep for 10 to 15 inches, with a riser that lets the deep chaise sit in 15 to 20 inches. Its Autograph Chaise tops out at 12 inches. The Majestic Fountains guide found that of 50 in-pool pieces it carries with a stated depth rating, 38 are rated for 8 to 12 inches.
Pick the furniture before you pick the depth. The ledge can be built to any number, but a lounger only works in the range it was made for.
How big should a tanning ledge be?
A tanning ledge should be big enough for the furniture you plan to put on it, with room to walk around it. Ledge Lounger lists its Signature Chaise at 70 inches long, so a ledge for loungers needs that length plus the step down into the pool and space to get in and out of the chair.
Bubblers add their own spacing. Pentair's installation guide for its ColorVision bubbler says the fixture should sit at least 3 feet from any wall or other bubbler. Two bubblers and two loungers on one ledge is a layout question, and it is worth drawing to scale before the steel goes in.
What should you know about bubblers on a tanning ledge?
Bubblers work only within a set water depth. Pentair's ColorVision guide calls for installation in water between 2 and 12 inches deep, flush with the pool finish, fed by 1-1/2 inch PVC pipe with a separate conduit for the light cable. A ledge deeper than the bubbler's range rules that bubbler out.
Depth also changes how a bubbler looks. Pentair publishes the ColorVision plume height by water depth, flow rate and nozzle size, and notes that a smaller nozzle eyeball raises the plume. The plumbing, the pump and the ledge depth all shape the result, which is why bubblers are planned with the equipment rather than added as an afterthought.
Does the water level change the ledge depth?
The water level changes the ledge depth every day, because the depth you sit in is measured from the ledge to the surface, not from the ledge to the coping. Ledge Lounger tells owners to measure with the pool filled, running a tape from the ledge surface up to the water. Zodiac's Kreepy Krauly pool care guide recommends keeping water between one-third and one-half of the way up the skimmer opening, and notes that between rain and evaporation the level never really stays the same.
Central Texas summers move that level more than most. The Texas Water Development Board, which has published monthly lake evaporation by region since 1954, records a mean of 7.09 inches of gross lake evaporation in July and 6.91 inches in August for the quadrangle covering Austin and Georgetown, against 2.13 inches in January. That is open-water evaporation for the region, not a measure of any one pool, but it shows why a ledge designed at the bottom of a furniture range can run shallow in August if the pool is not topped up.
The practical answer is to design the ledge near the middle of the furniture's range at the normal water line, and to plan how the pool will be refilled through the summer.
What about shade on a tanning ledge?
Shade on a tanning ledge usually means an umbrella sleeve set into the ledge, and the sleeve is placed when the ledge is built. Ledge Lounger notes that in-pool sleeves come in different sizes and sells adapters for fitting a 1.5 inch pole into a 2 inch sleeve. Choose the umbrella and the sleeve together, and place the sleeve where its shade lands on the loungers in the afternoon.
Can you add a tanning ledge to an existing pool?
A tanning ledge can be added to most existing pools, but it is structural work on the shell and needs a full drain. That is why Trinity usually pairs a new ledge with a replaster, so the pool is only down once. Our pool renovations page lists a tanning ledge among the features a renovation is the right time to add, and our post on when to replaster a pool covers the timing.
Whether it is a new build or a renovation, Trinity Pool Construction starts a tanning ledge by asking what will go on it: which loungers, how many bubblers, where the umbrella sits and how the afternoon sun crosses the yard. Get those answers first and the depth and size follow from them.
