Superior material is superior

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher) 08/10/2017 at 17:20 • Filed to: Gravel box

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I built this sandbox for my girls last year, and quickly learned why my parents never let me have one ... what a mess! It didn’t help that what the material yard sold me as play sand, was really super fine masonry sand. It’s barely gotten used this year. My wife noticed that we could not keep the girls from digging into our pea gravel, and came up with a solution. “Why not take out the sand, and fill it with gravel?”

Why not indeed? And so today I did just that. The girls are happy.

Chariotoflove > shop-teacher 08/10/2017 at 17:27

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Nicely done. Makes me remember our sand box when I was little. It was big enough that Dad filled it with water in winter and made it a skating rink for us (we were very little then). Good times!

shop-teacher > Chariotoflove 08/10/2017 at 17:29

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Nice!

benjrblant > shop-teacher 08/10/2017 at 17:29

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Watch out with that pressure treated wood!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > shop-teacher 08/10/2017 at 17:30

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Cute kids!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Chariotoflove 08/10/2017 at 17:31

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I’m pretty sure that’s called a beach...

Chariotoflove > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/10/2017 at 17:37

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When I got older, we had our own pond that became our rink in winter, but no beach. :)

WilliamsSW > shop-teacher 08/10/2017 at 17:38

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Awesome! I need to save your (and Chariotoflove’s) ideas for the next few years!

shop-teacher > WilliamsSW 08/10/2017 at 17:42

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I highly recommend the pea gravel.

shop-teacher > benjrblant 08/10/2017 at 17:42

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It’s the newer copper stuff, not the old arsenic stuff.

shop-teacher > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/10/2017 at 17:42

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Thanks!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Chariotoflove 08/10/2017 at 17:43

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Oh, man. I didn’t even think about the kids being able to skate on the pond at our new place... How cold does it need to be for how long for it to get thick enough to be safe?

ttyymmnn > shop-teacher 08/10/2017 at 18:27

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Dat lawn doe...

Lots a lot like mine, actually.

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn 08/10/2017 at 18:29

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Yeah, it’s pretty turrible. That’s what full shade and no effort gets you.

ttyymmnn > shop-teacher 08/10/2017 at 18:33

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My problem is too much sun burning out my St. Augustine.

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn 08/10/2017 at 18:33

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Different cause, same results.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > shop-teacher 08/10/2017 at 18:41

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My lawn is dead. Concrete sand is really bad for playing, it has too much dust. You can get play sand at Ace or something, its expensive.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > shop-teacher 08/10/2017 at 18:48

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Good call, less messy.

Chariotoflove > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 08/10/2017 at 19:48

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Pretty darn cold. Dad used to drive the tractor onto the ice to remove the snow.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > shop-teacher 08/10/2017 at 20:49

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Can confirm that a sandbox is a waste. I have a plastic turtle sandbox for the Finnlet. Not five feet away from the sandbox is a hole in the yard where he plays in the dirt.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > shop-teacher 08/10/2017 at 21:16

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htt

shop-teacher > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 08/10/2017 at 22:37

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Yeah, the dirt in front of the shed, which you can see over the big one’s shoulder, is where they’ve been playing. I have high hopes for the pea gravel, as we haven’t been able to keep them out of it.

shop-teacher > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 08/10/2017 at 22:37

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Yep and yep. I’m happy with the gravel. The kids love it.

shop-teacher > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 08/10/2017 at 22:38

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Yep, my wife is a smarty-pants.

shop-teacher > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc 08/10/2017 at 22:38

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Thanks! I’m pretty happy with the results.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > shop-teacher 08/13/2017 at 10:45

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I built one for my girls as well and they constantly tracked the sand into the house. But they enjoyed the sandbox. I built it on a whim one day, deciding to call in sick and build a sandbox. *remembers earlier conversation about sick days...*

shop-teacher > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 08/13/2017 at 12:00

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The gravel is working out well.

Hehehe, these are the advantages of being a “professional” who gets benefits ;)

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > shop-teacher 08/13/2017 at 17:45

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It’s a clever plan. The sand tables at our childrens’ preschool were filled with dried beans. Also worked well.