Patio Project Part 3 - Sandbox

   So we planned this patio with hot tubs, and bar-b-ques and chairs - but what is in it for the kids? A sandbox, naturally! My sister commented once how much her kids loved to play in the sand, so we decided to integrate a sandbox into the patio. First things first, laying out the shape:

Leveling it out

   I used cinder blocks for the sandbox because they create a cleaner edge than the red blocks. You can see where I worked around the fence post on the right of this image:

From the top

   I had the blocks stacked two high on one side where the patio was lower. I used a hand tamper to compact the dirt in the sand box.

Compaction!

   Above you can also see how I laid out some blocks around the edge of the lower part of the patio to see how the whole thing would be shaped.
   I saw an interesting idea on reddit of a guy stamping dinosaur shapes into the sandbox bottom for his kids to find. His was really well done and looked like a real dinosaur. Mine, not so much. But there will be stuff for the boys to find if they dig to the bottom of the sand box:

   We had some leftover paint form the wall mural (more on that project to come) that I used to spruce up the stamps a little. I also left the middle open so the sandbox would drain if it rained a lot.

Colored stamps

Calvin approves!