How to Build a Simple Sandbox - DIY

In this video I will show you how to make a simple sandbox out of 4x4's and a lid to cover it up. Good for hours of entertainment for the little ones!
DISCLAIMER:
Videos produced by Fix It Flip are provided for informational purposes only. All material provided within this video is for informational, educational, & entertainment purposes only. Some of these projects, materials, and techniques may not be appropriate for all ages or skill levels. Please use all safety precautions while following any instructions or concepts provided by this video. Viewers must be aware that by doing projects on their homes they are doing it at their own risk and Fix It Flip cannot be held liable if they cause any damage to their homes. It is the sole responsibility of the viewer to educate themselves on their local codes and regulations before undertaking any sort of project. Always have safety in mind and have fun!

[@derekturner3272]

There are tons of plans for lids that fold out into bench seats with seat backs. I have 5 toddler grand kids now and it's time for their sandbox at grandpas house. Wahoo! Next comes the tree house! I love being a grandpa!

[@fixitFlip]

Those kids are so lucky to have you!

[@jc4792.]

Broooo!!!!!you made this video easy ,and really good ,definitely doing it for my doughter

[@fixitFlip]

Glad I could help and hope your daughter loves it as much as mine!

[@jrbelanger511]

Lots of good ideas for lids! We painted ours black and added a few yellow lines so the kids can use it as « roads » while they play with cars. 😊

[@fixitFlip]

That's a great idea! I ended up painting mine black as well to help it last.

[@MAX_max_2024]

Thank you for this video, I just built very similar sandbox from 4x4s. I noticed sides were a bit unstable and I also added four side screws to attach each side to another at corners, that made it rock solid. For cover I'm using shade fabric as I didn't have spare wood for this size of sandbox and buying new would've been too expensive. Thanks again!

[@fixitFlip]

No problem and good idea about the corners. Whatever will keep the critters out will work!

[@MylaTheRaccoon]

Tx for the instructions! I’m going to work on it slowly but surely! Starting tomorrow, I’m gonna start cutting the grass, then putting the woods in place! I’ll post a video of it when I’m done! :D

[@MylaTheRaccoon]

I’ll keep you updated too!

[@fixitFlip]

@@MylaTheRaccoon Awesome, good luck with the project!

[@jim7smith]

Nicely done, and virtually indestructable!

[@fixitFlip]

Yes sir and thank you!

[@MommaTwoShoes]

Nice video! I bet those girls love it! Something they will always remember

[@fixitFlip]

Thanks Olivia! I hope so!

[@TheDIrtbiker899]

Great video!

[@fixitFlip]

Thank you!

[@tabithaharley9638]

Looks great! I love that it has a lid! Thanks so much.

[@fixitFlip]

Thank you!

[@BrianVonClick]

Making this today! My 3 year old boy can’t wait! Thanks buddy for the good work.

[@fixitFlip]

No problem. Good luck with the project. Hope little man loves it.

[@Joblos116]

Great work man! The payoff really is when you get to see the little ones enjoying it! Roughly how much did it cost you for the wood?

[@fixitFlip]

Well, I did this right before the price of lumber went crazy. 8 foot 4x4's are about $18 right now, so it would cost about $108. When I made this it was way cheaper. It's still better than buying something premade in my opinion.

[@juliaburt3553]

I just did it this morning. We did 8 6 foot 4X4 at about 9.00 each. It was around 80 bucks

[@juliaburt3553]

@@fixitFlip thank you for the tutorial!

[@fixitFlip]

@@juliaburt3553 That's great to hear prices are coming back down!

[@fixitFlip]

@@juliaburt3553 No problem. I bet the kids will love that. At 6 feet square they will have tons of room to play.

[@bobcat5844]

Sweet can’t wait to do this for my daughter

[@fixitFlip]

Good luck with the project!

[@bobcat5844]

when i told my wife im going to make it she told me to just buy it; its not the same @@fixitFlip

[@philipabraham90]

Can't wait to build this for my girls!

[@fixitFlip]

Good luck with the project!

[@ollied5413]

Great video mate. Going to try this myself for my little one. 🙂👍

[@fixitFlip]

Awesome, mate! Good luck with the project!

[@inthout27]

I’m going to build this exact same box for my daughters this next month.

[@fixitFlip]

Awesome, good luck with it. My daughters were playing in theirs today!

[@ElvinDzudzic]

You're the cool dad! Are they enjoying it?

[@cristinafarmer112]

Looks like a good time!

[@fixitFlip]

It is!

[@bjkcoronel]

Thank you for this video. I just wanted to know how the 4x4s are holding up being exposed to weather? This is a consideration since we live in a tropical climate. Thank you

[@fixitFlip]

The 4x4's are holding up solid, since they are "ground contact" treated. The lid has taken most of the damage from the weather. I painted the lid to help it last longer. This past summer I added a few screws where the trim was bowing up and added some roofing paper to make it water proof.

[@bjkcoronel]

Thank you! I have my 4x4 from a previous pergola I built. Unfortunately, a cat 4 typhoon took it down breaking the support. Will it do well if the wood has been applied with waterproofing stain and sealer? I noticed that standing water between wood on top of each other harbors a slimy white mold. Though easy to remove from the surface, it may be challenging if this gets stuck in between wood. Nevertheless, will try per vid. Thank you!

[@fixitFlip]

Sorry to hear about the pergola. If I had the lumber on hand, I would just go ahead and use what you have. Most likely the kids will outgrow it before it rots, but if you want to stain it, just make sure you use something that's safe for around kids like amzn.to/3TmdtEw @@bjkcoronel

[@bjkcoronel]

Thank you for the recommendation. The size is also just right for converting it into a raised bed when the kids outgrow it. :)

[@fixitFlip]

That's a great repurpose. I've thought about doing that myself. Another reason to use a non-toxic stain!@@bjkcoronel

[@petesspspsps]

Nicely done! What size bolt head, 3/8?

[@fixitFlip]

Thanks. And yes, 3/8

[@qwenasdful]

Thank you! How does it stand with rain. Do you need to apply paint on it?

[@fixitFlip]

No problem. You do not need to paint the 4x4 since they are ground contact boards, but I did paint the lid later to help it last.

[@michaelharp7048]

Dude I’m not made of money that like thousand dollars in wood ... lol thank you for the video . Great job

[@fixitFlip]

I hear you man. The price of wood is ridiculous right now. Notice I didn't title this "Sandbox Made Cheap" lol.

[@derekturner3272]

@@fixitFlip Let's hear it for that Biden peso! So happy I no longer need to watch my retirement account now that its worth 50% of what it was.

[@Brandon_Jackson]

Great work boss!

[@fixitFlip]

Thanks Brandon!

[@KeyFobRob]

Thanks!

[@fixitFlip]

No problem. 👍🏻

[@xraykadiddlehopper8067]

Very cool idea but, Do you really want your kids playing on treated 4x4 wood?

[@fixitFlip]

@@xraykadiddlehopper8067 They stopped putting arsenic and chrome in pressure treated wood back in 2002. The primary components are copper and ammonia now I believe, neither of which pose the health risks associated with the heavy metals previously used. It probably doesn't last as long as the old stuff, but this is ground contact wood. It literally has a picture of kids' playsets on the side. As long as they aren't chewing on the wood we should be okay.

[@cjinthemeantime5320]

Great tutorial!!

[@fixitFlip]

Thank you!

[@426superbee4]

My sand box is tiling, all of my kitchen counter tops, this month. Plus i just keep on finding things to tile. Like window seals ect. Oh man that dresses up a window seal. i use a 18X18 porcelain Tile and cut it round for my Webber Grill to become a pizza oven. with a diamond 1" hole saw. make 18 holes around the outer side, flip the metal grill over, where the handles are down ~ Place the finish title over the grate WHALLA a pizza oven. I also learn some thing NEVER USE MORTAR. Its to hard to work and a big mess. Use silicone or liquid nail to hold the title. Grouting is easy and fun with RED DEVIL TUBED GROUT ~ I bet she telling all the kids, to come to play in her new sand box 👍

[@fixitFlip]

Man, you are tiling everything! Lol. Of course after I did this it snowed 2 days later. And now I have gotta keep the cicadas out in a couple weeks.

[@426superbee4]

Oh man, there so many uses for tile, can use it for cabinet floors, walls, floors, table tops, cutting boards, many uses. its a lot better than wall paper and lots better than floor mica too. Yep i went crazy with it. Next i'am going to dress up the concert steps with it, and do my patio with them too. Now thinking of doing the roof with tile use asphalt to hold them

[@teebasadoun526]

Question: how long did it take to make it from start to finish? 3 hours? A whole day?

[@fixitFlip]

Including going to purchase the lumber and sand and transporting everything I would say it took the better part of a whole day.

[@teebasadoun526]

@@fixitFlip thank you!!!!

[@fixitFlip]

@@teebasadoun526 No problem!

[@sharonpyfer6711]

How many bags of sand did you use to fill it? I'd love to make this for my granddaughter. Ty.

[@fixitFlip]

Man, I wish I could remember. I should have included that in the video. Sorry about that. If I had to guess, I would say around 15?

[@CookInTech84]

Veey nice! How many pounds of sand did you put in it? Thanks.

[@fixitFlip]

I honestly cannot remember, sorry! I believe it was close to 15 bags total!

[@CookInTech84]

@@fixitFlip thank you

[@fixitFlip]

@@CookInTech84 No problem.

[@blipblop92]

Do you wet your sand to reduce fine particles?

[@fixitFlip]

I did not.

[@joannabeltran2643]

What do you do to keep bugs out?

[@fixitFlip]

Not much! The lid mainly keeps big critters out (and their poop). The bugs tend to scatter once you take the lid off. Or the kids scoop them out and put them in a bin to keep, lol.

[@508homes]

How many total bags of sand did it take to fill up this size box? Thanks

[@fixitFlip]

That was 20 bags of sand! More than I thought!

[@karenromano6536]

How much was the total cost of all this ?

[@fixitFlip]

I honestly don't remember, but the price of lumber has gone down from when I built this.

[@andrewsalzberg]

Could you just use wood screws instead of the lag screws?

[@fixitFlip]

Well, you need to get all the way through a 4x4 and into another one!

[@PJFRFR]

🎉

[@fixitFlip]

Woo hoo!

[@davidchirwamalawi]

What is the size in mm

[@fixitFlip]

Size of the socket or the lumber?

[@Doug1956]

Hopefully there is no arsenic in those pressure treated 4x4,s. You wouldn’t want your young children to get arsenic slivers under their skin.

[@fixitFlip]

I've done a decent amount of research on it and I think it's not an issue. The way they pressure treated lumber years ago was more toxic.

[@DanMohlerJR]

Simple? You tripping 😂

[@fixitFlip]

lol.....you should see some of them out there...doors that fold into benches and all kinds of nonsense

[@DanMohlerJR]

@@fixitFlip the digging part looked like a lot of work lol, I wanna make one but was going to use a rototiller

[@fixitFlip]

@@DanMohlerJR For sure. Digging out a level spot is definitely the hardest part of the job.

[@jaromejacksan6934]

I bought Woodglut once and now I have lifetime access to thousands of woodworking projects.

[@MartinezC.]

Lol simple is a hammer n nails

[@fixitFlip]

🤷🏻‍♂️

[@jeffreycunningtown5730]

Mine works too. I used the Woodglut plans and performed it without any problems.