How Much Sand For a Sandbox
How Many Bags of Sand for Sandbox?
Ready to fill up your sandbox and let your little one get to playing? Here’s how you can figure out exactly how much sand you’ll need to purchase for your sandbox to get the party started!
Step 1: Calculate the area of your sandbox
To calculate the amount of sandbox sand you’ll need, find out the area of your sandbox. For square and rectangular sandboxes, the area is calculated by multiplying the length by the width.
If your sandbox is new, you should be able to find this information on the packaging. If not, measure the interior of your sandbox to get the proper measurements.
For example, if your sandbox is 5’ x 5’, you’ll have 25 square feet to fill with sand.
Step 2: Decide how deep you want the sand to be
First, you’ll need to know how tall your sandbox is. From there, you can decide how deep you’ll want the sand to be.
In general, it’s recommended to leave a few inches of space at the top. Filling your sandbox to the brim can make it tough to put on protective covers — and it will be hard for your kiddos to even get in their sandbox!
So, if your sandbox is 5’ x 5’ and 8” deep, we’d suggest going 4-6” deep with sand.
Step 3: Calculate the volume of sand you need
Play sand is usually sold in bags by the cubic foot, so the next step in figuring out how much sand you’ll need for your sandbox is calculating the volume. Here’s where you can make your high school geometry teacher proud!
To calculate the volume for square and rectangular sandboxes:
1. Multiply the area (the measurement from step 1) by the height you want your sand to reach. Or, to put it simply, length x width x height.
2. Remember that you need all your measurements to be in feet.
3. If you’re measuring the height of your sand in inches, divide that number by 12 to get your height in feet. For example, 6” is equivalent to 0.5’.
4. If you want 6" of sand in your 5’ x 5’ x 8” sandbox, you’ll multiply 5’ x 5’ x 0.5’ to find how many cubic feet of sand you need. In this case, it’s about 12.5 cubic feet!
Step 4: Determine how many bags of sand you’ll need
Play sand is usually sold in 50-pound bags that contain approximately ½ cubic feet of sand. To figure out exactly how many bags you’ll need, take your volume measurement from step 3 and multiply it by 2.
To get the 12.5 cubic feet of sand needed for our 5’ x 5’ sandbox, you’ll need to buy about 25 bags of play sand.
What about circular sandboxes?
All the steps above apply to circular sandboxes as well. You’ll just use a different formula to calculate the area and volume. Of course, the easiest option is to find that information on the packaging.
If that’s not available, you’ll need to do the following:
1. Measure the diameter of the circle.
2. Divide that number by 2 to get the radius.
3. Calculate the area of the circle by multiplying the radius by itself and then by π (3.14). (For a circle, the area = π x radius x radius OR A = πr2.)
4. With the area calculated, you can follow steps 2 - 4 as normal. Simply multiply the area of the circle by the height of sand you want (in feet) to calculate how many cubic feet of sand you’ll need.
Shop KidKraft Sandboxes
Of course, before you buy the sand, you’ll need the perfect sandbox! Our large wooden sandboxes are sturdy, sleek, and ready for playtime! And be sure to keep it clean as part of regular maintenance.
