Building a large sandbox... need sand

Phreaxer

Phreaxer

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I'm trying to put a large sandbox in the backyard for my kids. We had a little one and my son LOVED it, but it fell apart, was small and needs to be replaced. My plan is to create a large one, approximately 6'x8' and I was looking for sand. I can't seem to find the best way to get it. I could get 50 pound bags from the hardware store, but I would need about two dozen of them... Is there a better way? Also, the location is about as far from the front of the house as possible, so it's going to be a pain in the ass to get the sand around the the house, regardless of what form I get it in...
 
any local ground shop will have then. Look for a place that sells dirt by the half ton.
 
came here to post in epic thread.

woohoo... only 200 more!!!
 
Rob Battisti said:
any local ground shop will have then. Look for a place that sells dirt by the half ton.
Click to expand...

I found one place, but they want to deliver an entire truckload and they can place it 'over the wall' but they also want $375... a bit more than I was looking to spend...


Kophens said:
craigslist check the free section
Click to expand...

I'll check. I doubt I'll find 'sand' but it's worth the checking out, thanks.
 
Phreaxer said:
I found one place, but they want to deliver an entire truckload and they can place it 'over the wall' but they also want $375... a bit more than I was looking to spend...




I'll check. I doubt I'll find 'sand' but it's worth the checking out, thanks.
Click to expand...

It will be tough otherwise. Aren't really a ton of options here.
 
yeah i did buy sand at home depot for $4. a bag last year. before we moved we had a garage that got water in it occasionally. and i want to say that they were 100lb bags. so you ultimately just need to gt it to the build area? dude you may just need to buy it and carry that shit to where you need it.
 
yeah, I got a quote for $75 delivery fee and it's corse sand they would drop in the driveway... Got a second quote that the guy says he can get it into my yard for $215, but it looks like he will "shoot" it over the wall on a conveyer... Not sure that'll land in a small 6x8 area. lol
Looks like I might be buying a wheel barrow... lol
And Lowes has all purpose sand for $23/1000 lbs, or $4.40 for a 50lb bag of playground sand... How big of a difference is there? Anyone familiar with "sand"?
 
Mortar sand > all.

At least as far as sandboxes go.
 
All sand isn't created equal. "Play Sand" is made for sand boxes as it's usually debris free and safe to breath.

If your kid is going to being playing in it, make sure to Google the differences and then I would contact a company that deals in playground supplies.
 
Call a local builders yard/merchant up & ask if they sell scoops of washed sand. Half a scoop shouldn't cost more than $25 & will fill the bed of a F150 truck.

Borrow a wheelbarrow off a mate ....
 
If they don't sell washed sand just buy their regular sand. Then when dumping it out of your 'barrow sieve it through a sheet of metal diamond lath ....
 
I ended up deciding on a large commercial-grade bag from Home Depot. Instead of buying the playground sand at $4.47/bag (50lb) or the cheaper, less fine sand at $2.57/bag(50lb) I am getting a 1000lb canvas tote of sand comparable to the cheaper of the two types for a whopping total of $22.80.
Playsand - $89.40
General Sand - $51.40
1000lb sack - $22.80 and no hassle of opening 20 bags. Though I do have to get 1000lbs of sand from the front yard to the back... bags would have been easier in that regard I think, but maybe not...
 
Phreaxer said:
I'm trying to put a large sandbox in the backyard for my kids. We had a little one and my son LOVED it, but it fell apart, was small and needs to be replaced. My plan is to create a large one, approximately 6'x8' and I was looking for sand. I can't seem to find the best way to get it. I could get 50 pound bags from the hardware store, but I would need about two dozen of them... Is there a better way? Also, the location is about as far from the front of the house as possible, so it's going to be a pain in the ass to get the sand around the the house, regardless of what form I get it in...
Click to expand...

don't buy 50 pound bags.

If you or a friend has a pick-up truck, call your local landscape supply companies/dirt yards and buy mason sand. Mason sand would be ideal, because unlike 2NS sand or a fill sand, it's fine (but not fine enough to track all over the place or blow around too bad) and it's washed/filtered, so there are no pebbles or stones in it. I use to work at a gravel yard and we would sell an ungodly amount of it for sand boxes and pools.

A yard of it costs around $28 - $32. With your dimensions (6x8), you can do a 6x8 at 6 inches deep, with 1 yard of sand. you could probably get by with 3/4 of a yard, if you wanted to go around 4 inches deep with the sand.

hope that helps, brudda


edit- never mind, I didn't see your last post
 
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