Is It Worth The Investment?

Now that you know more about a baja shelf, can you envision one in your pool? This can be a tough decision, but ultimately, we’d encourage you to strongly consider the functionality that you’re seeking from your pool. If lounging in shallow water while catching some Arizona sun is how you can picture enjoying your pool, a Baja shelf is a great investment. If having a shallow area for children to enjoy is high on the list, a sun shelf is worth including in your pool budget.

Where Does A Sun Shelf Go In My Pool?

A Baja shelf can be the first step into your pool, sometimes referred to as a Baja step. It can also be the second step, with a step located along the pool's edge to help with entry and exit.

What is a Baja Shelf?

Cost, Depth & Design Options

Everything You Need to Know About Baja Shelves

When you’re building a pool, you might hear a lot of words that you’ve never heard before. Scupper, bond beam, Baja shelf; we promise we aren’t making up words! Design trends come and go, but a Baja Shelf stands the test of time!

A Baja shelf, a tanning ledge, sun shelf, or extended step, is a wide, flat, shallow area in a swimming pool typically 6–18 inches deep. It's usually built at the pool's entry point, creating a smooth transition from the deck into the water. Baja shelves are designed for lounging, sunbathing, playing, and cooling off and can be a good option for people who like to relax in shallow water, have children or want a variety of depths in their pool.

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How Deep is a Baja Shelf?

Baja shelves sit submerged underwater, but how deep under the water do they typically sit? A Baja shelf can sit anywhere from 6” – 18” under the waterline, depending on your preference.

If you’re looking into a Baja shelf, it’s essential to remember that any custom pool builder will offer various options for the depth. Depending on your preference for functionality when using your sun shelf, having the water at a shorter depth might make sense. At California Pools & Landscape, we typically build 6”, 12”, or 18” below the pool's waterline.

6" Baja Shelf

Creating a Baja shelf 6 inches below the waterline lets the water cover your legs while you relax in your chair. This shallow tanning ledge is popular for homeowners with children and small dogs. Dogs can easily hop in for a quick dip to cool off. Additionally, the shallow depth provides a safe area for small kids to play in the water.

12" Baja Shelf

Building a Baja shelf 12” below the waterline will allow the water to come up to your midsection while seated. This is a nice depth for you to kick out your legs and relax. This is a very popular depth for those looking to create a kiddie pool water height for children to splash around in the shallow water.

18" Baja Shelf

Building a Baja shelf 18” below the waterline will allow the water to come up to your arms while you are seated. It is at the same level as a pool bench. This is a popular selection for pool enthusiasts who want to put a lounging chair on the Baja shelf and relax with the lower half of their body in the water while the top of their body is above the surface.

What Design Options Are Available For A Baja Shelf?

When it comes to designing your Baja shelf, you have many options. The shape, size, and depth are all important decisions. This means the choices are endless when planning a Baja shelf because the configuration can be completely customized to fit geometric or freeform pools.

Your Baja shelf should mirror the design characteristics of your pool, with either straight lines and sharp angles or a free-flowing feel with round curves.

First Step Baja or Second Step Baja?

Do you want your shelf to be the first step into your pool? This initial entry is a popular option. Another trending design option is having a normal entry step and having your baja shelf below that. You likely haven’t thought about this decision before, but these two options have a different appearance.

First Step Baja Shelf

A first-step Baja shelf is an extended entry step into your pool. This design choice provides an immediate large landing zone for entry and exit out of your oasis. Typically, these are created with a shallower depth than a second-step Baja shelf.

Second Step Baja Shelf

A second-step Baja shelf typically sits deeper than a first-step Baja shelf. These are also customizable to the size and shape of your choice. The first step will be connected to the Baja shelf, which can be small or large and located at a preferred entry point into your pool.

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Upgrade Your Tanning Ledge with Custom Features

Transform your pool into a luxurious retreat with additions like stylish umbrellas, comfortable tanning chairs, and elegant specialty tiles. These enhancements not only elevate the aesthetic appeal of your pool but also create a personalized and relaxing space, making your backyard the ultimate destination for comfort and enjoyment.

Shaded Oasis with Umbrella Sleeves

Adding umbrella sleeves to the design of your Baja shelf will enable you to easily add an umbrella to your environment. This can be a great addition whether the kids are playing on the Baja shelf or if you’re looking to escape the sun and relax.

Depending on the size of your shelf, you might be able to include multiple sleeves in your design. This would allow you to create an option for extra relief in places that get a lot of sunlight year-round, like Arizona, while relaxing in the water.

Enhance Your Pool with Water Features

Water features are another popular design feature to add to your Baja shelf. They can be added to create symmetry in the design and add ambiance to the yard. Parascoping fountains are popular additions. They shoot water up above the pool’s water line, creating a relaxing look and sound in your backyard.

Elevate Your Pool Design with Specialty Tiles

If you’d like to enhance the design of your Baja shelf with some specialty tile, there are several that you could add. We’ve seen rows of tile added near the step edge, mosaic designs and custom creations over the years.

Tile options provide you with a chance to add some flair or personality to your project. A Baja shelf is prime real estate for a specialty tile because it sits so close to the surface. Often, these tiles will be an upgrade and add to the cost of your project.

Poolside Fun with an Integrated Pool Table

You can also enhance the design of your tanning shelf with a raised table to sit around. This will instantly create a popular watering hole to congregate around in the shallow water.

It is also possible to insert planters, creating an island effect in the middle of a Baja shelf. This can add a dramatic design pop, a tropical feel, and a ledge for sitting on or resting drinks on.

Frequently Asked Questions About Baja Shelves

Is A Baja Shelf For Me?

Can I add a Baja shelf to an existing pool?

What is the difference between a sun shelf and a baja shelf?

How big is a Baja ledge?

Can I Have Water Features On My Baja Shelf?

Can I Use An Umbrella On My Baja Shelf?

What Type of Chairs Can I Use On a Tanning Ledge or Baja Shelf?

Q: Is A Baja Shelf For Me?

A Baja shelf will be a good fit for you if:

You enjoy relaxing in shallow water
You want a shallow section for children to play
You want a variation of depths in your pool

A Baja shelf might not be the right fit for you if:

You are looking for a lap pool
You enjoy swimming in deep water

Q: Can I add a Baja shelf to an existing pool?

Yes, a Baja shelf can often be added to an existing pool. At California Pools & Landscape, our renovation experts can assess your pool’s structure and design a seamless addition that enhances both style and function.

Q: What is the difference between a sun shelf and a baja shelf?

Q: How big is a Baja ledge?

A tanning ledge typically has a depth of around 4 to 12 inches. The exact depth can be customized based on your preferences and intended use, with shallower depths ideal for lounging and deeper shelves for a broader range of activities.

Q: Can I Have Water Features On My Baja Shelf?

Absolutely! Adding water features to your Baja shelf can enhance both the visual appeal and the ambiance of your pool. Popular choices like parascope fountains create stunning effects by shooting streams of water above the pool's waterline, creating a serene and inviting atmosphere.

Q: Can I Use An Umbrella On My Baja Shelf?

Umbrella sleeves can be installed into your baja shelf to elevate your pool into resort status! This will ensure you can catch some rays and escape from the sun when you want to cool off.

Q: What Type of Chairs Can I Use On a Tanning Ledge or Baja Shelf?

Tanning ledge chairs, known as sun shelf loungers, withstand water exposure. Manufacturers make them from materials like resin or fiberglass, ensuring they remain underwater without deteriorating.

See What Our Customers Are Saying

elena Cordova

California Pools and Landscape came to our rescue! Another contractor left us with a half-finished project, an empty pool, and a giant mess. After seeing our disaster broadcast on 3 By-Your-Side, the owner of Cal Pools actually reached out to us and offered to help. We have done many, many construction/remodel projects over the years. Never have we worked with such a professional, organized, honest company. They truly set a new standard. Stephen, our project manager, seamlessly coordinated each aspect of our complicated redo. They have an App for your phone that provides continued updates, alerting you to when and who will be in your yard, what the steps are to complete the project etc. Each subcontractor is part of Cal Pools, so they know their aspect of the job and performs at the same high standard. Our yard is beautiful!

John G.

I have a pool designed and built by California Pools that is a little over 1 year old. After the pool was completed I have had two self-induced problems that had me coming back to Cal Pools to have fixed and my experience on both occasions has been exceptional. The service representative, Leslie Gallegos, was extremely friendly and responsive, and had someone out the very next day on both occasions that looked into the problem(s) and fixed them on the spot. On the most recent service call this past week, Leslie had a service technician, Trevor Gossmann, come out who was exceptional. Trevor addressed a problem with the DE filter I had serviced by another pool service company and he knew immediately what was wrong and disassembled the DE filter assembly to confirm his initial assessment. Our other pool service company did not know what they were doing and Trevor jumped in and fixed the problem as well as made sure the pool was operating the way it should. Wow, what a difference. I cannot say how much I appreciate the professionalism and expertise you get when dealing with Cal Pools, especially getting treated so well a year after the pool construction was complete. Leslie and Trevor are terrific people to deal with and I am so glad that I had Cal Pools build my pool. I would recommend them to anyone considering having a pool built and who may be concerned with service after the pool has been completed. And, oh by the way, our pool design and functionality is the best thanks to the superior workmanship of Cal Pools. I definitely made the right choice when I selected Cal Pools do our pool.

Metin Gurbuz

Dave is an amazing designer and a great person to work with. He is very professional, responds fast ans easy to work with. If you are going to work with California pools definitely ask for Dave Grau. Hope to work with you in our future projects.

Lisa T.

I had a great experience with California Pools. My designer Joshua Turnbull was amazing. He adjusted the plans as many times as I asked and he ended up giving me a fantastic pool and backyard design. I also received above and beyond service from Stephen Dreher, the construction manager. He was always available for phone calls and made regular site visits. He was easy to talk to and he explained everything I needed to know in detail. He was simply amazing. Jessica Zaragoza in scheduling was also excellent. She always answered her phone, or made timely return calls. She was always available to give me a heads up on when the trades would be at my house to do work. We had no delays and the entire pool and yard was one in just a little over 2 months. Would definitely recommend and use California pools again.

Stan Taylor

We were thoroughly impressed with California Pools. Vina and Matt were excellent and communicative through the process. They always got back to us in a timely fashion. Brian was the only designer of 4 pool companies that we talked with that found a solution for our pool equipment, notice it is not in the backyard!!! it is on the side of the house and keeps the pool/spa area quiet. And the Porcelain looks amazing. Was it perfect, no, but it was very good, and when there was an issue they gave me choices, suggesting the best for us long term. Thank you all, I would highly recommend CalPools Queen Creek!! Stan.

bryan geoffrey

Absolutely perfect experience with California Pools. They completed our job in record time with the hole being dug 10/11/23 and the pool being filled in late January 24'. I think it would have been fasted but we actually held them up a bit. Donnie was our project manager and was OUTSTANDING. He was at the job site daily and fixed things before I even noticed they needed fixing. Ashton handled our hardscapes and had the same "whatever it takes" attitude. Really impressed and highly recommend them.

Jeff C.

Brian/ Ciarra and Stephen were exceptional at every level. From start to finish they were on top of their game. Couldn't have had a better Team and pool company!!

Brian G.

We absolutely love our new pool from California Pools & Landscape! Kyle Morse did an outstanding job designing our pool! Kyle is very knowledgeable and gave us many suggestions as he was designing our pool. Kyle was also great at answering questions during the pool installation! Stephen Dreher oversaw the entire pool installation from start to finish. He came to our house numerous times to check on the process of the installation. Stephen would also take the time to explain what was going on as our pool was being installed. I would definitely recommend California Pools & Landscape! I would also recommend Kyle Morse and Stephen Dreher!

Kristy Y.

When we moved to Arizona, our first priority was to build a pool. We received quotes and design plans from many pool companies. I honestly feel like other companies tried to take advantage of our lack of "pool knowledge" and tried to sell us all of the bells & whistles. After talking to friends, we were referred to California Pools. We were pleasantly surprised at how easy the sales process was. Our sales guy, Travis, paid attention to what we wanted, didn't try to oversell us and designed a pool with our input. Although the building process took a little longer than we anticipated, we couldn't be happier with the end result! We have a beautiful pool that exceeded our expectations!

Barbara C.

They did a fantastic job on our pool. They were fast and efficient and kept us up to date on what was happening at each stage of the build. They wore masks when we had to meet and if there was a delay or small problem it was readily fixed within a week. We love our pool!

Charles L.

After receiving several quotes from regional pool companies, we chose CalPool because their presentation was far and above the most thorough, and their pricing was below that of their competition for like pool designs and features. Designing, scheduling and building any construction project while dealing with the Covid pandemic can be challenging at all levels, not to mention the Arizona monsoon rains that decimated a number of their construction sites. Throughout the entire project CalPool constantly strived to meet the schedule deadline, and if they couldn't, reached out to us immediately with updates that worked for the both of us. I would highly recommend CalPool to anyone interested in a future pool project!!! Thank you for such a beautiful swimming pool!!!!

Cameron

We first had our pool drafted in 2019, got cold feet and backed away from the idea. In 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic we contacted Chris to get ball rolling again. They still had our draft, which made it easy to restart the process. Due to the pandemic, construction and completion of out project was somewhat delayed, but not nearly as bad as that I'm currently hearing build times are now. Fast forward to today 5/28/2021. We are 95% happy with CalPools and our pool build out. Chris was great to work with. We did have a small issue with deck cracks, and grout separation at the water line, but CalPools worked quick to rectify the situation. Cari was incredible at getting our needs taken care of in a timely manner. The only issue I have with the over project, which in hind sight and not knowing much about pools. I wish we would have made the very last step a bit smaller and reduced the depth of our Baja/sun step. It stands at about 12", two less inches would have been perfect. So far so good. Happy with our choice, happy with our pool. Our landscape was completed by another company. In the end it all came out exactly as we planned it.

Marc Steadman

Nicholas was the project manager for our pool/yard remodel and stayed involved from beginning to end. His design analysis and expertise was always appreciated. But most of all we were thankful that Nicholas took personal responsibility that our project would end well. We could always count on Nicholas to respond quickly, and to find the right person to get our concerns resolved. Thank you.

M. K.

i would recommend california pools to anyone who is wanting to build a pool. we are 1st time pool buyers and we were so nervous! special thanks goes out to : joe m (project manager), rick f (construction manager) shannon h.( schedule manager ) they helped us with everything. great work guys! wish i could give higher then 5 star!

Chuck Martinez

Cal Pools really stands behind their warranty statement and provides an exceptional customer experience. I recently had a warranty issue and Jesse R (Service Mgr.) and his team: Bianca, Gabe, Trevor & Ray immediately came out and addressed the issue. Throughout the entire process the service team was professional, courteous and maintained great follow-up; a real pleasure to work with. CPL truly takes care of their customers. What an outstanding team and company!

Ron Smith

My wife Shelly Smith works at California Pool & Landscape. She has never been happier. She loves the camaraderie of the staff and owners. I have met many of them and they are all great! The customers have to get great service with these happy employees.

Allyson M.

California Pools designed our pool and we love it! Chelle McCarthy has done a superb job of responding to all requests and providing us with outstanding customer service. We would highly recommend this company for designing and installing your dream pool. Best of all, they proide continued customer support!

Christa Gentile

Brian Fox and the whole team at CPL are fantastic. Brian was very creative in designing our entire backyard environment. We had so much fun each time we met with him in the design phase and other associates that helped us along the way. When we had issues/changes during the process; they were addressed very quickly. Everyone was very responsive, professional and friendly. I would highly recommend CPL to anyone looking to build a unique, personalized pool.

Leilanie R.

We are so happy with our pool and landscape! We had just moved to AZ and it was our first time having a pool. We bought a new construction and Cali Pools was able to start construction before we even closed on the house. We are so happy with Dave's vision and Cari who helped with the warranty requests. We highly recommend them. Even our pool guy complimented how nice and high quality work California Pools did.

S.

Brian E, Nathan and Michelle were absolutely incredible!! We had the best experience from design all the way through completion. Communication throughout the entire process was outstanding. We could not be happier with our new pool and backyard from California Pools & Landscape!!!! ❤️

Andy C.

I had a great experience with my pool build. But even better is the continued excellent support I receive from Chelle McCarthy of the warranty department. I had tree die just outside of its warranty period (due to the extreme heat) and I contacted her and explained the situation and she agreed to have it replanted after summer. She is very friendly and responsive, and a great representation of the California Pools staff!

Joe T.

Completely satisfied from start to finish. While Cal may not be the least expensive pool you can build in this market, it is an excellent product. Having had multiple pools over the years, I am very comfortable recommending this company. The professionalism and friendliness of this team are extraordinary from start to finish!

Jeremy James

Jon Utz was awesome as the construction manager. Responded immediately to the questions and concerns we had during the process. We had pool and entire backyard landscape designed and constructed by CPL and we love it! Yes, pool construction is expensive and issues with supply chains, worker delays, etc but CPL does not compromise on quality which cannot be said for other pool companies in the valley. A few (very) minor issues with equipment, etc. were promptly remedied with ongoing warranty. Great customer service and quality. Highly recommend, would use them again.

Suzanne P.

Tiffany with CA Pools and Landscaping was a huge help with getting us setup on the portal!!! Thanks so much for your patience with all of my questions!

Jennifer Lawson

I give 5 stars to CA POOLS they were great. Whenever i had a concern it was addressed. I have a beautiful pool. Thanks to Myra O, Pete B and Joel P

Juli W.

My pool is beautiful and my landscaping superb. Cody Risdon helped me design my pool and it is perfection Steve Dreher and Jessica. Zaragoza, where are my points of contact for project management and status of my job. The attention to detail That was given to my project was far above my expectations. The standards that CalPools sets for their finished products Is better than any company I have ever worked with. If you're in the market for a pool and landscaping, I highly recommend them. I totally got more out of this experience than I ever dreamed possible. if I ever needed another pool i woukd go back in a heartbeat.

Molly B.

Had to get Cal pools to replace only 1 tree out of about 30 plants and trees..Cari Gossmann set it up right away. The young man assigned to replace the tree...Josh...aka Josue M. Was wonderful, so careful with our yard...and so full of helpful information for me. Really appreciated his knowledge & helpfulness. Thanks California Pools and Landscaping...loving EVERYTHING you have done!

Mike F.

California Pools & Landscape designed and built my pool, spa and landscaped the backyard nearly 10 years ago. They did a terrific job and since then, have provided very good service and equipment maintenance. For me, there are two people that have been great and make all the difference that I would say have been outstanding; Alison Sherwood and Jesse who heads up their pool/spa field work. The best and I highly recommend them.

dominick V (DVX1738)

When we decided to have a pool built we checked out several pool companies and found that only California Pools understood our vision. Other pools companies gave us boring and outdated designs and some even pushed back when we asked for new designs. Our designer at Cal pools Matt Sauer worked with us until we were 100% satisfied with our design (and 8 change orders during the construction because we were super indecisive) and we felt no pressure. During the construction our construction manager Jeremiah was extreemly helpful and ensured our pool was built properly and with excellent quality. He always worked with our scheduling coordinator Sara and let us know the phases of construction that we were in and helped us make any last min changes to ensure we were happy. I would definitely recommend California Pools to design and build your pool!

Gonzalo C.

Just wanted to share some appreciation for one of your fantastic team members, Gabe Wenzel. I purchased a pool from you about 2 years ago, and Gabe has been a constant source of support, always ready to assist and address any concerns I've had.This level of customer care truly deserves recognition.As a Realtor, I'm always thrilled to recommend businesses that go above and beyond, and employees like Gabe make that decision easy.