Who doesn’t love swimming pools? Swimming pools encourage uninterrupted togetherness and create quality time with your family, friends, and loved ones. Having a pool in your house gives you the freedom to enjoy your swimming anytime. Also, it adds value to your home. Some people even add a tanning ledge to their pool to be more aesthetically pleasing. It also provides a safe space for kids and a perfect place to socialize with friends by the water.
As cool as it may sound, tanning ledges are not for everyone. There are a lot of regrets about having a tanning ledge for some people, especially those who are not much of a poolside lounger, like people who use the pool to exercise or do lap swimming. Here are some of the regrets of having a tanning ledge.
The tanning ledge is too small.
The dimension of a tanning ledge should be at least 5 feet wide with enough space for one or more lounge chairs. So, anything smaller than 5 feet could be a problem, especially when trying to fit your lounge chairs. Also, tanning ledges are preferably for kids to play around in the pool. A tanning ledge needs enough space for safety purposes. If it is too narrow, it would be risky for the kids to fall into the deeper part of the pool.
The tanning ledge reduces swimming space.
Although a tanning ledge provides many benefits, if the tanning ledge is too big, it would eat up the space for swimming which would not be useful if you want to do lap swimming.
The tanning ledge is too expensive.
The construction of a tanning ledge is a little bit extra. Depending on the width of the pool, a fiberglass tanning ledge would cost around $5,000 to $15,000. The expense of a tanning ledge is on top of the actual pool construction cost. In addition, maintenance is also costly, especially for vinyl liner pools. Tanning ledge furniture can poke a hole in the lining, which would mean an additional cost for repair.
A tanning ledge is hard to clean.
The tanning ledge requires maintenance, likewise with the actual pool. A tanning ledge harbor algae that are only cleaned through manual scrubbing. Pool vacuums cannot pump water onto the ledge because it is too shallow.
A tanning ledge is unsafe for my kids.
Playing on the rough surface of the concrete tanning ledge is not always ideal for children. The rough surface of the ledge can hurt your kids or your sensitive feet. Also, a vinyl tanning ledge liner are slippery and difficult to see which can cause accidents.
My Vinyl liner tanning ledge easily poked by my lounge chair.
A vinyl liner tanning ledge is the cheapest tanning ledge you can have. However, it is not as sturdy as concrete or fiberglass tanning ledges. It can easily puncture by kids, pets, or lounge chairs.
What are the pros and cons of Tanning Ledge?
Before deciding to get a tanning ledge on your swimming pool, it is crucial to know the pros and cons of having a tanning ledge.
Tanning ledge pros
- Tanning ledge provides play space for kids, toddler, fur babies, and for our elderly who wants to join the swimming.
- It elevates family bonding time while in the pool
- A relaxing place to hang out with your guest without being in the water
- Space to rest after a lap of swimming
- Balance your body temperature while tanning under the sun
Tanning ledge pros
- Requires additional maintenance and is difficult to clean
- A tanning ledge is sometimes slippery and can compromise safety
- It reduces swimming space
What are the common issues with tanning ledge?
The most common drawback with tanning ledge is its maintenance. There is a high chance of tanning furniture poking the tanning ledge liner, which means an additional cost to the homeowner for the repair. It also harbors algae which are hard to clean since you must do it manually by scrubbing. If it is not maintained properly, issues safety would be at risk.
Are tanning ledges worth it?
Having a tanning ledge offers many benefits, like providing a safe space for babies, tanning, enjoying a drink, resting after swimming, and many more. But every pro has associated cons. Tanning ledge can be costly, additional maintenance, reduce our swimming space, etc. But, at the end of the day, it is the house owner to decide whether to have a tanning ledge or not. Is it worth it? The answer to that question depends on the needs of the homeowners and their capacity to build a tanning ledge. If you do not need it, then consider skipping having a tanning ledge. You can have your deck to put on your lounge chairs and relax.
