The best sandpit sand on the Central Coast is a washed, fine sand, and the yard sells exactly that under a name most parents would never guess. Get the sand right and the pit stays soft, clean and easy to dig all summer. Get it wrong and the pit fills with a sand made for bricklaying or concrete instead.
So before the school holidays, here is which sand to order, how much a pit takes, what to build the frame from and how to keep it clean. For the full range in one place, the sand types guide explains what each of the yard’s six sands is for.
Which Sand Should Go In A Kids’ Sandpit?
Tiling Sand. The yard’s sand range describes it as a washed beach and dune sand for plastering, rendering, tiling and grouting. The same listing notes that it is also used for children’s sand pits. That makes it the sandpit sand on the Central Coast to ask for, by the tonne or in 25 to 30kg bags.
Why Tiling Sand Suits A Sandpit
Two words on the product page do the work: washed and dune. Washing takes out the fine dirt, and dune sand is the soft, even grain children already know from the beach. As a result, the pit digs easily when dry and holds a shape when damp.
The Sands To Leave Out
Every other sand in the range does a different job. Here is why each one stays out of the pit:
- Yellow Mortar and White Mortar, fatty sands for bricklaying
- Fill Sand, for fill and trenches
- River Sand, a coarse, free-draining sand for construction work
- Bulk Concrete, a premix of sand and 10mm blue metal, so it carries stone
How Much Sand Does A Sandpit Need?
Work out the volume first, then let the team turn it into an order. Multiply the length, width and depth of the pit in metres and the answer is in cubic metres. For example, a pit 1.5 metres square filled 200mm deep holds 1.5 x 1.5 x 0.2, which comes to 0.45 cubic metres.
The yard sells Tiling Sand by the tonne rather than the cubic metre, however. Ordering bulk landscape supplies explains why the two units differ, so give the team your measurements and let them do the conversion.
Bags Or A Bulk Load?
Bags suit a small pit, and a bulk load suits anything bigger. A few 25 to 30kg bags fit in a car boot, which means no trailer and no tow bar. For a larger pit, a bulk load can come by trailer through the drive-through yard, or on the yard’s own tipper. Pick up or delivery helps you decide which suits.
What Timber Suits A Sandpit Frame?
Timber that carries no arsenic. The yard’s standard treated pine sleepers are H4 CCA, which stands for Copper Chrome Arsenate. The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority’s review of arsenic timber treatments cancelled CCA where people come into frequent contact with the timber. Children’s play equipment is on that list.
A sandpit frame is something children sit on, climb over and dig against all day. So the sensible choice is ACQ, or Alkaline Copper Quaternary, which carries no arsenic and which the yard supplies on request. Treated pine sleepers on the Central Coast covers the sizes and hazard classes in more detail.
Never Burn The Offcuts
Treated offcuts belong in the bin, not the fire pit. The NSW EPA’s page on CCA treated timber notes it can be toxic when handled or burnt. Likewise, the NSW EPA’s advice on treated timber says it should be safely disposed of and never burnt or buried.
What Goes Under The Sand?
A layer of fabric that lets water through but keeps the sand and soil apart. The yard’s Geotextile (Trench Fabric) does that job, so the pit drains after rain without the sand slowly mixing into the dirt below.
Do You Need To Cover A Sandpit?
Yes, whenever nobody is playing in it. The National Health and Medical Research Council’s Staying Healthy guide tells parents to cover a children’s sandpit when it is not in use. The reason it gives is to stop animal droppings getting in. A fitted cover also keeps out leaves and stops the sand blowing around on a windy afternoon.
Topping Up Through Summer
Feet, buckets and toys carry sand out, so the level drops over the holidays. Keep a couple of spare bags on hand, and top the pit up rather than waiting until it runs low.
Building A Sandpit Before The Holidays?
Measure the pit and decide on bags or a bulk load. If the frame is going in too, ask for ACQ timber. The team can then put the sand, the timber and the fabric together in one order. Contact Kincumber Sand & Soil or call (02) 4368 1252.
