DIY-Build Your Own Sandbox

Last Summer we began working on an outdoor play area for our grandson.  What play area would be complete without a sandbox?  After searching and searching we were disappointed to discover that most of the them were either too small or extremely expensive.  We wanted something large enough to hold several kids, alot of toys and even adults.  After all, Nana and Papa aren't too old to enjoy building a sandcastle or two.  The basic plastic sandbox wasn't going to cut it.  After some discussion, we decided the best way to go was to build it ourselves. So to Pinterest I went..I love Pinterest.  It was surprisingly easy to build and significantly cheaper than anything I'd found. 

I'm sorry that I did not take pictures of the construction process, however I did find the photo below which gives you the basics of the frame.  Nothing fancy here, just build a box using nails and wood.

We chose to use 6' x 12' lumber for the sides as we wanted the finished sandbox to be 6'x6'. (This example shows a finished 4'x4' sandbox.)

Supplies
5 - 6' x 12" pine lumber
1 box 3" galvanized nails
4 pieces of 4x4 lumber -we already had this and just cut 4 pieces to fit into each corner
1 - roll of mesh weed barrier (you can go with the cheapest here)
Sand
Paint (optional)

My husband and son completed the construction (great father/son bonding time) which took about 2 hours.  They opted to sand the lumber to prevent possible splinters and make the seating more comfortable.
To install, we dug about 6-8 inches down so that it would be set into the ground - we actually used a tiller to help with this as the ground was difficult to dig in the area we wanted to place it. 

At that point we leveled out the area, put down a layer of weed barrier, positioned the sandbox and then built up the outside perimeter with the soil we had removed. 
After some research on the type of sand to use we opted to go with the Playsand sold in bags.  This cost more, but we didn't want to take any chances with our grandsons health.  You can find this Playsand at Home Depot, Lowes and even Walmart.  We found it was cheapest by volume at Home Depot.

 And the fun begins

I wanted the sandbox to match his swing set so I painted it using outdoor semigloss. Tip: use a good quality one-coat paint.  The time savings is worth the money and you have virtually no drip issues.

We are currently using a tarp to cover the sandbox when not in use, however it is a pain when we have rain and/or wind.  I am working on an easier more permanent solution and most likely will go with a lattice covering which will allow the water in, but keep the cats and pests out.

So what did it cost?  The total came to about $150 with the sand being the bulk of the cost. This doesn't include the cost of the paint.  We purchased quarts and are using it on several projects. We added about 30 bags of sand and spent apx $110 on that alone.  We did not want to fill it completely to the edge due to our grandsons age, however we plan to add sand over time.

We are looking forward to years of sandy fun and couldn't be happier with the results.  The best part is-Bug loves his sandbox!

Next time-I'll tell you about the personalized picnic table we added to the play area.

Happy Gardening!