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We are quite limited for space in our outdoor area/backyard, so I built a sandpit under our existing deck for our toddler to play in. The cover is made from the decking wood and comes off in 3 pieces to minimise the weight of each. Has been a hit with our little one!
Materials
Existing Merbau decking for cover/lid
New Merbau decking for the base of the sandpit Merbau pre oiled decking 140mm x 19mm random lengths
Sandpit frame made with garden/playground safe treated pine sleepers Sienna Micropro treated pine sleepers
Landscaping fabric Grunt 1m x 10m landscaping fabric
Sand sand and more sand! Play Sand 20kg bags
Tools
Measuring tape
Ryobi jigsaw
Ryobi circular saw
Ryobi reciprocating saw
Bosch drill and impact driver
Scissors
Steps
Step 1
Measured out the area we wanted the sandpit to be - ended up being roughly 1.2m × 1.2m
Unassembled the deck in that area
Used circular saw to cut the deck into the appropriately sized pieces
Reinstalled the deck outside of where the sandpit was to go
Step 2
Dug out a hole under the deck deep enough to allow 200mm high sleepers to be dropped in to make the frame
Step 3
Built the sandpit frame out of H4 sienna micropro treated pine sleepers and merbau decking panels screwed into the two end sleepers for the base
Dropped the pre assembled frame into the hole
Step 4
Lined the inside of the frame with landscaping fabric to allow water to drain out into the ground around the sandpit whilst not losing all of the sand
Filled the sandpit with sand!
Step 5
Step 6
All done! The sandpit cover can be taken off easily when we want to use it and covered up when we want more space on the deck.
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Megasaurus. It's sensational to have you join us, and many thanks for sharing your project.
That's an absolutely wonderful idea! I've seen other project involving storage under a deck with access panels, or reclining chairs that pull up from the decking, but this is a first for me.
You've nailed the brief here, and I trust your kids love their new play area—such a simple solution for covering it up when you want to use the deck for other purposes.
Well done, and many thanks for sharing.
Mitchell
