I plan to get the umbrella sleeves installed in the decking close to our sun shelf. One thing our PB pointed out is, they will be lower when on the shelf and you may have to duck down when entering the sun shelf from the pool edge. Seems like the hole may fill with leaf bits or dirt if not covered with the cap.

Haven't had my pool for too long (was only able to swim a handful of times before we had to close it for the winter)â¦But we do have an umbrella sleeve in our sun shelf.

We don't leave the umbrella in all the time, but maybe we will do it more when we have a full summer to use it.

The cap is on when the umbrella is not in. There is no need for a 1.5" wide whole on the shelf for the kids to stop on and hurt themselves (yes, their feet are bigger then 1.5", but at the wrong angle, it can hurt them).

When the umbrella is in, the cap is off. No big deal.

Here is a picture of the cap on the shelf:

When they closed the pool (live in the North East) they just put some pool anit-freeze in there just in case.

Otherwise, I don't really see the downside, so far.

BTW, our shelf is not that far down, so we don't have a big problem with the umbrella being too low, but many people have their shelf lower.

I went out and put our umbrella in the "umbrella sleve". I am neutral about it mostly. Isn't on the top of the list of "I'm so glad we did this" but it is not a regret either. It has been handy the couple of times we have used it. Mostly, when fiends/family come that have little kids that don't swim. They can sit on my too timy shelf. Now that, I am disappointed in.
I have no cover for the sleeve on the shelf and it has not been problem with people. Stuff does get down in there though and we have to dig out the debris.
My pole is wood and has not been a problem sticking in the hole. There is play however, so the umbrella is never "strait". As you can see, it is low. I am nearly 5' 6" and it hits me right on the end of my nose. It would be a hazard with normal pool use with 3 teens.
I do have sleeves in the deck which I love having. They did not come with caps, and what we found at the hardware store that fit, are a little above grade. So far, no foot injuries but the potential is there. If you put them in your decking, see if they come with caps or if you have to provide them.
Depending on your layout, I would put them in my deck to shade the shelf, rather than in the shelf. It is tough to find a ong enough unbrella pole.
We have three sleeves in the deck, that were supposed to be for volleyball but they have been great for umbrellas . They are easy to go under, they shade parts of our 22/7 full sun pool.

Thanks for your responses. After reading yours and some from a few years back on this site, I think we'll skip the sleeves in the shelf and instead install them in the deck, just outside the coping.

I'm mainly concerned that with 2 bubblers and a sleeve on my 7x12(ish) shelf, all those holes are going to look cluttered.

Thanks for your responses. After reading yours and some from a few years back on this site, I think we'll skip the sleeves in the shelf and instead install them in the deck, just outside the coping.

I'm mainly concerned that with 2 bubblers and a sleeve on my 7x12(ish) shelf, all those holes are going to look cluttered.

We've had no regrets. You do have to stoop down a tad when walking under the umbrella, no big deal though. Be sure to use an aluminum pole or expect it to rust out.. and treasure the cap, I can't seem to find a replacement anywhere