Custom Pool Construction in Tampa Bay.

Sun Shelves & Tanning Ledges

A sun shelf is a shallow platform built into the pool, typically 6 to 12 inches deep, wide enough for two lounge chairs and a small table. In Tampa Bay, it becomes the most-used zone on the whole pool. Kids learn to swim on it. Dogs stand on it. Adults read on it with a cold drink. Walk into any new custom pool in Pasco or Hillsborough County and notice where people gravitate, and it's the shelf.

Integrating a sun shelf into a new build costs $2,000 to $6,000, depending on size, depth and add-ons. The add-ons that matter: a bubbler or two (gentle water columns that sound like a fountain). An umbrella sleeve cast into the shotcrete so a standard patio umbrella sets into the deck and doesn't tip. A dedicated return line so the shallow water stays chlorinated and warm-enough in winter. Skip the dedicated return and the shelf becomes the stagnant corner of the pool.

The reason we design shelves at the shotcrete stage is structural. A shelf is a slab within the shell. It needs its own rebar cage tied into the main beam, its own floor pitch for drainage back to the main bowl, its own skimmer positioning so leaves don't collect on the shallow end. Adding a shelf to an existing pool is possible but invasive: cut the bond beam, demo part of the bottom, re-plumb the return, refinish the entire interior. Do it with the new build instead.

Finish-wise, most clients step the Pebble Sheen color two shades lighter on the shelf than the main pool. The visual depth change reads intentional, reflects more sunlight back up through the water, makes the shallow area feel like its own room. Color samples are part of the design consultation, not an upsell later.

Sun shelves are not a luxury add. They're the default on any custom pool that gets used.

Water Features: Sheer Descents, Scuppers & Bubblers

A pool without water movement is just a backyard bathtub. The sound of water is what turns a pool area into a place people actually sit, eat and entertain. Water features also mask road noise, screen HVAC units, give the eye something to track at night when the lighting is on.

Four options cover 95 percent of Tampa Bay installs:

Sheer descents. A thin sheet of water falling from a raised wall or grotto face into the pool. The cleanest modern look. Widths from 12 inches to 6 feet. Installed cost $800 to $2,500 depending on wall construction.

Scuppers. Decorative spouts set into a raised bond beam or spa wall, arcing water into the pool. Pairs well with attached spas. $600 to $1,500 per spout, usually installed in matched pairs for symmetry.

Bubblers. Gentle water columns on a sun shelf or step. Lowest cost, highest kid-magnet factor. $400 to $900 each.

Deck jets. Programmable arcing streams from the pool deck into the pool. Synchronized with light shows via IntelliCenter. $500 to $1,200 per jet. Most installs use 2 or 4.

All of these route through the same Pentair IntelliCenter automation as the main pump. That means app-controlled on/off, scheduling, synced color-light shows when you hit the entertainment button from your phone. A dedicated booster pump drives the features without starving the main circulation, and the extra circuit comes pre-sized on every new Acqua Bella build.

Water features are permitted as part of the pool build, not a separate trip through the county. On a renovation, adding features to an existing pool means new plumbing runs, a booster pump and usually deck cuts. Still possible, still a one-permit job, but budget 20 to 30 percent more than the new-construction equivalent.

One decision worth making early: pair features with the lighting plan. A sheer descent unlit at night is invisible. A lit sheer descent is the best $200 of LEDs you'll spend on the pool.