For my 5YO son's birthday party next weekend I want to have a big pile of sand for the kids to play with trucks in. I also want to level out some spots in the yard. I'm thinking I'll go with white golf course sand since it's cleaner and won't stain the kids' clothes. My idea is to just pile it up in the yard, maybe on a tarp to let the kids play with and then after the party spread it around the front yard. My front yard is about 6k sq feet. Is 3 tons of sand too much or too little? It should work out to about a 7' diameter, 3' tall pile I think. Does this sound like a bad idea?

Way too much. You aren't going to just spread around 6000 pounds of sand. You don't need sand to be 36" deep to drive trucks around.

Thanks. It would only be 3' at the top of the pile. The supplier prices on volume and the price difference between 2T and 3T is only about $80 ($520 vs $600). I could just go with 1T which would be around $300, but I'm worried that wouldn't be enough. I also have a small sand box in the backyard that could take a couple hundred pounds.

I guess if the issue is having too much to spread, getting a volume deal isn't really relevant. I've ordered plenty of rock and soil, just not sure what 1T or 3T of sand looks like.

Milwaukees Best Light said:

---

Way too much. You aren't going to just spread around 6000 pounds of sand. You don't need sand to be 36" deep to drive trucks around.

---

I agree. You're not just going to spread that much sand (3 tons, or even 2) in some low spots in the front yard without having a lot left over. With or without a tarp, leaving a pile of sand in your yard for a few days will kill the grass in that area. I've always had it dumped on the driveway but that may not fit your situation. 2 tons is generally enough to fill the front and back yards in a typical neighborhood sized yard and wear yourself out doing it. Also, not all sand is good fill sand so I'd ask someone who knows about golf course sand.

Kids are going to be dirty after playing in a pile of sand so hopefully the whole party is outdoors.

Sell any leftovers on Facebook marketplace or Craigslist. I did that with some gravel after a project I had and it was gone within 24 hours. I've also given some to my landscaping guys again after a project.

Just don't leave it in your yard for 8 years like my neighbors did growing up.

6,000 sq ft at 1/4" deep calls for 6 tons on a calculator.

We topdress football fields approximately 60,000 sq ft with 72 tons (60 yards) of sand. As long as you're willing to spread it all across your yard, it would probably be fine.

I am in the process of leveling out my yard. Landscape guy told me NOT to use play sand as it will do no good in leveling. Told me to use mortar sand.
There are some good you tubes about this. But they all say not to use play type sand.

I mean, I guess that's sand has an approximate tonnage per CY, but there is a lot of conflation between weight and volume.

Gunny, masonry sand is correct. We use USGA sand on our sports fields, which is basically masonry sand that meets a specific requirement.

Thanks all! You're correct that masonry is the better product for top dressing, but it's more dusty and less ideal for the kids. Standard play sand is much cheaper, but it's not ideal for top dressing and dirtier than white golf course sand. The white sand is ideal for the kids and from what I've read, good enough for top dressing and leveling. I may cut back to 1T.

The other thing is it will be dumped in our driveway and I'll relocate with a wheelbarrow. 6k pounds is a lot to move, but I've done similar before without too much misery.

My dad always kept a 5 yard dump truck load of masonry sand at our place for concrete projects. Us kids played in it all the time…. along with the pile of crushed limestone fines my dad called "chat".
We had no idea what "play" sand was. .

Random question but would mortar sand be better for a new driveway prep/ buildup than what is called 3 sack stabilized sand? I know TxDot used stabilized sand as the base for a new- build area highway so I was considering similar.

Love the idea. Be careful of any tunneling though. Know a guy that had his brother suffocate when they tunneled into a pile of sand as kids and it collapsed. I can remember doing the same thing as a kid, at a neighborhood construction site.

If you know you know.

I love a leveling project…for about the first hour. And then I enjoy it three weeks later when the resulting level yard comes through.

Mas89 said:

---

Random question but would mortar sand be better for a new driveway prep/ buildup than what is called 3 sack stabilized sand? I know TxDot used stabilized sand as the base for a new- build area highway so I was considering similar.

---

Not sure if it would be better or not, but they are two completely different things. Might be telling you something you already know.

6000 lbs of bank sand is only about 4 yards volume, which isn't much at all. Sand generally comes in at around 2400lbs/yd3 dry, add water and you drop the volume of sand per weight of yard.

Mas89 said:

---

Random question but would mortar sand be better for a new driveway prep/ buildup than what is called 3 sack stabilized sand? I know TxDot used stabilized sand as the base for a new- build area highway so I was considering similar.

---

Generally speaking - no.

Stablized sand will cure and harden to a very solid and stable foundation. Drawback is that it has a shelf life - once mixed you have about 3 hours to really get it placed and compacted before it sets.

Regular bank sand/mortar sand/washed sand/etc doesn't have the time constraints that stabilized sand will, but it also doesn't have the cohesiveness.

TxDOT usually uses 247 flex base as subgrade for roads. It is a caliche type mix of rock, sand, fines, etc. that can be compacted smooth and will hold shape fairly well but also maintains a level of flexibility to allow for higher PI clays and loams to shrink and swell under it without transferring that stress directly to the road surface above.

Outside of shoveling and spreading 4-6k lbs of sand, this sounds like a great idea.

Your kid will likely have a great time, and you'll get to be sore but have a nicer yard.

Absolute worst-case scenario is you list any extra for free and it is gone in a day.

Thank you.

Bought a 1/2 yard of sand once. Dumped on the drive- way. 2 days to spread out.

vin1041 said:

---

Bought a 1/2 yard of sand once. Dumped on the drive- way. 2 days to spread out.

---

Agree. I've always used river bank sand with good results. But wheelbarrowing 2-3 yards over a weekend will wear you out.