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Many families try to spend their free summer time at their summer cottage. For adults, this is a way to get away from everyday problems, get peace of mind from working with the land and grow a crop of healthy vegetables with your own hands. But children do not always like this kind of solitude outside the city. Often they simply do not know what to do at their summer cottage. In this case, parents must solve the problem of children's leisure. The easiest option is to create a playground. Its elements can be swings, rocking chairs and, of course, a sandbox. You can make a sandbox with your own hands from scrap materials, for example, boards or logs. Plastic sandboxes for summer cottages are also an excellent option, since this material has a number of significant advantages. A wide range of plastic sandboxes are available on the market. When choosing a particular model, it is necessary to take into account not only its aesthetics, but also functionality. More about plastic sandboxes and we'll talk further.
Advantages and disadvantages of plastic structures
Plastic sandboxes "bribe" children and adults with their bright colors and original design. For example, on sale you can find designs in the form of a frog, turtle or dog. In addition to an excellent aesthetic appearance, they have numerous other advantages that are not always inherent in analogues from other materials:
- "Safety above all!" - this phrase is often heard in the address of children. In comparison of various options, it is a plastic sandbox that can make children play with sand as safe as possible, because there are no sharp rusty nails or poorly sanded boards in its design, which can become a source of a splinter. Plastic is a relatively soft material and even if the child falls, it will not cause cuts or other serious injury. Only environmentally friendly materials are used in the production of plastic structures, which means that from this point of view, the child will be protected.
- Plastic sandboxes do not require regular repairs and painting... The plastic is resistant to the atmosphere. The sun's rays do not lead to discoloration of the structure, and rain and high air humidity do not affect the change in the geometry of the sand frame, which cannot be said about wooden counterparts, which require attention every year for painting and repair.
- Plastic is resistant to decay and various pests, which increases its durability and makes the play of children comfortable, safe, from the point of view of microbiology.
- The plastic sandbox is very light, which ensures its mobility. When buying such a structure, it will not be difficult to deliver it to the dacha and install it in the required place. The installation does not require a lot of time and money to hire workers to assemble the frame. If necessary, during operation, the object of the playground can be moved from one place to another. Compactness and lightness also allows you to quickly solve the problem of winter storage of the structure.
The listed advantages are common to all types of plastic sandboxes, however, each individual model may have additional advantages associated with constructive functionality.
Unfortunately, plastic sandboxes cannot be called ideal, since in addition to significant advantages, they also have some disadvantages. These include:
- Brittleness of the material sometimes it becomes the reason that the structure quickly fails. Plastic is easily damaged as a result of an impact and it is no longer possible to restore the integrity of the structure after that. That is why plastic sandboxes are called the most short-lived.
- With all the manufacturer's beliefs about the preservation of an attractive appearance over a long period of time, some plastic structures are exposed to direct sunlight discolor, losing its original aesthetics.
- Plastic is capable of in hot sunny weather heat up significantlywhich can cause discomfort to children while playing.
- The cost of plastic structures is always higherrather than the cost of self-made objects from scrap materials. The price of some models of plastic sandboxes reaches 20 thousand rubles.
- When creating a sandbox with your own hands, you can always provide for some features of use and supplement the design, for example, with camphor seats or a box for storing toys. When using plastic structures, such modernization excluded, since interference with the integrity of the playground object leads to its damage.
Before purchasing a plastic sandbox for their child, parents should carefully study and evaluate all the advantages and disadvantages of the material, and then deliberately make a choice in favor of one or another option. Only in this way, during operation, it will be possible to eliminate some of the design flaws and preserve its durability. It is also worth remembering the disadvantages of plastic when choosing a model, paying attention to the thickness of the material and the design features of a particular product.
Variety of models
Large online stores offer customers several dozen different models of plastic sandboxes. All of them differ not only in shape and coloring, but also in design features. An overview of some models can be seen in the video:
Analyzing the entire range of sandboxes on the market, they can be divided into several categories:
- For structural integrity:
- Solid, representing a single monolithic structure. The advantages of such models include reliability, but among the disadvantages are the relative complexity of storage and low mobility.
- Dismountable, consisting of several parts. It is convenient to store and move such sandboxes, but, unfortunately, in the course of long-term operation, the fasteners of the structure can lose their reliability. In some cases, the likelihood of losing one or more elements of the children's sandbox is not excluded.
- By the presence of the bottom:
- Sandboxes with a built-in bottom provide increased mobility. They can be moved from one place to another without removing the sand. At the same time, the integrity of the bottom and frame will not allow storm water to wash out the sand from the structure. An additional advantage of sandboxes with a bottom is the ease of installation. Among the disadvantages of such structures, one can note tightness. If water gets inside the frame, it will not be able to drain into the ground. At the same time, it will be necessary to dry the filler by taking it out.
- Sandboxes without a bottom are a plastic frame. It is more difficult to move it from place to place and is recommended to be used as a stationary object of a playground. At the same time, the absence of a bottom complicates the installation of the sandbox, but allows solving the issue of water disposal.
- By functionality:
- When purchasing a plastic sandbox, it will be useful to pay attention to the options equipped with a lid and a canopy. The lid will keep the filler clean, and the canopy will create a shade for the comfortable play of children, preventing direct sunlight from reaching their skin.
- Models that do not provide for a special cover assume that polyethylene or tarpaulin, stretched over the entire area of the structure, will protect the sand from moisture, debris and pets.
When purchasing a plastic sandbox for a summer residence, you need to make sure that the children's play is as camphor and safe as possible. Of course, the choice of a specific model often depends on the financial capabilities of the parent, however, the recommendations of experts boil down to the fact that the sandbox should have a cover and a canopy, and its bottom should be well drained.
Shopping tour
Having decided to purchase a plastic sandbox for their children at the dacha, parents are faced with a wide choice, which will be presented, including the following models:
A budget option
The simplest and cheapest option is a plastic sandbox for giving in the shape of a shell or flower. It consists of only one half and the manufacturer suggests using an awning or polyethylene as a cover. As a rule, the diameter of such sandboxes is small, it is only 80-90 cm. If desired, such a structure can be used as a small pool, up to 30 cm deep.
The cost of such sandboxes is only 1-1.5 thousand rubles, which is quite affordable for every consumer.
Simple sandbox with lid
A slightly more complex version of the sandbox is a plastic container and a lid to it. You can find such an option in the form of animals, for example, a turtle or a frog. The frame can also be used not only for sand, but also for water, thus creating a small pool.
Shell sandboxes are also popular in families with two small children. When you open them, you get two equivalent, interconnected halves that can be used as a sandbox or pool. The difficulty of using such sandboxes is that each time after playing, the sand will need to be manually poured into one half of the shell in order to close it.
The difference in the cost of plastic sandboxes with a lid is significant and may surprise the buyer. Depending on the model, the price can range from 1.5 to 3 thousand rubles. When buying such models, you need to pay special attention to the reliability of the design and the quality of its manufacture.
Prefabricated sandbox frame
A sandbox with a collapsible frame can be an excellent option for a summer residence. As a rule, such models are distinguished by a large design diameter and can be installed to play several toddlers or children of primary school age at once.
The shape, size, type of fastening of parts and the coloring of such sand frames can be different.
Interesting are the models, the body of which consists of many Lego parts, which allows you to create the desired shape of the structure and give children the opportunity to independently build an object for the game.
Sandboxes with a prefabricated frame can be equipped with some additional elements for a child to play with sand. For example, mills, strainers or other devices can be installed along the contour.
It is also important that the cost of such collapsible structures is quite affordable for an ordinary family. As the child grows or with the appearance of a second baby, the design of even a small sandbox can be supplemented with a number of details, thereby obtaining a huge complex for children.
Roofed sandboxes
There are many different options for roof sandboxes. As a rule, they all consist of a plastic frame and a canopy, also made of plastic or tarpaulin. You can see the most popular models of such structures in the photo below.
Sandbox tables
Sandboxes in the form of tables do not take up much space in the yard, are highly mobile and do not require a lot of filler. Such designs are especially in demand among girls who, imagining themselves to be cooks, prepare a lot of "goodies" from one single ingredient - sand. Constructions in the form of tables can be of various configurations and sizes. As a rule, additional equipment is attached to them, which can make children's play even more interesting.
A wide range of plastic sandboxes allows parents to choose the best option for their child, which will meet all the safety requirements and quality of convenience.
How to install the sandbox correctly
Many consumers incorrectly install bottomless plastic sandboxes in their backyards, causing the sand to be regularly washed away by rainwater. In order to keep the filler intact, you need to perform some steps during installation:
- You need to choose a place for the sandbox so that the children are supervised during the game.
- The first stage of installation is the assembly of the plastic frame and the corresponding marking of the territory.
- In the place where the structure will be located, you need to remove a layer of fertile soil and make a depression in which you need to lay drainage material, for example, geotextiles. It will allow water to pass from the sand and will not allow it to mix with the soil of the lower layer.
- After preparing the site, the plastic frame itself is installed. Deepening over its entire area will not allow the structure to move.
- The structure is filled with sand. You can use not only river, but also quartz, marine or quarry filler.
- After playing, the playground object must be covered with a lid or protective material.
- At the end of the summer cottage, the plastic structure must be cleaned of sand, washed with warm water and stored until next season.
Observing the simple rules for installing the sandbox and its use, it will be possible to keep the filler in the frame dry and clean, which means it is safe for the child. When using plastic structures, you need to be careful to avoid cracks and defects in the fragile case. When buying such a desired and necessary object of a playground, you must definitely pay attention not only to aesthetics, but also to the quality of casting, assembly of the frame. A high-quality sandbox, with careful use, will be able to delight children with its presence in the summer cottage for many years.
