How To Make A Sandbox

A sandbox fits in any place of your garden and makes a worthy thing to admire and attract. It can be a great treat for the kids, who are always inevitably drawn to the sand. They can conveniently sit inside it and play to their heart satisfaction, with no interruption from their parents. Besides, the parents are relieved of the safety of their children, as the sand used in it is free of any large or harmful particles. Sandboxes can also be used to raise flower beds in the garden. A number of flowering plants can be planted in them, which give a great sight when in full blossom. Also, the sandboxes can be used for special group of plants like cactus, which find an apt condition to grown in them. Making a sandbox involves creativity and a little patience. In case you want to know more on how to make a sandbox, check out the simple tips given below.

Making Your Own Sandbox

Things Required

Shovel
Prefabricated Interlocking Wall Blocks
Masonry Glue
Soil Tamper Tool
Old Bedspread
Non-woven Porous Landscape Fabric
Sand
Earth Staples

Procedure

Select a wall block that fits with your garden. You can either go for the straight blocks or for the curved ones. You can even make a sandbox by using both the straight as well as the curved blocks. Two layers of the blocks will be enough to make a sandbox of height 8-10 inches.
Using the shovel, dig out the space where you plan to make your sandbox. You can dig down to a height of 4-6 inches. This will make it suitable for the kids to play in it as well for you to use it as the garden bed.
Put the landscape fabric at the bottom of the bed. Being porous in nature, it will allow the water to pass through, while preventing the entry of insects, weeds and small animals into the bed.
Tuck the fabric into the ground on the sides, using the earth staples. Now, spread sand around the bed, so that it forms a layer where you can raise the prefabricated block.
Lay the interlocking prefabricated blocks on the edge and prepare the boundary accordingly.
Make the first course of the blocks in the dig space. Use a soil tamper tool to make sure that the blocks have been laid in a straight and clean manner.
Apply masonry glue on the blocks and stick the next course. If you want a sandbox with a higher wall, you can add more courses later on.
Now, fill the enclosed area with sand. Be careful that you use the sand labeled as ‘Play Sand” or “Sandbox Sand”. This sand is sterilized and sifted type, is virtually free of large particles, and proves absolutely safe for the child’s skin.
Cover the sandbox with an old bedspread, when not in use. This is necessary to prevent cats from using your sandbox as a litter box.
The entire process will take approximately 4-5 hours and you need to be patient while doing it. You will find your effort aptly rewarded, when you see your perfect sandbox adorning your garden.

Tips

Instead of interlocking blocks, you can buy some heavy plastic blocks that look like the paving stones. You can simply assemble these plastic blocks on the ground or grass and add sand to make the sandbox. These blocks can easily interlock with metal rods and make the sandbox strong.

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