Create a safe and fun outdoor play area for your kids with our step-by-step guide to building a DIY sandbox. Learn how to choose the right location, materials, and design features to construct a durable and attractive sandbox that will provide hours of creative play. Discover tips on maintenance and safety, along with creative ideas for sandbox accessories and toys. Your DIY sandbox becomes a cherished part of your outdoor space!
Sand: It really doesn’t get old, does it? Of course, if you’re a parent, you might not love the clean up, but the hours of entertainment make sand boxes WORTH IT. If you don’t love the idea of sand, use rocks instead. Outdoor play is good for kids and sand is such a fun sensory experience for them. Bring a book out, setup a water table nearby, and you can enjoy a few moments of relaxation while your child is preoccupied.
Did you ever see the sandbox we built a while back? We built the sandbox, then later added some shade for the sandbox as well. This is an upgrade to that sandbox.
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Planning a DIY Sandbox
Sandbox Location
There are many things that we considered when deciding on a location for our sandbox. Each may or may not be important to you.
Corner of the Privacy Fence: I really loved having our sandbox up against our privacy fence. The corner location was perfect, giving us two areas that sand COULDN’T spill out or be catapulted out from… If I could have contained the whole thing, I would have- maybe next time?
Away from Grass: We put our sandbox in the mulch area near their swing set. It was a great location so sand wasn’t going into our grass… which would have driven me nuts.
Drainage: You want to make sure that your sandbox isn’t at the lowest point of your property. Ideally, the area is level and slightly higher than the area around it. That means water will drain AWAY from the sandbox instead of creating a big puddle of muddy sand. It will also make your sandbox wood less likely to rot as sitting in water certainly isn’t the best for longevity.
Shade: Shade from a tree or fence can help lower the temperature in your sandbox and keep the sand from getting SUPER hot in the summer. This may be a necessity, depending on where you live. The downside of trees for shade is that you may have leaves fall into the sandbox, but I rather enjoy trees so that was my preference. They really are the superior option for shade.
Visibility from House: Depending on your comfort level, you may want to put the sandbox somewhere near your house so you can see the kids while they play. This may allow you to get some work done indoors. For my kids, they were young at the time and needed a lot of supervision so this wasn’t something that I considered.
Sandbox Size
Sometimes it’s easy to say that bigger is better, but in the case of making a sandbox bigger is very expensive. So to some degree you need to balance your desire for a Texas sized sandbox with whatever your budget is.
Personally, I liked the size of this for two kids and it allowed us to use the scooping toy that the kids love so much. Although you can see the kids in each other’s face, there was plenty of room for them to be separate as well.
The larger size we did in the pictures is about 4×8.
Sandbox Features
Lids: An easy lid to take on and off can be really helpful to keep neighborhood cats from using your sandbox like a litter box. It can also keep debris like leaves out of the sandbox.
It does, however, make it slightly more difficult to access for your child and they may need adult help to get the lid off. I don’t love being relied on that much so I’d want to have a lid that was easy for the KIDS to take on and off… as I couldn’t figure out a great option for it at the time, I didn’t bother with the lid at all.
Walls: I have seen people do walls and use netting or a screen wall to keep mosquitos away from the kids… this may also be beneficial for shade and to keep sand in the sandbox. I LOVE this idea… but I didn’t do it for this sandbox.
Seating on Edges: I REALLY want to do this at the time, but didn’t have the woodworking skills to build seating. If I do another sandbox, I will ABSOLUTELY add seating, preferably with storage underneath.
Storage: Storage is ideal, particularly if you want your toys to stay in good shape. I screwed in storage boxes to the privacy fence for toys, but I really think something that provides cover from the sun would be helpful so your sand toys don’t get sun bleached.
How to Build a Sandbox
Supplies
- 3 ft. x 50 ft. of Heavy-Duty, Commercial Grade Weed Barrier: homedepot.sjv.io/rQ6Q53
- SAKRETE 50 lb Play Sand homedepot.sjv.io/xk4k1v
- 8′ Landscape Timbers https://homedepot.sjv.io/5bREOL
- 10 in. Metal Round Landscape Anchoring Spikes (45 Per Pack): homedepot.sjv.io/oqEq7O
It’s really important to use play sand as it’s specifically meant for children. Some types of sand may not be safe for kids.
Tutorial
Step 1: Start your project by leveling the ground. You want this to be fairly level so that you don’t have areas that accrue rain and mud. It also allows you to better gauge the amount of supplies you’ll need. It also allows you to better gauge the amount of supplies you’ll need. It’s a lot more complicated math if you have different depths at different parts of your sandbox.
As you can see, the dog and children were hard at working ‘helping’ us do the work.
Step 2: Before constructing the frame of your sandbox, lay weed blocking fabric on the bottom of your sandbox. This helps keep weeds out, but more importantly it keeps dirt from getting mixed in with your sand.
Step 3: Construct your walls of the sandbox. You’ll want 4′ landscape timbers and 8′ ones… we used two for each side. Using the privacy fence allowed us to use a lot fewer timbers which saved us money.
Step 4: Predrill holes in your landscape timbers and use some type of stake to hold them in place. You can use a piece of rebar or a steel spike such as these: 10 in. Metal Round Landscape Anchoring Spikes (45 Per Pack): homedepot.sjv.io/oqEq7O The spike should go through both boards… and alternatively, you can alternate wood for each side so the sides hold each other in place.
Step 6: Fill your sandbox with the play sand. I recommend wearing a mask because even the kids play sand can be quite dusty. I also recommend rinsing the sand with the hose if possible as you put down layers. This may help long term.
If you need a LOT of sand, you can potentially order it in bulk from a landscape supply store, but ensure you’re ordering play sand.
Step 7: Use tarps or a wood cover to cover your sandbox when not in use. This will keep neighborhood cats from using it as a litter box, and keep leaves and other debris out of it.
Favorite Sandbox Toys and Tools
Sandbox Toys
These are some of our favorite sandbox toys.
Tractors are always a win.
We got these and brought them to the beach. Did I use them as more or more than my kids? Possibly.
This looks like a lot of fun!
I like this version because of how stable it looks, but we don't own this one so I can't attest to how well it works.
This is similar to the excavator toy that we have in the photos. It has gotten a LOT of use, although it's been many years and the bolts and screws have rusted out... but considering this, it's still in semi working condition (we have replaced the screws and bolts occasionally).
While not the most exciting item, these are undoubtedly the most useful.
In lieu of a more traditional deck box for storage. wall planters work well too- they usually have drainage holes to let water go through, but they are big enough to hold a few toys. I liked being able to screw them into the fencing beside the sandbox.
One of these would work well for storing additional toys.
Alternatives to Sand
Although sand is an easy go-to item for your sandbox, I’ve seen a lot of parents doing River Rock instead. This is a really great alternative, although you still have to deal with rocks going out of the sandbox. But it’s a bit of a different sensory experience than sand, so it’s appealing in many ways.
It’s also easier to get off before they come into the house.
This is a really fun and satisfying project. When you’re done, you can sit back and enjoy your quiet time while the kids play in the sandbox… At least until somebody throws sand at somebody else.
Please share and pin this post! If you make this project, share it in our Stuff Mama Makes Facebook Group. We have regular giveaways for gift cards to craft stores. You can also tag me on Instagram @doityourselfdanielle; I love seeing everything you make!
