The Easiest DIY Sandbox

Note: This post is sponsored by Discount Tire, as always, all opinions are my own.

In honor of Earth Day (April 22) I’m sharing a DIY sandbox made with a recycled tire and a door knob. This project is also a check off of the ol’ to do list. (Maxwell needed a sandbox.) This was also one of those if you give a mouse a cookie projects that inspired us to get our backyard well, usable. And more kid friendly. (We did this project at the same time we did the vertical planter and rocks!)

Here’s what you need to make a sandbox:

• A tire (Mine is 22 inch in diameter.)
• Treated plywood (Assuming your sandbox will be out in the elements.)
• A circular saw
• Drill and screws
• A compass (Or my DIY version that includes a thumb tack, sting, and pencil.)
• Door knob (We had an old one hanging out in our garage.)
• Chalkboard paint
• Chalk
• Sandbox sand
• Dremel (to cut off part of the door knob.)

First, determine how big of a circle you need for the base of your sandbox by measuring the tire’s diameter. Then, draw the right size circle onto your wood and cut it out with the saw. The DIY compass is super simple. Just measure a piece of string 2 inches longer than you actually need it and tie one end to the thumbtack and one end to the pencil. Voila.

After you circle is cut, you will need to sand the edges down to make it smooth. Oh and make sure your circle fits on the bottom nicely!

Next, drill in screws every inch or two. Andy drilled in screws about every inch. (I don’t think that’s necessary!)

After the bottom is cut out, you will need to do the same thing for the top of the sandbox. You can skip this step if your sandbox is under cover. But, we have a lot of stray cats that hang out in our backyard so we are attempting to avoid our sandbox turning into a litter box. Andy used the Dremel to cut the 2 long prongs off of the door knob so that he could attach it to the top of the sandbox.

After you sand and paint the top of your sandbox with chalkboard paint, just screw in the door knob! Check out this post if you need deets about painting and conditioning chalkboard paint.

And here’s what Max thinks about the sandbox. Just a little sand between the fingers and the toes. He’s obsessed. (At least for now, ha!)

If you’re looking for more ways to up-cycle a tire, here are 22 more awesome ideas!