Just when we thought the sandbox saga was finished, it kept going. We’ve already covered how we built the base of the box (Part 1) and how we made the lid with a locking system that secures to the fence (Part 2), but the project still wasn’t complete. That’s the funny thing about DIY: small projects can stretch into multiple posts, while bigger ones sometimes breeze by. In our case, the sandbox turned into a trilogy.
The box and its cover were finished and looking great, but the very next day, while clearing away empty bags of play sand, Sherry noticed a warning printed on the back of the bags.
The label warned that the product contains small amounts of crystalline silica, a common mineral in natural sands and stones, and that excessive inhalation of respirable silica dust may cause cancer and lung disease. The label advised avoiding breathing the dust and wearing an approved respirator in dusty conditions.
A bag labeled “play sand” with a cancer warning? That raised immediate concerns, especially since our daughter Clara had been playing in the sand and left her first session with clothes and hands coated in a white, chalky dust. We started reading up on the issue and discovered reports and articles explaining that some manufactured play sands can contain crystalline silica or similar materials that create health risks when inhaled over time. That’s different from the river or beach sand many of us played with growing up.
Because the source and processing of sand have changed, modern manufactured sands aren’t always the same as natural play sands from beaches or rivers. Given that uncertainty, and our desire to avoid any unnecessary risk, we decided to switch things up: out with the sand and in with pea gravel.
My sister had a rock box for her kids when they were little, and they loved it. Pea gravel is not appropriate for very young children who still put things in their mouths, but Clara had stopped doing that around age one and now plays with rocks and gravel wherever she finds them. She even prefers the pea gravel area at the hardware store to the playground. Plus, she tends not to track small rocks all over the house the way she did with sand.
So we spent an afternoon removing the sand. It wasn’t glamorous—hauling it out with a wheelbarrow and dumping it well behind our property—but it wasn’t terrible either. The empty sandbox looked a little barren when we finished, but the change felt right.
We started filling the box with bags of pea gravel. Right away I noticed the stones were dusty from being in storage and transit, so I took the time to rinse them in the wheelbarrow. It felt a little silly at first, but the dirty water that drained off proved it was worth the effort. Washing the pebbles left them much cleaner and more pleasant to play with.
We used about 20 bags to fill the 25-square-foot box so the gravel sat roughly level with the surrounding ground. That gives Clara a gentle edge for getting in and out and a few inches of depth for digging and scooping. The cost worked out to roughly $2.50 per bag, putting the total under $50—cheaper than the bags of sand we had originally bought and worth it for the peace of mind.
While we were at it, we tidied the area around the sandbox and laid some mulch to clean up the overall appearance. Clara was out with her grandparents during the switch, so we were excited to see her reaction when she returned. To our surprise, she dove right in and didn’t even seem to miss the sand. She simply wanted to dig and play.
Her play style adapted quickly. The chunkier texture of the gravel hasn’t stopped her from scooping and moving material—she uses a small shovel and her hands to fill toy trucks with rocks, one piece at a time. The rocks also turn out to be less messy overall: they don’t cling to clothing and hands the way fine sand did, so we haven’t had to blow an enormous cloud of dust off kids before coming back inside.
We did explain to Clara that the rocks belong in the box, and so far she’s been good about keeping them there. The white specks you might notice around the sandbox in some photos are actually petals from our dogwood tree, not stray stones—though we have noticed some active rock-flinging during playtime.
In the end, the swap to a rock box felt like the right move. It gave us greater peace of mind about what Clara is exposed to, reduced the mess, and hasn’t diminished her enjoyment. Plus, the lid still secures to the fence with the locking hardware we installed, so safety remains top of mind.
Have you ever finished a project only to redo part of it later? DIY can be unpredictable: sometimes the hardest tasks are easy, and the simplest ones surprise you. Either way, it’s all part of the fun—and we’re glad this sandbox story ended with a happy, low-dust result for Clara.
Psst—if you want to read this project from the beginning, see Part 1 for building the base and Part 2 for the lid and locking system.