How to Build a Sandbox Manchester CT

Source: Portland Press Herald
Publication date: May 3, 2009

Kristin Littlefield thought about her Yarmouth neighborhood filled with young children, and wondered where all the sandboxes were.

"I'm really surprised more people don't have sandboxes. We're the only family I know who has one," said Littlefield, mother of a 3- year-old boy and an 11-month-old girl. "It really encourages kids to use their imagination, to play independently. But for some reason, they seem to be forgotten."

Maybe it's their simplicity. The stark metal swing sets of 30 years ago - which were basically a couple of swings and a slide - have morphed into complex "playscapes" with clubhouses, crow's nests and tunnel slides. Some cost a couple thousand dollars.

But a sandbox has remained basically a box filled with sand. Compared to other backyard playthings, they can be relatively inexpensive and easy to build. For those with limited or no carpentry skills, building a sandbox can be a pretty satisfying home project.

You could, of course, buy a small plastic one, shaped like a turtle or something, but if you want one big enough for the kids to roam, you probably need to build it yourself.

"It was really easy. We really don't have many tools at our house, and we were still able to do it," said Sarah Delahanty of North Yarmouth, who built a 4-foot-by-4-foot sandbox in her backyard using plans she found on the Web site of old-house guru Bob Vila. "It didn't even take a whole da...

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