Playground Sand Delivered by the Ton

Sand for play has a few jobs to do. It should feel soft, brush off skin and clothes without staining, and stay loose so it cushions a fall instead of packing hard. Playground Sand is made for that. The grade is Fine, washed, which means the sand runs through screens that hold back coarse grit and pebbles, then goes through water to rinse out most of the silt and clay. What is left is clean grains that pour like dry salt.^[1]

The color is Light tan, close to a beach, and it stays bright when dry. Washed sand is still heavy. Plan on about 2,700 lb for a cubic yard, sold by the ton through Gravel Valet. Because the clay is mostly gone, the sand does not crust over after rain, and it dries out fast once the sun returns.^[1]

Home sandboxes come first. Kids can dig, build and pour all day, and the sand shakes out of shoes and hair at the end of it. Larger play yards at homes, daycares and churches use it under swings and climbing sets as a soft surface. A sand play table on a deck takes a few shovels from the same pile.^[1]

Backyard volleyball courts need deep, loose sand that cushions a dive and does not cake. Washed fine sand fits that need, and its Light tan color makes a court look like a beach. Horseshoe pits, a sand area beside a fire pit, a small backyard beach next to a pond, and a putting-green bunker are other good spots. The same washed grade works for top dressing a lawn and for filling paver joints when you want the sand to match a light patio.^[1]

Skip it as a base or a fill. Clean, fine sand rolls under weight and does not lock. Under a slab, a pool or a shed, use a compacted base stone or Fill Sand, and save the washed sand for the top where people touch it.^[1]

Some families build a sand area into a larger backyard plan, with a border of timbers, a shade sail above and a bench beside it. Others fill a plastic turtle or a boat-shaped box on a patio. Each of those setups works with the same Fine, washed sand, only in different amounts.^[1]

Pick a level spot with some sun, so the sand dries after rain, and mark the outline. Dig down a few inches, set a timber, plastic or stone border, and lay a permeable landscape fabric across the floor. The fabric keeps soil from mixing in and slows weeds. Holes drilled in any box bottom let water out.^[1]

For a small box or a sand table, a 3 inch layer is enough, about 1.25 tons per 100 square feet. Deeper digging needs more. A 4 inch fill takes about 1.67 tons per 100 square feet, and 6 inches takes about 2.50 tons per 100 square feet. Pour the sand in, rake it level and leave it loose. Do not tamp it, since play sand works best soft.^[1]

Volleyball courts and play yards under equipment need much deeper sand than a sandbox, a foot or more, laid over a drainage stone layer so the court does not hold water. Build those in stages and rake each stage level. For a thin top-up on an existing area, 2 inches of new sand takes about 0.83 tons per 100 square feet.^[1]

Once a season, rake the whole area to turn the sand and loosen spots that have packed down. Scoop out debris and any clumps. If the level has dropped, top it up with fresh sand so the cushioning layer stays even. A cover that fits the box keeps out rain, leaves and animals between play days.^[1]

Mason Sand is the closest substitute. It is also fine and washed, and many families use it in sandboxes. Its main job is mortar, and its grain can run a touch finer. Playground Sand is screened with play in mind and is the usual pick for courts and play yards where the area is large and the sand stays loose.^[1]

Concrete Sand is coarser and sharper, which makes it rough on knees and hands, though it drains faster and works well as a paver bed. Fill Sand is unwashed and holds silt and pebbles, so it stains and packs, which is fine for filling a hole and wrong for a sandbox. Pea Gravel is another play-area surface, with round stones that drain fast, but kids cannot build with it the way they can with sand.^[1]

Playground Sand starts as natural sand from pits that dig old river, lake or glacial deposits. A wash plant tumbles it in water to float off clay and silt, and a set of screens pulls out stones and coarse grit. Some yards wash it a second time for a cleaner product. It then drains on a stockpile until it is dry enough to load.^[1]

Gravel Valet buys from pits and yards near each delivery address. Each region's sand has its own mineral mix, so the Light tan can lean a little toward cream or toward gold from one area to another. The Fine, washed grade stays the same.^[1]

Play sand in bags is small, heavy and quick to run out. A family sandbox can swallow a stack of bags, and a volleyball court can take a truckload or more. Ordering by the ton turns all those bags into a single delivery and one pile in the driveway, without bags to cut and throw out.^[1]

Sand runs about 2,700 lb per cubic yard, which makes it one of the heavier things to move in a car. A dump truck handles the weight safely in one visit. Getting the whole amount at once also means the box or court is filled with sand from one stockpile, with one color and one feel throughout.^[1]

Measure the inside of the box, court or play area in feet, multiply length by width, and choose a depth. The calculator gives the tons. For a deep court or a play yard, add a margin, since loose sand settles as people walk on it. Enter your ZIP to see the delivered total, then order by the ton.^[1]

Ask the driver to drop the load on a tarp or a hard surface, close to the play area but where the truck can reach on firm ground. Clean sand on a lawn picks up grass and dirt. Cover the pile until you spread it so cats and leaves stay out, and keep the finished box covered too, so the Light tan sand stays clean.^[1]