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I am so happy with how this latest project turned out!  The wanted to build the kids a sandbox of some sort, but I knew I wanted it to have a lid.  I also knew I didn’t want it to be huge.  So… I did a little designing, and this is what I came up with…

How fun is that?  Literally! 😉  The best part?  I built the whole thing for under $30.  Yep… That’s a cheap babysitter friends!

Just click the photo below to access the free plans for this sand table!  All of our free plans include your supply list and cut list… Woohoo!

DIY sand table free plans

Let’s get started!

I assembled two sides first.  I used my completely awesome Kreg Jig
for this part.  I use the K5 model now, which is my very favorite yet.  It has so many cool features that make it even more user friendly.  This is how the 2×3 pieces will look in the Kreg Jig.  I used 1.5″ pocket holes for this whole piece.

Kreg Jig K5

All of my 2×3 pieces looked like this before moving forward…

legs for diy sand table

To assemble the sides, I used 2.5″ pocket hole screws.  You may notice that mine are blue.  Kreg makes Blue-Kote screws for outdoor projects.  I love these, and actually use them for some of my indoor stuff as well.  I knew this table would be holding a lot of weight with the sand, so I used a good amount of wood glue in all my seams before attaching them.

wood glue

 I used my Ryobi 18V drill with the Kreg driver to attach the screws.

Kreg Jig Pocket Holes

Here is what both of my first sides looked like at this point…

How to build a sand table

Next, I attached both sides together with my 18.5″ pieces.  I used the same method to attach these.

Pocket holes Kreg Jig

Building the sand table

Here are my first two sides attached.  I was photobombed by my 3-year old on this one 😉  She ‘managed’ the whole build actually.

Attach sides of sand table

And now attach the other 2 side pieces like this…

Sand Table How to

I added the opposite side pieces the same way and I was ready for my planks on the bottom!

For this part, I used my Ryobi AirStrike cordless nail gun.  You all NEED one.  This is one of the coolest tools in my garage.  I just added some wood glue under each plank, and attached them into the 2×3 using 1 1/4″ brad nails.

Ryobi AirStrike Nail Gun

Building a sand table

And, to keep this bad boy from turning into a neighborhood litter box, I designed a lid for the top!  I used the Kreg Jig to plank the pieces together.  For this part I used 3/4″ pocket holes and 1.25″ pocket hole screws.  This is what the boards look like in the Kreg Jig.

How to plank wood with a Kreg Jig

After attaching the planks, I trimmed the outside with my 1×2!  I used the nail gun and glue on this part as well.

Sandbox Lid

The tub I used is an all purpose mixing tub I found at Lowe’s in the concrete aisle.  Home Depot carries them as well, but you may need to change the dimensions a bit if it is not the exact same as the one I used.  These run about $6  a piece, and the size of my tub is 26″ x 20″.

My final step was finishing it off.  Some parents may choose to be  really cool and paint theirs a fun color… I chose to make it pretty for outside instead 😉  I used Rust-Oleum Ultimate Wood Stain in Carrington.

Rustoleum Carrington Stain

Because this piece will be sitting outside, I also finished the stain off with two coats of Spar Varnish.

RustOleum-Spar-Varnish

And here it is all finished!!

DIY Sandbox Table

DIY Sand Table with Lid

Sandbox Table DIY

I added some black sash pulls to each side of the lid…

DIY Sandbox Table with Lid

I have some very satisfied customers if you can’t tell 😉

Free Plans DIY Sandbox Table

Remember guys!  You can download, save or print the FREE plans for this bad by by clicking HERE!

I would LOVE for you to share this table and pin it with all your friends!  Let me know if you have any questions at all.

~Whitney

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20 Comments

  1. What size is the sand bin? This was never mentioned and is an important factor in building the sand table. Thank you

  2. i’m new at building things but i thought this would be a great first project. One issue is I was not able to get the same size tubs, Lowes has replaced them with a different size. The one I bought says 27.9 in x 20.3…..any help on changing the measurements for the table would be greatly appreciated!!

  3. Just an FYI, Lowes no longer carries this size (found out a little too late). We ended up having to order one online that was more money, but less quality. Maybe it’s just our local one, but online it said that size and that it was available at our local store, but it’s actually longer.

  4. Hello ladies!! I love your website and all the easy and fun projects!! I have already built half a dozen of them and I am starting on this one. I am having trouble finding the sand bin do you have a link or anything else that can help me get going. Thanx again for the great things you are doing.

  5. Thank you so much for this!! We modified it just a tad to make it longer, but it is SO BEAUTIFUL and so much better than anything that we could have bought. You are the best!!

  6. The sand box looks wonderful.
    Our 5yr. old granddaughter would love having something like this.
    Thank you for the plans

  7. Love it! I was just thinking could you potentially use this as a planter as well or is the sandbox not deep enough? I might have to make some and try because I’m renting and can’t really dig up my yard but these seem small enough to be portable and would look cute with 3 or 4 lined up with flowers or edibles in my yard 🙂

  8. Great sand box! My little one is turning 21 next month…. So if i may, ill use your awesome design yet intergrate a cooler or galvanized tub for cold drinks out on the deck tbis summer!!! Maybe put some casters to help scoot it around… Thank you for all of your great posts… I follow on instagram and the others as well…