How To Build a Children’s Sandpit

We want you to make the most of your garden this summer, and adding fun features that can be enjoyed by all the family is just one part of enjoying that experience. A children’s sandpit can be the perfect way to let your little ones run wild while you sit and enjoy the sunshine from your rattan furniture.

If you’re really into your DIY and want to make your own sandpit, we’ll take you through how to build a children’s sandpit in this blog post. It’s really much more simple than you might think!

Choose Your Spot

1. 1. Choose a spot in your garden that’s firm and level

1. 1. Make sure the site isn’t naturally wet or likely to be flooded in bad weather

1. Try to find a spot that is half in shade half in sun so that the sand is able to dry out, but your children aren’t always in full sun

Build The Frame

1. 1. Measure and cut four deck joists at 1 metre each, and four at 1.06 metres. This will leave you with two frames – one to sit on top of the other.

1. 1. Treat all the cut ends with a wood treatment or end grain protector to prevent them from rotting or decaying

1. 1. On the ends of the longer joists, make two pencil marks 3cm from the top and bottom edges to show where they galvanised nails will go. You should have eight marks per frame (two in each corner of the frame)

1. 1. Drill a guide hole into the pencil marked areas, then nail 100mm galvanised nails into the spaces to fix the joists together. Repeat in each corner to create two joist frames

1. 1. Place one joist frame on the lawn in position, and mark each corner with a builders peg. Remove the frame and outline the space with string

1. 1. Follow the string with a lawn edger to cut straight edges into the ground and use a space to dig a hole  the depth of the finished frame (measure the height of one frame and double it)

1. 1. Stand the two frames on their sides and stack them so that the longer joists on the top frame are sat on top of the shorter joists

1. Clamp the two frames together, then lay a perforated metal plate at the centre of the frame’s side. Nail the plate into the side of the frame.

Build The Seating

1. 1. Measure a 45 degree angle from the outer corner of each deck board you’ll be using for the seated edge of the frame. Cut along the 45 degree angle so that four deck boards will slot neatly together around the edge of the frame

1. 1. Glue the edges of the deck boards together so that they form a square, and nail a perforated metal plate to the underside of this new seating frame to secure the boards together

1. 1. Flip the frame back over and place it on top of the joists frame with the metal panels on the underside

1. 1. Drill guide holes into the top of the board frame every 30 cm around the inside edge, then drill countersink holes on top of the guide holes. Finally, screw in 75mm deck screws

1. Treat the timber and apply coloured paint to the seating frame if desired

Install The Sandpit

1. 1. Place the frame onto a sheet of pond liner larger than the frame, nail the liner to the outside of the frame using 12mm cloud nails. These should be placed approximately every 10cm around the whole frame

1. 1. Add a thin layer of sand to the bottom of the hole in the ground to level the area and aid drainage

1. 1. Lower the box into the hole, then perforate the pond liner with a garden fork to create drainage holes

1. Fill the pit with play sand, making sure to leave around 10cm from the top so your children have room to build sandcastles!

Voila! You have your children’s sandpit. Enjoy a relax on your garden furniture, you’ve earned it!