Sand

Grain size is what separates the sands here. Mason Sand is fine and tan, with small, even particles that slip into the joints of a brick or block wall and give mortar a smooth, workable feel. Concrete Sand is coarse and tan to gray. Its larger, sharper grains give a concrete mix its strength and let water drain through a bedding layer. Playground Sand is fine and washed, in a light tan, so it carries less clay and dust than an unwashed sand of a similar grain.^[1]

Fill Sand is the bulk option. It is unscreened and tan, so a load can hold a spread of grain sizes, a little silt and the odd pebble. That mixed grading is a strength for filling, because the different sizes pack together into a stable mass when wetted and tamped. Each of the four sands weighs 2,700 lb per cubic yard, so they differ in texture and cleanliness while a ton of each fills the same space.^[1]

The jobs in this group are building and filling jobs: mortar and stucco mixes, concrete pours, the bedding under pavers or a pipe, sandboxes and play areas, raising a low spot or backfilling a trench. Sand is not a drainage stone for a French drain, since the grains are small enough to wash into a pipe. It is not a growing medium either, because it holds almost no nutrients. Use it as a building material and a filler.^[1]

For mortar, Mason Sand wins. The fine grains blend evenly with cement and lime into a paste that spreads cleanly and fills narrow joints without leaving voids. The same fine texture makes Mason Sand a good choice for the smooth bed under an above-ground pool liner, where any coarse grain or stone would show through or wear a hole. It is too fine for a paver bed, since it holds water and washes out of the joints.^[1]

For concrete and for bedding pavers, Concrete Sand is the right pick. In a mix, the coarse grains fill the space between the larger stones and give the cured slab its body. Under pavers, it screeds flat and stays put, and water can still drain down through it to the base. Concrete Sand also suits the bedding around a buried pipe, where a firm, even cushion matters and the grains need to pack without clumping.^[1]

For anything a child plays in, choose Playground Sand. It is fine and washed, so it feels soft, stays loose and leaves less dust and stain on clothes. Use it in sandboxes, under play sets and in a backyard volleyball court. The other sands in this group are rougher on hands, and Fill Sand in particular can carry silt and small stones.^[1]

For bulk filling, use Fill Sand. It raises a low spot in a yard, backfills a trench or a foundation, levels the ground under a slab and fills the void behind a wall. Because it is unscreened, it compacts well when wetted and tamped in layers. It is the wrong sand for mortar, concrete or a play area, where the mixed grains and fines cause trouble.^[1]

Every sand in this group weighs 2,700 lb per cubic yard, so one set of coverage figures fits all four. For 100 square feet, you need 0.83 tons at 2 inches deep, 1.25 tons at 3 inches, 1.67 tons at 4 inches and 2.50 tons at 6 inches. Measure the length and width in feet, multiply them for the area, and read the row for your depth. For each further hundred square feet, add the same amount again.^[1]

A paver bed of Concrete Sand is a thin, screeded layer, thinner than the smallest coverage row. At 2 inches, 100 square feet takes 0.83 tons, so ordering from that row leaves sand to spare for screeding, filling low spots in the base and sweeping into the joints. A pool bed of Mason Sand works the same way. At 2 inches it takes 0.83 tons for 100 square feet, and at 3 inches it takes 1.25 tons.^[1]

A sandbox or a play area of Playground Sand is deeper. At 6 inches, 100 square feet takes 2.50 tons, and at 4 inches it takes 1.67 tons. A deeper box can stack rows, adding the 6 inch figure for each extra 6 inches of depth. For Fill Sand, the depth is the gap between the ground you have and the grade you want. A low spot that needs 4 inches of fill takes 1.67 tons for 100 square feet, and a 6 inch lift takes 2.50 tons.^[1]

For mortar and concrete, order by the mix, not by area. Follow the ratio on the cement bag, figure the sand share of the batch, and read the tonnage from the weight per cubic yard, 2,700 lb for Mason Sand and for Concrete Sand alike.^[1]

All four sands are sold by the ton. A scale reading stays the same whether the pile is dry and fluffy or damp and settled, so the tonnage your coverage figures give is what you order. That matters more for sand than for stone, since a load of damp sand can look smaller than a dry one of the same weight.^[1]

Sand is heavy, and weight sets how much each truck can carry. With every sand in this group at the same weight per cubic yard, a full truck covers the same area at the same depth whichever sand it holds. Large fill jobs are where the truck count climbs, so measure the low spots with care before you order.^[1]

Three things move the delivered price. Distance is the first, because each load is a round trip from the pit or the yard. Load size is the second, since a full truck spreads that trip over more tons. Processing is the third. Fill Sand goes from the pit to the truck with no screening, while Playground Sand and Mason Sand are washed or screened to a fine, even grain, which takes more handling. The table below this section shows what each sand runs for your area.^[1]

The wrong sand under pavers is a common failure. Mason Sand and Playground Sand are too fine for a paver bed, so they hold water, wash out through the joints and let the pavers rock. Concrete Sand is the bedding sand. Keep the bed thin over a compacted stone base, because a thick sand layer shifts under load, however good the sand.^[1]

Fill that is dumped and never compacted sinks later. Fill Sand needs to go down in layers a few inches thick, each one wetted and tamped before the next. A deep fill placed in one pass settles for months, and a slab or a patio set on it can crack or tilt.^[1]

Using the wrong sand in a mix weakens it. Fill Sand in mortar leaves a gritty, weak joint, and fine Mason Sand alone in concrete makes a slab that needs more water and cures softer. Match the sand to the bag, with Mason Sand for mortar and Concrete Sand for concrete.^[1]

Play areas fail when there is no edge and no drainage. Playground Sand spread on bare soil mixes with the dirt below, and rain leaves it soggy. Set a frame or a border, lay a permeable fabric on the floor of the area, and slope or loosen the ground under it so water can leave. A cover over a sandbox keeps out leaves and animals.^[1]