I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.

"Chris Bacon" wrote:
I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.

You will need some sort of cover otherwise the local cats will **** in it.

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 10:24:06 +0000, Chris Bacon
wrote:

I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.

Make a cover...the local cats will love it.

Also, make sure it's well drained as it will probably fill with water.

sponix

"Chris Bacon" wrote in message
...
I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.

Don't waste your time, get one of these.
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st...oductId=218135

http://tinyurl.com/gxu3j

Baz

"Chris Bacon" wrote:
I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.

You need to consider using play pit sand, not builders sand. Play pit sand
is washed and therefore non-toxic and non-staining.

Cool Dude wrote:
"Chris Bacon" wrote:
I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.

You will need some sort of cover otherwise the local
cats will **** in it.

I was going to - it will also stop large amounts of
leaves getting in. Fortunately, there are few cats
in the neighbourhood, and they tend not to come into
this garden! Debris netting (seen on scaffolding)
looks OK.

Baz wrote:
"Chris Bacon"...
I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.

Don't waste your time, get one of these.
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st...oductId=218135

http://tinyurl.com/gxu3j

Thanks for that, but it's *tiny*!

Sponix wrote:
make sure it's well drained as it will probably fill with water.

The ground's very well drained, fortunately. I was going
to line the bottom of the hole with weed (and hopefully
worm) proof permeable membrane (Terram).

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 10:24:06 +0000, Chris Bacon
wrote:

I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.


A better idea is to build it as a frame with short legs in contact
with the ground and an internal base, raised slightly from the ground
and made by butt joining some pressure treated boards together - deck
boards are reasonable for this. You could also make the sides from
them. The advantage is that it will drain properly and if you place
the legs on small paving slabs, won't rot very quickly either.

Some kind of a cover to prevent the local pussycats visiting it would
be a good idea.


If you want something a bit fancier , then this is another idea

http://www.newyankee.com/getproduct3.cgi?306




--

..andy


Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
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"Chris Bacon" wrote in message
...
I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.

Look what is over the neighbours fence near it! We made one years ago
then noticed a Laburnum tree dropping it's poisonous seeds into where
the kids were playing ! Still they range from 20 to 30 so it didn't
kill them G

AWEM

The message
from Chris Bacon contains these words:

The ground's very well drained, fortunately. I was going
to line the bottom of the hole with weed (and hopefully
worm) proof permeable membrane (Terram).

You'll find the kids often like to dig as far as the membrane then poke
holes in it. I've seen them done where the membrane was covered with a
layer of paving bricks. Still plenty of gaps for the water but less
tempting for the kids.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

"Chris Bacon" wrote in message
...
I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.

I made one a couple of years ago for my kids from stuff I had lying around.
The sides are each made from two bits of 2x3 pressure-treated CLS, screwed
into some 2x2 at the corners. I arranged the corner pieces to stick down a
few inches into the ground to keep it in place. The kids often side on the
edges of it, so having something thicker than is really needed to merely
contain the sand is nice. 6'x8' sounds huge, and the lid will take some
engineering, but maybe you have lots of children... Ours is about 3'x4'
which sounds a bit mean against your mini-Sahara, but it has provided hours
and hours of pleasure while the kids play in the sand pit.

I stapled a DIY-shed mulch-membrane (cheap papery Teram-a-like) across the
bottom - this is supported by the ground of course, so the staples are just
to keep it in place while you're installing the thing. It has a piece of
1/2inch ply as a lid, which just lies on top.

Originally it was filled with the lovely play-pit sand you can buy from the
sheds, but I've just topped it up with ordinary soft white building sand
because I have about 3/4 ton left over from something else.

I would say that reasonable soft building sand is perfectly acceptable,
although it is perhaps slightly more staining than the 'proper' stuff. This
is not the sort of thing I worry about... At the size you're talking about,
the price difference is going to be substantial.

Will

The message
from "Andrew Mawson" contains
these words:

Look what is over the neighbours fence near it! We made one years ago
then noticed a Laburnum tree dropping it's poisonous seeds into where
the kids were playing ! Still they range from 20 to 30 so it didn't
kill them G

Odd you should mention that - I had a laburnum over my sandpit as a kid
- Dad just told me not to eat the seeds.

I'll need to check, but I've a feeling larburnum's recently been
downgraded as a poisonous plant after they discovered it wasn't that
bad.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 10:24:06 +0000, Chris Bacon
wrote:

I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.

Make sure you build an anti-cat-crap cover.

--
HooDooWitch

"Cool Dude" wrote in message
...
"Chris Bacon" wrote:
I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.

You need to consider using play pit sand, not builders sand. Play pit sand
is washed and therefore non-toxic and non-staining.


I bought play sand last year from B&Q and it stained big time.

C

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 10:51:29 +0000, Chris Bacon
wrote:

Cool Dude wrote:
"Chris Bacon" wrote:
I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.

You will need some sort of cover otherwise the local
cats will **** in it.

I was going to - it will also stop large amounts of
leaves getting in. Fortunately, there are few cats
in the neighbourhood, and they tend not to come into
this garden! Debris netting (seen on scaffolding)
looks OK.

Sandpits are magnets for cats

Its easier digging than next doors seedlings
--
Get money off vouchers for everything
http://www.moneyoffvouchers.co.uk

Chris Bacon wrote:
I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions?

http://www.newyankee.com/getproduct3.cgi?306

(Assuming you have a Delta cabinet saw, dado head, wide-belt sander,
shaper and plenty of western red cedar).

--
LSR

Guy King wrote:
The message Chris Bacon contains these words:
The ground's very well drained, fortunately. I was going
to line the bottom of the hole with weed (and hopefully
worm) proof permeable membrane (Terram).

You'll find the kids often like to dig as far as the membrane then poke
holes in it. I've seen them done where the membrane was covered with a
layer of paving bricks. Still plenty of gaps for the water but less
tempting for the kids.

That's a useful idea. Might stop 'em surprising someone
in 'Stralia, too. Can't have the sand too deep, for
safety reasons.

The message
from Chris Bacon contains these words:

That's a useful idea. Might stop 'em surprising someone
in 'Stralia, too. Can't have the sand too deep, for
safety reasons.

Next time you're at the beach, come back with a bucket of seashells -
the kids love finding treasures in the sand.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

"Owain" wrote in message
...
Clare L wrote:
"Cool Dude" wrote
You need to consider using play pit sand, not builders sand. Play pit
sand is washed and therefore non-toxic and non-staining.
I bought play sand last year from B&Q and it stained big time.

Maybe it was only pretend play sand?

IIRC "sharp sand" is what you need, not the soft yellow stuff.

Taking a trailer along to your favourite beach and mining your own is
probably illegal.

Owain

What you really want is "silver sand" if you want stuff that flows. It's
washed and clean and as close to play sand as you can get (ie it's the same)
but you can buy it at sand and gravel merchants (if you are lucjky enough to
have one near). We do and I just loaded up a trrailer with my own shovel. It
was enormously cheaper than the little bags.


--
Bob Mannix
(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not)

Will Dean wrote:
"Chris Bacon" wrote...
I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.

I made one a couple of years ago for my kids from stuff I had lying around.
The sides are each made from two bits of 2x3 pressure-treated CLS, screwed
into some 2x2 at the corners. I arranged the corner pieces to stick down a
few inches into the ground to keep it in place. The kids often side on the
edges of it, so having something thicker than is really needed to merely
contain the sand is nice. 6'x8' sounds huge, and the lid will take some
engineering, but maybe you have lots of children... Ours is about 3'x4'
which sounds a bit mean against your mini-Sahara, but it has provided hours
and hours of pleasure while the kids play in the sand pit.

I've been thinking of using Caberfloor P5 for the sides (22mm thick)
with 2x2 battens screwed to the top, also to hold the pieces together
at the corners, and decking timber for the top of the sides:

Section:

=== === deck timber
#|.............. # batten
|.............. | caberfloor
|............... . sand
@@@@~|............... ~ Terram
@@@~|................ @ soil
@@@~|................
@@@~|................
@@@~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Plan:

---------------
#| |#
| |
#| |#
---------------

That'd give something to sit on as per your useful suggestion.

Not sure about the longevity of Caberfloor under these circumstances,
but I've had a piece outside in the wind and rain for about a year,
and it doesn't appear to have deteriorated. The soil is generally
very dry.


I stapled a DIY-shed mulch-membrane (cheap papery Teram-a-like) across the
bottom - this is supported by the ground of course, so the staples are just
to keep it in place while you're installing the thing. It has a piece of
1/2inch ply as a lid, which just lies on top.

Originally it was filled with the lovely play-pit sand you can buy from the
sheds, but I've just topped it up with ordinary soft white building sand
because I have about 3/4 ton left over from something else.

I could use washed sharp sand, I suppose...


I would say that reasonable soft building sand is perfectly acceptable,
although it is perhaps slightly more staining than the 'proper' stuff. This
is not the sort of thing I worry about... At the size you're talking about,
the price difference is going to be substantial.

If I make it 8' (nearly) by 4' I'd need 3 sheets of Caberfloor,
+ the deck timber & 2x2s, and 1.5m cubed of sand (2 bags?)! I
wonder whether that would be big enough...

Hi,

"Owain" wrote in message
...
Clare L wrote:
"Cool Dude" wrote
You need to consider using play pit sand, not builders sand. Play pit sand
is washed and therefore non-toxic and non-staining.
I bought play sand last year from B&Q and it stained big time.

Maybe it was only pretend play sand?

IIRC "sharp sand" is what you need, not the soft yellow stuff.

Taking a trailer along to your favourite beach and mining your own is
probably illegal.

Who needs to mine it? My five year old can fit about 4cwt in
his pants without even trying. About two trips and he could
fill a skip.

Regards,

Glenn.

"Owain" wrote in message
...

... they can play the exciting new game of Scottish Parliament.

I know kids are notoriously expensive, but that's just absurd.

Will

"Chris Bacon" wrote in message
...
I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.

FIL built one for my other half and his sister when they were kids... Just
asked OH how it was done and this is what he said:

Start it off like a pond - dig it out as far into the ground as you want it
and as wide as you want it. Fill the bottom with stones (like the stones you
see on people's driveways - not quite gravel and not quite rocks). Put pond
lino over the top and secure it around with paving slabs (or whatever else
you can think of to secure it with. FIL used paving slabs but they don't
sound all that safe to me!).

Once the lino is laid, cut a hole in the middle of it. Find a ceramic plant
pot with drainage holes in the bottom, fill it with more stones and put it
in the hole. This is very important for drainage as it allows any water to
drain away but doesn't let worms and things back up into the sand. After
that, just fill it with sand.

You really do need it to be covered and sealed when its not in use,
otherwise it just goes manky and the colour of soil, and gets filled with
worms, leaves and cat poop. OH said his didn't have a lid on and by the time
the next summer came around it had to be refilled etc.


HTH


Kat

"Guy King" wrote in message
...
The message
from Chris Bacon contains these words:

That's a useful idea. Might stop 'em surprising someone
in 'Stralia, too. Can't have the sand too deep, for
safety reasons.


the kids love finding treasures in the sand.

Are we back on the cat ****ting in the sand box thing again?

CampinGazz wrote:
Are we back on the cat ****ting in the sand box thing again?

Tell you what, the sods crap in building (rendering) sand, too,
which is a sod, but not for the reason you might think.

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 10:51:29 +0000, Chris Bacon
wrote:

Fortunately, there are few cats
in the neighbourhood, and they tend not to come into
this garden!

That's because you don't have a sandpit yet.

If you build it, they will come. And they'll leave you souvenirs.

On Sat, 25 Mar 2006 10:33:22 +0000, Andy Dingley wrote:

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 10:51:29 +0000, Chris Bacon
wrote:

Fortunately, there are few cats
in the neighbourhood, and they tend not to come into
this garden!

That's because you don't have a sandpit yet.

If you build it, they will come. And they'll leave you souvenirs.

More than that, they will ALL come to make sure they make it their
territory.
--
Jim
Tyneside UK

Cool Dude wrote:
"Chris Bacon" wrote:
I'd like to make a children's sand pit, maybe 6' x 8'
or similar. Any hints or suggestions? I was thinking
of sinking it 1' or so into the ground, and building
up sides with timber.

You need to consider using play pit sand, not builders sand. Play pit
sand is washed and therefore non-toxic and non-staining.

As far as I can tell, the washed, bagged sand sold for pool filters,
sandblasting (sorry to mention that word Chris!) etc is the same as the
stuff sold as play sand but cheaper. Compare it to whatever suitable
sand your builders merchant has on offer.
--
Holly, in France
Gite to let in Dordogne, now with pool.
http://la-plaine.chez-alice.fr

Holly, in France wrote:
As far as I can tell, the washed, bagged sand sold for pool filters,
sandblasting (sorry to mention that word Chris!) etc is the same as the
stuff sold as play sand but cheaper. Compare it to whatever suitable
sand your builders merchant has on offer.

Just don't get sharp sand (for making concrete etc etc); you need soft
sand (or whatever builders call it).

Phil

--
http://www.kantaka.co.uk/ .oOo. public key: http://www.kantaka.co.uk/gpg.txt

The message
from Phil Armstrong contains these words:

Just don't get sharp sand (for making concrete etc etc); you need soft
sand (or whatever builders call it).

Soft sand stains really badly - it's got a lot of fines in it - almost
clay. This is what makes it so stable when firmly compacted.

I've yet to find a good substitue for "real" play sand - apart from
beach sand.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

"Guy King" wrote in message
...
The message
from Phil Armstrong contains these words:

Just don't get sharp sand (for making concrete etc etc); you need soft
sand (or whatever builders call it).

Soft sand stains really badly - it's got a lot of fines in it - almost
clay. This is what makes it so stable when firmly compacted.

I've yet to find a good substitue for "real" play sand - apart from
beach sand.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

I got washed sand (plasterer's I think) from the builders' merchant. Half
the price of 'official' playpit sand and just as good bearing in mind that
within about 5 nanoseconds of use it was full of grit and shingle from the
garden.

Cheers

Mark

Guy King wrote:

The message
from Phil Armstrong contains these words:

Just don't get sharp sand (for making concrete etc etc); you need soft
sand (or whatever builders call it).

Soft sand stains really badly - it's got a lot of fines in it - almost
clay. This is what makes it so stable when firmly compacted.

I've yet to find a good substitue for "real" play sand - apart from
beach sand.

You need to choose between two types of sand.

There is the dry sort which runs freely and works with some sort of sand
toys such as sand wheels.

The other sort of sand is often called wet sand, it's what works best
for making sand castles etc ,as it stays put when moulded.

Not all types of sand seem to work equally well as wet or dry sand. If
you can find a grade that can be used equally well either way, you'll
have done well.

Phil Armstrong wrote:
Just don't get sharp sand (for making concrete etc etc); you need soft
sand (or whatever builders call it).

Why not washed sharp sand?

Guy King wrote:
The message
from Phil Armstrong contains these words:

Just don't get sharp sand (for making concrete etc etc); you need soft
sand (or whatever builders call it).

Soft sand stains really badly - it's got a lot of fines in it - almost
clay. This is what makes it so stable when firmly compacted.

I've yet to find a good substitue for "real" play sand - apart from
beach sand.

There's a BS something or other product which is crushed glass. It's
safe to handle and has been crushed and screened so that it's no more
damaging than sandpaper (which also uses crushed glass).

Back in out play pit constructing days we used to use silver sand, which
is simply a fine white sand. I think it is dredged from the sea, washed
and screened.

On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 11:16:55 +0000, Guy King wrote:

The message
from Chris Bacon contains these words:

The ground's very well drained, fortunately. I was going
to line the bottom of the hole with weed (and hopefully
worm) proof permeable membrane (Terram).

You'll find the kids often like to dig as far as the membrane then poke
holes in it. I've seen them done where the membrane was covered with a
layer of paving bricks. Still plenty of gaps for the water but less
tempting for the kids.

Geotextile (non-woven polyethylene/polyproplylene sheet) is good for
membrane. It's very tough but lets water through. Trouble is you can
usually only get either huge rolls or packs of smallish pieces, and you
really want to cover the base of your sandpit in one piece. (If you're in
the Reading area I've got best part of a 25m roll about 3m wide .... in
fact if you want some anywhere else I could cut some and post it - it's
pretty light.)

Chris Bacon wrote:
Phil Armstrong wrote:
Just don't get sharp sand (for making concrete etc etc); you need soft
sand (or whatever builders call it).

Why not washed sharp sand?

It's called sharp for a reason!

Scratchy, itchy stuff.

Have you never noticed that at some beaches, the sand is just
comfortable to mess around with, whilst at others it's irritating and
sratchy?

Have a look at some bits of sharp sand and soft under a microscope and
you'll see why...

Phil

--
http://www.kantaka.co.uk/ .oOo. public key: http://www.kantaka.co.uk/gpg.txt

Phil Armstrong wrote:
Chris Bacon wrote:
Phil Armstrong wrote:
Just don't get sharp sand (for making concrete etc etc); you need soft
sand (or whatever builders call it).

Why not washed sharp sand?

It's called sharp for a reason! Scratchy, itchy stuff.

Have you never noticed that at some beaches, the sand is just
comfortable to mess around with, whilst at others it's irritating and
sratchy?

I've never seen sand at the seaside that could qualify as sharp
sand. Lots of different grain sizes, and different calcareous
content, but nothing that resembles sharp sand, or even soft
builders sand.


Have a look at some bits of sharp sand and soft under a microscope and
you'll see why...

I wonder how "sharp" sand and soft builders sand were made (comparing
to beach sand)... something I really ought to know already. Hmm.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "CampinGazz" saying
something like:

the kids love finding treasures in the sand.

Are we back on the cat ****ting in the sand box thing again?

There's nothing quite like cat **** squidging up between your toes.
--

Dave

The message
from Grimly Curmudgeon contains
these words:

There's nothing quite like cat **** squidging up between your toes.

Slugs ain't too nice, either. We had a kitten once - he couldn't manage
birds and mice and things so he used to line slugs up on the doorstep
for us. Getting the milk in in your socks wasn't an exercise you
repeated. Pureed slugs between the toes takes some getting used to.
Though there's probably a brothel in Bankok specialising in it by now.

--
Skipweasel
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.