Ok so it's not really alive, but it is complete! Hooray!!!

After only 2 years and 3 months, this pit is finally a sculptured piece of the backyard. It took a lot of sweat, tears, frustration, planning, re-planning, and brute strength (man sand bags are HEAVY!), but I can finally call it quits.

So after all of this time following the stories of the sandpit you must be curious what it actually took to finally build this finished beauty.

Here goes;

• 10 pieces of 1x6"x8' knotty cedar fence boards
• 3 pieces of 2x4"x8' cedar boards
• 6 pieces of 4x4"x8' cedar posts
• 2 x 10" metal spikes
• 4 x metal brackets (to connect the 4x4s together on the ground)
• 1 box of deck screws (I think they were 8x1 and 5/8")
• 10 bags of brick sand (WAY cheaper than play sand and not as dusty/airborne)
• 2 bags of pea gravel
• 3 bags of river rock (1.5"-2" size)
• 3 bags of white decorative rocks
• 6 bags of cedar 'playground' mulch (it is a bit thicker and not as shredded as gardening mulch, meant to take a fall/ impact better for kids)
•  25' of landscaping tarp (give or take, we started with a 20' strip but needed to buy more)

Total cost? I honestly can't remember because I lost all of the receipts! (I gathered supplies from 3 different stores because I'd buy what they had, then move to the next one). I know the materials to fill the pit with the sand, gravel, mulch, and stones in total cost about $200 CDN. Spikes and landscaping tarp I have no clue (thanks grandpa!). The wood was a few hundred dollars worth and I did get the store to cut them all in half (so essentially all of the wood I used was already cut into 4' lengths). I guess close to $800 CND? (plus cost to have that stump removed).

The first question I'll answer is why use cedar? Well I wanted something that was a natural bug and pest deterrent, plus I am still cautious on how safe the new 'safe' pressure treated woods are especially since the kids will be playing in this pit a lot. 

The second question I'll answer is why did you use 4x4 fence posts to edge the pit? Well, because cedar railway ties and landscaping ties aren't really readily available in our area (special order apparently) and I didn't want to wait anymore, plus the squared edges really frame it nicely.

The third and final question I'll answer is why did you make it cost so much? Why not dump some stuff just in it and be done with it? Well I do like eye pleasing landscaping and I wanted an edge to actual try to contain the stuff I was dumping into the pit. Besides, now I can pull my muskoka chair over to the sand and close my eyes next summer and pretend I'm on a beach!

​So now you must be asking, how did we build it?

Would I do anything differently?  A pirate ship would still be pretty cool (see Sandpit part 3), but only time will tell as it hasn't been through it's first winter yet! I do know one thing though I would definitely have had that stump and root system removed professionally right away from the get go.....sooooo much wasted back breaking time! 

If you want to read the rest of this series;
Sandpit part 1
Sandpit part 2
Sandpit part 3
Sandpit part 4
Sandpit part 5

This is starting to feel like a Fast and the Furious movie....how many more sequels will there be before it just ends already? Ok so I finally got a move on with 'The Pit' again this year. It has now been a mud hole in the yard for the past two years (not that there is anything wrong with that, but it just isn't that pretty to look at).

I have come full circle with the designs and am back to sandpit from potential pirate ship or fort (see Sandpit parts 3 & 4). Let me say that a sandpit with flower box is a WAY easier design for me to build alone while the baby sleeps and the preschooler is learning her ABC's (I hope). Why is my amazing husband not helping me with this project you may ask? Well that goes back to Sandpit part 1 when he decided it was too complicated what with my constant design plan alterations. Don't worry though because this outdoorsy momma can handle power tools.

​This week the supplies were purchased, flower box was built, and an outline of my updated designs drafted and plotted out in the grass (see the cedar posts? apparently cedar landscaping ties aren't available as they're not requested enough). I went with cedar because it is a natural pest deterrant and it smells great when it's damp. Next I need to dig out a bit more around the pit, line it with landscaping fabric, add rocks for drainage (maybe a cute dry river effect too) and then dump sand in one corner and playground mulch over the rest. The difference (in case you're wondering) between playground mulch and regular garden bed mulch is that playground mulch is natural cedar that comes a bit larger to help cushion falls. Natural cedar Garden mulch is smaller, shredded and less cushioning.

​So far Ella loves the 'kitchen shelf' I added to the flower box (it was going to be a kiddie bench, but mud kitchen works too). She insisted on trying it out right away and asked to make cupcakes. Ok that only requires an old cupcake tray and one wooden spoon. She was putting dirt 'sprinkles' on the mud cupcakes when I suggested she harvest 'sprinkles' from the flowers. Her eyes lit up when mommy gave her permission to pick the flowers to use them for play! I figure why not. If they're garden grown and will come back next year or die in a few weeks, at least she gets some extra enjoyment out of them! I do frown upon flower picking or nature disruption when on walks, but in my backyard let them pick the flowers.

Do you have a favourite mud cupcake recipe you'd like to share with us?

Read more in sandpit part 6.
Back to  sandpit part 4.

The summer fun and vacations in our household have caused some serious delays on the sandpit turned pirate ship fort plans. There has been absolutely no work, zero, zilch, done to the pit this summer. Elaborate plans have been drawn, discussed and mulled over but no action taken to date.

The pit has now become a loose parts play pit for Eloise. She loves running circles around the tree stump and the logs beside, that were supposed to become borders), have become 'school buses'. So I have thrown in the towel for now and instead threw some extra natural loose parts into her pit to play with. Tree bark, birch sticks, large landscaping rocks and some mulch piles. Maybe if it ever rains long enough we can make mud pies with some tin pie plates.

​Pop-up playgrounds are becoming a popular topic in Canada. They are being run in multiple cities, including a three year program in the GTA (you may have seen some Earth Play links and events shared on my Facebook page this summer). Events are added regularly to the Earth Play Facebook Page.  

​Is there anything you would add to a giant backyard hole for more creative play?
Read more about loose parts play here.

Read more in sandpit part 5.
Back to sandpit part 3.

​I've hit a stall on the whole sandpit build. Mulch has been spread in the flower beds, but nothing has progressed on the giant hole in the middle of our backyard. Eloise thinks 'her pit' is great fun and jumps in and out of it, but it is still just a pit (and when it rains it is a mud pit). Plus I've received some questions on how I am going to cover this sandpit to prevent the beloved neighborhood cats from creating their own private giant litter box. I have received one sound piece of advice though from my recently retired dad. His experience is a playhouse will offer many more years of entertainment than a giant litter box (although it could offer some interesting treasure hunts). So, listening to my experienced dad I have researched and found some design ideas (hint, hint dad, I know you are reading this blog). 

1) since the hole is already there, let's hide some of it in a pirate ship! it would be a fun 'below deck' area!
2) or let's make a trapdoor in the deck of the ship to a hidden sandpit (it's like a buried treasure hunt!)
3) go big or go home! why build just an 'impression' of a ship, when really kids want doors and ladders and slides and planks to jump off of?

So dad....when do we start?  

All photo sources are credited and linked through the images.

Read more in sandpit part 4.
Back to sandpit part 2.