Have you recently bought your kids a new sandbox and want to know how much sand it will take to fill it?
Maybe your sandbox is a funny shape and you can’t work out how many sandbags you will need? Or are you curious and want to know more?
No matter what the reason is that brought you here today, I have the answer for you!
Working out how much sand you need for your sandbox can be tricky.
These days sandboxes come in all shapes and sizes, meaning there isn’t one set amount of sand we can use to fill a sandbox, leaving us parents scrabbling and struggling with calculators, working out how much sand is needed for the sandbox.
Well, no more! Today, I am here with the answers you need!
After years of struggling with calculations and sandbags, I have found the perfect solution and method to calculate how much sand is needed for a sandbox.
Keep reading to see how you can work out how much sand you need for your sandbox today!
Table of Contents
Sandbox Calculator – Step-By-Step Guide
Let’s get straight into today’s article. Below is a step-by-step guide you can use to work out how much sand your sandbox needs.
This is the method I have been using for a few years now, and it has not led me wrong!
Each time I need to fill up the sandbox or I purchase a new one, I use this method to work out how much sand is needed!
So far I have not left my kids with a half-empty sandbox!
The calculation will tell you how many 50-pound bags of sand are needed to fill your sandbox. Let’s get into it and see what you need to do now.
Step 1 – Size and Shape of Your Sandbox
To start, you need to know how big your sandbox is. If the sandbox is a funny shape, then this might be a little tricky.
But don’t panic, all you need to do is cast your mind back to the old-school days of math and geometry!
The goal here is to get the cubic feet measurement of your sandbox, which will tell you how many 0.5 cubic feet sandbags you need.
If you have a rectangular sandbox, you will need to multiply the length by the width to get the area of your sandbox.
Take a measuring tape around each side of the sandbox to work out the length and width and jot the numbers down.
If the sandbox is round, it will be a little trickier. You will want to measure the diameter of the sandbox before halving it to give you the radius.
The radius then needs to be multiplied by Pi to give you the overall area. Use a calculator to help you here!
Once you have your measurements, you can move on to the next step!
Step 2 – Depth of Sand
Now you know how big the area is you are filling, you need to consider how deep you want the sand to be. I have found four to six inches of sand is perfect for your sandbox!
Again, you will need to do some calculations to work out how much sand that will be. Start by measuring your sandbox to get its depth.
You will then want to multiply the area of the sandbox by its depth, giving you the volume required in cubic feet!
When doing this calculation, make sure you convert the depth of your sandbox into feet.
You can do this with a converter online, or you can use my suggestion of 6 inches, which is 0.5 feet.
Step 3 – Convert Into Sand Bags
Finally, you need to convert the amount of sand you need in cubic feet into sand bags!
If you need 15 cubic feet of sand, you would need to buy 30 bags of sand (assuming you are purchasing 0.5 cubic feet bags of sand).
Make sure you check the size of the bags of sand you are purchasing to ensure you buy the right amount!
Once you have the bags, you simply need to fill up the sandbox and it is good to go!
Final Thoughts
And there you have it, three simple steps that will allow you to work out how much sand you need for your sandbox!
Although it can be tricky if your sandbox is round, you can still work out how many bags you need, stopping you from purchasing more sand than is needed!
Don’t forget to double-check your measurements and you are sure to have a sandbox full of happy children in no time!
Good luck!
