my very first tractor project

[nosualc]

Bought a new tractor (jd 3320) this spring to mow the lawn (72" MMM) and move the snow (FEL w/toothbar).

I wanted to put up a play set for my two small boys. I had a tractor with a loader, so I figured it would be easy to build a giant sandbox (40'x25') for a nice level soft spot.

Around the middle of April I had the hole dug. Note that the guys in this picture are the sprinkler guys repairing the sprinkler main I tore out. Oops.

 

[nosualc]

After waiting the entire month of May for it to stop raining, this is after 4/5 or so of the retaining wall was built and about 40 tons of sand moved in.

 

[nosualc]

This is the final sandbox area after the retaining wall was completed and the final 10 tons of sand was moved and leveled.

 

[nosualc]

another view

 

[nosualc]

The final product

 

[Gatorboy]

Very nice. Thank you for sharing -- I'm sure your kids (and their friends) love it!

 

[Tim_in_IA]

nosualc,

this looks great! I was happy to see the swingset in the last picture as I thought if it was just a sandbox that was getting pretty big!

I am thinking of a similar project for next year and I thought I'd pick your brain as to why you went with sand over other materials? I've heard of recycled rubber pieces, wood chips, smooth gravel, sand, etc. One negative I heard about sand was from my mother in law, she said it gets everywhere. I was thinking wood chips as they would be somewhat soft and just deteriorate, but then she mentioned that recycled material.

 

[bczoom]

Very nice setup!!

I just put in a smaller sandbox for the kids (16x16'). Another thing to watch out for is the fact cats from everywhere will find the box and use it for their "kitty litter".

 

[nosualc]

Tim,

I went with sand for a few reasons:

1 - sand is pretty much maintenance free
2 - it was pretty cheap ($9 a ton with a delivery charge of $35 per truck)
3 - some day the boys won't need a play set and I can reuse the sand around the two ponds on my property.
4 - sandboxes are fun

I considered pea rock, recycled rubber products, mulch, and wood chips. None of these materials met all the criteria above.

My local gravel company (2 miles away) calls this their "volleyball" sand. It's a fine grain, washed sand that ran me $9 a ton (with a $35 delivery charge per truck). This stuff is REALLY soft, and it tends to stick to sweaty/sun screened kids. So far anyway, it seems to stay put pretty well.

If you're doing a play set, there are play ground safety guidelines on the web for how deep various materials need to be.

-nosualc

 

[DMF]

Very nice! I'd like to do something similar for my daughter in a year or so. Where did you get the swing/playset?