Posted: 5/22/2009 7:28:28 AM EDT
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out of railroad ties... the "nice" ones... not the nasty black ones with tar all over them. My wife said her friend used pressure treated ones. My friends said they're treated with arsenic and possibly other nasty chemicals that might not be very kid friendly. True or false? Better alternatives? |
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out of railroad ties... the "nice" ones... not the nasty black ones with tar all over them. My wife said her friend used pressure treated ones. My friends said they're treated with arsenic and possibly other nasty chemicals that might not be very kid friendly. True or false? Better alternatives? CCA (Chromated Copper Arsenate) treated lumber is no longer available at retail. The arsenic has been removed and more copper compounds used. Make sure it has a cover or cats will treat it like the large litter box it appears to be. |
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Took me for ever... not the actual building part 8.5x8.5 feet of sanboxy goodness. or 8.5x8.5 feet of a giant pain in my ass. Used 12ea 4x4 railroad ties or timbers or whatever the hell they're called. 8ea 2ft pieces of rebar and 4ea 10inch spikes. Had to clear >8.5ft of ivy to avoid it growing through the bottom. Sounds easy enough but it took several hours to put it lightly. For every one ivy root/vine pulled a huge net or overlapping ones comes up with it that usually goes about 3-5ft in every direction. Not to mention to 1in roots. But it's done... just need that special sand my wife wants that isn't like that fine beach sand but more the kind our son can make castles and stuff out of. She can truck that shit in though.  |
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The gas would have been cheaper than the lumber.  But also a pain in the ass to drive 1.5-2 hours one way to pick it up. I got 4 of the timbers for nothing from a friend so I only paid for 8. But thanks for the after thought. 
As always, you're welcome! |
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pressure treat needs a year in the sun before you can get paint to stick
http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines/SandPremiumPlay.asp |
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Quoted: pressure treat needs a year in the sun before you can get paint to stick http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines/SandPremiumPlay.asp Yeah... come to think of it, that wood was kind of wet-ish My wife is pricing a pick-up truck bed full of sand to fill this sucker. We'd need a TON of those 50lb bags. |
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sharp sand is coarse, gritty and clumps into wads
play sand is sifted, finer grained and much softer to play in. Sharp sand is a mix of ungraded, coarse sands often with small (sharp) rock chips in it. Good for balast, concreting, and not much else.
Builder's sand is mostly an ungraded product. It is used for a wide variety of purposes, especially in construction (i.e., for ballast, for good drainage when laid under brick paving, or mixing with cement to make morter). Builder's sand may also be mixed with heavy (clay) soils in the garden to improve drainage. Sometimes called "soft" or "orange" sand in the trade, to distinguish from sharp sand. Masonry sand is a graded variant of builder's sand, rather better for bricklaying and patios. Also called bricklayer's sand. Silver sand is a mix of graded sand and fine loam; it can be used for bricklaying (light coloured morter), top-dressing lawns, patio concrete and (sometimes) instead of playsand. Playsand the softest and most graded sand available. The only one really suitable for sandpits. |
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Used 12ea 4x4 railroad ties or timbers or whatever the hell they're called. 8ea 2ft pieces of rebar and 4ea 10inch spikes. I count 8 4x4s. Where did you use the other 4? I'm interested in building this... can you show how you assembled the sides and how you used the rebar and spikes please? Txs! -3D |
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Quoted: the sackrete plans have a good design the sandbox is surrounded with a brick patio this keeps sand out of the yard & yard out of the sandbox I thought about doing that.... we're getting a patio done with pavers... might keep a few off to the side for around the box... if not my neighbor has a PILE of bricks behind his shed I could snag`` |
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the sackrete plans have a good design the sandbox is surrounded with a brick patio this keeps sand out of the yard & yard out of the sandbox I thought about doing that.... we're getting a patio done with pavers... might keep a few off to the side for around the box... if not my neighbor has a PILE of bricks behind his shed I could snag`` Go to your local materials place, don't use sand, use pea gravel. It's much safer and you'll never worry about rain taking it away or having standing water in your sand box. It took 2 tons of pea gravel at like $9 a ton to fill my last sandbox, it was roughly 6" deep by 12' long by 10' wide. Sand was so 1980's. |