I tan on lounge next to the pool but on the deck Our grandkids have always played in the pool with proper flotation stuff until they learned to swim and we are always there when the little guys are in the pool. I think enjoy the pool as it is and save the money for something else . When posting pics in a comment here you need to wait until the pic is no longer grayed . Easier to do in a comment for sure,

I grew up with a pool that had a 3' deep shallow end and a 10' deep deep end. The kids enjoyed diving and swimming in the deep end, but my mom and her friends usually stayed mostly in the shallow end.

When my sister bought a home with a pool it also had both a deep and and a shallow end, but instead of a ladder into each end it had broad steps on one side of the shallow end. We sat on those steps all the time. It was a nice option to just step in and get your feet wet or sit on a step and choose how much of your body you wanted to immerse into the water.

Both allowed you to get wet without completely submerging yourself, but the steps were a big improvement.

My DIL and son just had my first grandchild. They have long steps into pool, with the ledges you mention. They also have a “table” and umbrella. I love it and just stay there as I hate heat and sun (Houston). I can definitely see us using this area most this summer because the baby will only be 7 months old or so.

We’re in South Florida. we do sit out by the pool with a huge umbrella, and also fans. our pool is not huge so we purposely did not make it too deep so we have good access to the entire pool. To me it’s deciding on whether doing something logical (the tiles which are long lasting), or something fun (the sun shelf) 🤷🏻‍♀️. 😬

There we go! Here are my photos!!

Of course a fully tiled pool is absolutely beautiful! That’s why the dilemma.

Mystic Pools, for the foreseeable future we will be in this house. No plans of moving or downgrading yet. Let's see. The tiling company said they would remove any loose plaster but they would install on top of what I have including over the tiles at the waterline. It makes me wonder now, they are a reputable company though.

Very good then.

Again, I am not comfortable with multiple layers of materials especially when they are different.

There will be trouble down the road if the water line tile is not removed. Applying tile over tile is a bad idea. If there are any existing tiles that are cracked or not bonding to the original substrate, that crack will transfer through the new material.

Additionally, the tile would stick out much further and the existing overhang would be minimal.

Tiling an entire pool is not for the faint- hearted. It requires a ton of skill and experience.

I don’t have much to offer, but I do have experience with a tanning ledge. My sister installed a pool last year. We talked at length about whether or not she would want a baja shelf weighing the cost versus benefit. As you can see from the picture (landscaping is not finished,) she went with the shelf. We could not be more pleased. It gets constant use from young to old. Even the elementary age kids love it. We now talk at length about how much we love it. 😃

dosim thank you for your comments. What a beautiful pool area indeed. So your sister's ledge is the top area? (that's not a spa?)