I'm glad you brought this up, because I might not have thought about it that carefully. I think when you talk to your builder you have to be clear about what YOU want that depth number to mean - water depth or from tile depth. From reading this forum, it seems to be a very personal decision. People seem to be pleased with all different depths and think it is the best - 6", 9", 12", even 18". I guess it depends on how you plan to use your tanning ledge or sun shelf (seriously, so many names for it!). Since little ones are no longer part of my life, I'm just thinking about what I want. I will use the ledge for physical therapy and yoga or just chillin'. Having said that, I'm still not sure what depth I would enjoy the most. I know I don't want 18". So I'm thinking around the 9" might be best for me. But we have 2 bubblers on it, and I've read you need to make sure it's not too deep, or the bubblers won't be able to do their thing. No point in having them if they can only go glug glug!

I know that what I want it for is to sit in a chair, under my umbrella with a frosty drink :) I have it listed as 6" I guess I need to verify that is water depth - and maybe get the measuring tape out and see what 6 or 9 is like.

Make sure and add the led's in the bubblers- it adds a very nice touch at night :o)(bubblers can be adjusted higher or lower just keep that in mind) - I'm going industry standard @ 6"

LEDs in the bubblers. That sounds like something I need in my life. Wonder how much that option is. Im about 15K over budget right now - so unless it is SUPER affordable - it might not be happening!

Im guessing it is something that needs to be added at build - and not after the fact?

The LEDs are nice but not necessary- 2 are 1500 and work off your aqua link

We chose a 6" depth. Our pool chairs sit about 1" above the water so our behinds don't get wet if we're sitting in our street clothes.

When we have parties our guests tend to gather sitting around the tanning shelf with their feet in the water.

One thing our builder did was measure where the umbrella slots would be in the tanning shelf so that you wouldn't bump your head on the edge of umbrella walking around the pool.

Another thought....water line meets the grout line inbetween tiles so any calcium buildup would not be unsightly if it occurs.

From the top of our concrete to the first step is 10 inches. From the top of our concrete to Cabo shelf is 18 inches, which is 12 inches of water. We bought those plastic Adirondack chairs and as you can see from the picture you're behind only sits in a small amount of water. When we put our lounge chairs in I'm laying in the perfect amount of water to stay cool without feeling like I'm drowning laying on my stomach.

So if you go more than 6" you need a step going down?

I SO LOVE that tanning shelf! Good Grief, it is perfect!

It definitely depends on the clients' purpose of the pool! For people who have kids in the family then a shelf that would help the children play in the pool more safely is a must.

Our tanning ledge will be to have a place to sit & chill, tan or shade & drink :). No kids. Did I mention cocktails and no kids? Lol

We just choose 6" so you can sit without getting your behind wet. We measured the chair bottom distance to the floor and didn't want to be laying or sitting in the lounger in water, just right above. Cocktails and kids allowed on my baja shelf!

Perfect depth. Did you pass on the umbrella sleeve?

We couldn't decide on the depth, so we went with a shallow and a deeper one. The shallow one (4"-6" water depth) is 5.5' by 12' long and steps down to a 15" water depth shelf that is 5.5' x 8' long. They run along the side of the pool (if that makes sense).