Sand. Stop me if this is a bad idea

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bigkevj

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Jul 21, 2016
54
Salina, KS
We have a cool deck around our pool, then a few feet of mulch btwn the deck and the fence. We built a decent sized pergola by the pool in the mulch, mainly to block the new house's view behind us, but also to have a nice shaded place to sit. I plan to put a couple of loungers or hammock chairs under there. I want to put in some sand, as it is always nice to be able to dig your toes into sand when relaxing. My wife thinks it will cause a mess that will continually have to be cleaned up....wet feet walking through there and tracking sand all over the deck/bottom of the pool.

Thoughts? Is the sand worth the cleanup?
 
You can put a paver path in the sand, so that those who do not want sandy feet can walk on that, and put in a footwash basin so you can rise off your feet before you leave the area. It won't be like beach sand, if that is what you are going for. It will dry out and be like a big sandbox. Dry sand is more prone to blowing in strong winds and neighborhood cats may decide it is a giant litterbox.
 
I agree that there would be more cons than pros. I'd save the sand toe twiddling for the beach trips.

Mulch will turn to dirt in a few years and need to be re-mulched or else weeds will overtake it, but not a deal-breaker. Something with a larger size may last longer, like wood chips or pine bark nuggets. But with any of them, I'd go with stepping stones/pavers for paths as suggested above.

But if it's your heart's desire, a good robot will clean up the pool sand and the other trade-offs may be worth it. But not for me.
 
Sand is just an invitation for all of the cats in town to use your yard as a littler box.

I do get what you are saying about the beachy feel you want to have.

On the Jersey Shore many people use crushed shells in their driveway and walkways (and even front yards). I am working on a parking area at then end of my driveway (with kids now having cars, I need more space) and I was going to use pea gravel, but after a vacation on LBI, I started looking into shells and seeing if I could source some.

Maybe this will give you the beachy feel you want without the mess or cats. Home - Bulk Crushed Oyster Shells has information and will link you to this site https://mycosupply.com/ as a distributor, which oddly enough is a mushroom growing supply company.

I talked with them, and they will ship anywhere in the US in bulk. When they quoted me a price for 9 tons to Northern NJ, I almost had a coronary. That is when they explained that they source them from the Gulf of Mexico. I bet they cost a lot less delivered to KS. As a reference, I did find a place that gets them from the Jersey Shore that is about 60 miles from my house. They are quoting $850 for 9 tons, delivered.



-dave
 
Pea gravel at a minimum...sand is going to make a mess. I would also lay down some landscape fabric before putting the gravel to help keep weeds and burrowing vermin at bay.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
Pea gravel at a minimum...sand is going to make a mess. I would also lay down some landscape fabric before putting the gravel to help keep weeds and burrowing vermin at bay.
Click to expand...

Agreed, and while I am not a big fan of pesticides and herbicides, I would treat the area with ground clear as well, then the fabric, then the rock.
 
Neat idea Kevin...cons do seem to outway the pros on this so far. Sand just seems messy overall...
 

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STOP... VERY BAD IDEA!!! I've had large landscaped areas of both sand and pea gravel. Sand gets tracked everywhere no matter what you do.

Go with the pea gravel, you can dig your toes in it. Check around you might be surprised at the variety of natural colors available.
Put down landscape fabric first and a border around it to contain it.
 
If the sand dont work out put oea gravel over the top of it. Mason sand is probably $40 a yard or cheaper

You will have to spray a kill all every year or 2x a year regardless if what you use.

Our wind will blow the sand, fellow Western ks pool
 
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