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If there is a sandbox in the yard of the house or in the summer cottage, then the children will always find something to do, because the child's fantasy in playing with sand is absolutely unlimited. Kids and older children build castles, highways, make Easter cakes. Caring parents can provide them with such an opportunity by purchasing or building a sandbox on their own. The shape of the construction of this playground object may be different, however, for a summer cottage, a children's sandbox with a lid is the best option, since an additional structural element will protect the sand from debris, dirt, "adventures" of pets, heavy rains. There are a lot of options for such frames for sand with a lid, and each parent can independently decide what dimensions and from what materials the structure should be made, as well as what original features it should have.
Do it yourself
There is nothing difficult in making a sandbox with your own hands. To do this, you just need to decide on its shape and the material that you plan to use. When choosing a material, it is necessary to take into account its durability and adaptability to outdoor conditions:
- The most popular material for creating a structure is wood. It is easy to process, durable, environmentally friendly and affordable.
- If it is decided to use plywood or sawdust boards (OSB) in the construction of the frame, then it is necessary to take care of their moisture resistance, because the material without special processing quickly loses its qualities in unprotected conditions. The advantage of materials from shavings and sawdust is ease of processing, which allows you to cut out parts of the structure of any shape.
- The easiest way to create a sandbox for children with your own hands is to install a frame from a car tire.
A sandbox element such as a lid can not only protect the sand, but also perform some other important functions. So, you can build a transforming sandbox, where the lid becomes a comfortable seat or canopy that protects from the sun during the baby's play.
Having decided to create a children's sandbox with a cover for a summer residence, one should not forget about its aesthetics and visual appeal. It is much more interesting for kids to play not just in a sandbox, but in a bright and original design filled with sand. The creation of interesting objects in the playground does not take much time and effort, but at the same time, staying in them will bring a lot of pleasure to children.
Simple version with removable lid
The easiest option to make a sandbox in the country with your own hands is to install a machine wheel tire. This material isn't particularly appealing, but with some effort it can create a fun, colorful sandbox. To do this, you need to cut off completely or partially the rim of the tire on one side and paint the rest with multi-colored paints. As a cover to protect the sand in such a frame, you can use a piece of polyethylene, tarpaulin or plywood, as shown in the photo. Such a cover, of course, will not carry any additional functional load, but it will not require financial and time expenditures either.
Such sandboxes are very simple to make, however, their size will always be limited by the diameter of the wheel. At the same time, the advantage of such sand frames is mobility, since, if necessary, the structure is not at all difficult to move from one place to another.
Wooden sandbox using a simple technique
Every parent can make a wooden sandbox with a regular, hinged lid. The technology is quite simple and does not require effort and time. We will try to describe the stages of creating such a frame for sand in detail:
- First you need to choose a location for the sandbox. This should be a clearly visible place with a flat surface, perhaps in the shade of tall trees, the crown of which will protect children from direct sunlight.
- The second stage of work should be the marking of the area and the removal of fertile soil under the entire surface of the future sandbox.
- You need to start assembling the structure by installing the bars in the four corners. To make them easier to drive into the ground, you can sharpen the bases. When installing the bars, you need to ensure that the geometry of the frame is maintained, with an exposure of 900 in the corners of the building.
- After installing the main bars, you can proceed with the installation of the frame. To do this, along the perimeter of the sandbox, a board is nailed to the bars from the outside. It is worth noting that the lower side board of the frame should be slightly buried in the ground, which will prevent the sand from being washed out by rainwater.
- At the bottom of the sandbox around the entire perimeter, you need to lay a material that will allow water to pass through, but at the same time will not allow the sand to mix with the ground and prevent the germination of weeds. As such a material, you can use geotextile or polyethylene (linoleum) with holes made for the outflow of water.
- A horizontally oriented board should be fixed around the perimeter of the assembled structure. It will function as a bench. In the corners of the sandbox, you can also fix pieces of the board rotated by 450.
- Already on the finished structure with the help of self-tapping screws, hinges and a cover of two sashes are attached, as shown in the photo below. As a cover, you can use sheets of laminated, moisture-resistant plywood or boards knocked together.
You can modernize such a simple model of a homemade sandbox with the help of supports that will support the lid flaps when the sandbox is opened. On such flaps of the lid, children can sit while playing or use them as tables. Supports on the lids can be made using bent pieces of reinforcement, hammered wooden bars, legs of an old clamshell. An example of such a functional sandbox with a lid can be seen in the photo below:
An ordinary sandbox, represented by a wooden frame made of beams, can also be covered with a tarpaulin or moisture-resistant fabric, which during the game will act as a roof and protect the child from the sun's rays. To do this, in the frame of a wooden structure in the corners, you need to install bars on which the tarp is fixed while the sandbox is open.
Thus, using one of the following simple technologies, you can create a sandbox with a lid with your own hands without any problems and financial costs. At the same time, it will be convenient and interesting for a child to play in such a structure, and most importantly, safely, because the sand under the shelter will always remain clean.
Complex multifunctional designs
A multifunctional sandbox with a lid, working on the principle of a transformer, can be done with your own hands, guided by the recommendations of experienced specialists. The most widespread are sand frames, in which the lid rises up, becoming the roof of the sandbox, or leans to the sides, becoming comfortable benches for children.
Design with comfortable benches
For the construction of such a sandbox, you will need, first of all, boards. Their thickness should be about 3.2 cm, width more than 12 cm.You can buy such a board up to 6 m long.A frame will be assembled from it, therefore, after purchase and processing, the board is cut into pieces long equal to the width and length of the sandbox, as a rule , the dimensions of the structure are 1.5x1.5 or 2x2 m. Also, for construction, you will need bars with a cross section of 5x5 cm and a length of 50 cm (4 pieces). The lid in this design will bend with hinges (6-8 pcs). The assembly of such a sandbox with a lid is performed according to the following technology:
- A sandbox frame is assembled from planed, sanded and antiseptic-treated boards. Fix the boards in the corners to the bars with self-tapping screws. The height of the frame should be short to the width of the board, for example, using a board of 12 cm, the height of the frame will be 36 or 48 cm. In order to prevent sand from spilling into the cracks, a self-adhesive sealant can be placed between the boards of the frame.
- Assembling the bench begins with placing two planks on the edge of the sandbox. They are fixed rigidly with self-tapping screws. The third and fourth boards are also rigidly attached to each other with shafts or bars on the inside, which allows you to get a bench seat. It is attached to the second board with door hinges. In this case, the turning mechanism must "look" into the sandbox.
- The back of the bench is also a rigid connection of two boards. They are attached to the seat with two more door hinges. On the back side of the backrest, 2-4 stop bars are fixed, which will not allow the backrest to recline completely.
The assembly work for such a sandbox can be seen in the video:
A diagram of such a shop can be seen below. Having understood the drawing, you can understand that the construction of the transformer cover is not particularly difficult.
The transforming sandbox can be made in two versions: with two benches or with a bench and a table. To create a table, you need to fix two boards rigidly to the sandbox frame, and two more rigidly between each other, but movable in relation to the extreme boards. Mobility is ensured by two door hinges.
By choosing the parameters of the sandbox and the board, it will be possible to create the correct, harmonious design.
By creating such a sandbox at their summer cottage, the parent will provide his child with the opportunity to play with convenience and comfort, showing his imagination and skills.
Drop-down canopy design
Such an original, multifunctional and easy-to-use sandbox can be rarely seen in summer cottages. This feature is associated with the complexity of the design and the novelty on the market.
The sandbox shown in the photo above is an ordinary wooden frame for sand, made according to the technology already mentioned above, a plastic cover and a device for raising and lowering it. It is worth noting that the cover itself can be made not only of plastic, but also of wood, moisture-resistant plywood.
The principle of operation of the lifting mechanism in such a design is similar to that used in the construction of wells for lifting a bucket of water: when the handle turns on the side around the circumference of the rope, the rope or chain is wound on the bar, thereby raising the sandbox lid. Which mechanism can be created using the following technology:
- It is necessary to securely fix vertical bars (2 pieces from opposite sides) to the sandbox frame.
- Make holes in the cover in the place where the bars will "walk", as well as holes for fastening a rope or rope. In some schemes, the sandbox lid is not put on the bars, but a hole is made in them along the entire height, into which the runners fixed on the lid are inserted.
- On the bars, 10 cm lower than the upper point, make round holes and insert a shaft of slightly smaller diameter into them.
- At the exit from one hole, the round shaft must be locked by inserting a pin into it or screwing in a screw and bolt so that it does not have the opportunity to move towards the center of the sandbox. On the other hand, a handle is mounted on the shaft, consisting of a vertical and a horizontal part. An example of a twist handle is clearly visible in the photo below.
- Along the edges of the round shaft, ropes or ropes must be rigidly fixed. When the handle is rotated, the shaft will wind the rope over itself, thereby lifting the cover.
- You can fix the lid in the raised position by sliding the twist handle into the hole made on the bar below.
- To obtain high rigidity of the structure, a horizontal spacer must be fixed to the bars from above.
The photo above shows a whole play complex that combines a sandbox with a lid and boxes for storing toys. The photo clearly shows the lifting mechanism of the cover, which is transformed during the play of children into a safe shelter from the sun.
Such a sandbox construction scheme is rather complicated; not all craftsmen can implement it. The given detailed description and diagrams will allow, if desired, to understand the complex structure and, having understood the principle of its operation, to bring the idea to life.
You can buy a ready-made sandbox
Today's market offers a wide range of sandboxes that can be bought at the dacha. This way of solving the problem of creating a playground is the simplest, but also the most expensive. You can find on sale various options for sandboxes made of different materials:
- small plastic sandboxes with a lid in the form of a frog or a turtle will cost the buyer about 2-2.5 thousand rubles;
- a wooden frame for sand with benches, made according to the technology described above, can also be found on sale for 9-10 thousand rubles.
- A sandbox for a summer cottage with a canopy lid falling over the bars costs 17 thousand rubles.
Thus, it is much more profitable and more convenient to make a sandbox for children at the dacha yourself. This will not only save money, but also independently choose the best material, make your own modifications and adjustments to the design, and demonstrate to your family and friends that you care for children. The kids, in turn, will surely remain satisfied and grateful for the painstaking work on creating a unique sandbox, realizing that no one else has exactly the same.
