Badger Basket Sandbox for Kids with Canopy & Benches - Outdoor Convertible Wooden Sandbox with Lid, UV Shade & Built-In Seating - Backyard Playset (46.5 x 46.5 x 57)

This was a Christmas gift for my two youngest boys (16 months and 6 years old). They love it so much, they get upset when it starts to get dark outside and/or they have to come in. My husband put it together Christmas Eve on the side of the house, where there were no windows. We moved it into the main back yard that night when they were asleep. Without sand yet, it is pretty easy to move with two people. We put that weed barrier plastic to line the bottom, to keep weeds, and help keep insects out. We used 8 bags of play sand from home depot to fill it. You could use less, but I wanted a lot of sand. Especially because they baby would probably get some out over time. We live in Central Texas which is prone to random strong winds and rainstorms. It has been windy and rained since Christmas Eve. The canopy is still intact on ours so far and seems pretty secure. So far so good for us in that respect. Also I love that it has doors... because when we put it out on Christmas Eve, our cat already seemed to say "Claimed!" The doors stop him from using it as a giant liter box... as well as any other critters that come into our back yard... Which are many. We also get snakes, frogs, and scorpions. The slates are spread enough to let scorpions and some small snakes in, but we make sure to check really good before the kids jump in.One problem was there were some missing hole that were missed on not pre-drilled (on one of the canopy poles). Good thing I had the correct tools to drill them myself or this review could have took a different turn. The Canopy was why I bought this particular box, because Central Texas has some kind of bi-polar weather... Really hot and sunny one minutes, and rainstorms the next. I suggest the manufacturer go through the boxes and makes sure that is no longer an issue, because I think I have read other people had that same problem. It was pretty easy to put together otherwise. My husband did it alone and in a few hours. He is an Architect-Engineer, so maybe he found it easy and fast. Since my boys love this sandbox so much, I chose to still give it 5 stars. :-)

The pre-drilled holes didn't line up due to 2 pieces of wood being warped. Very rickety. I think that how you spell that. The 1/4 of the holes immediately became stripped. I had my drills clutch on a setting that should have worked. I got wood glue, re-drilled, then put together. It's good. After it was put together with reinforcements, the kid loves it. The local cats are jealous. It was fun putting it together with the kid. I dug down and made it deeper. I do recommend this product. The end outcome is good. Make sure to purchase wood glue first and expect to reinforce.

My kids love this sandbox. I bought it a year ago and set it up right away by myself. Construction was easy, as a mom to 5 kids I was able to build it in under 2 hours while also keeping an eye on the kids. I did note the cheap hinges as other reviewers had stated but I figured I'd leave them and see how long they lasted.I wanted the box to hold a lot of sand so after putting it together I marked out the size of the bottom and dug about 6" into the ground, leaving a few inches around the edge to hold the box up. Then I put down a gardening weed barrier to keep everything where I wanted it and replaced the sandbox. Dump in the sand and sit back. My kids are all under 10 and even though it was tight, all 5 can play in the box without much trouble.Please note the measurements of the sandbox in the description! You should not buy this expecting a huge sandbox. I knew what I was getting and I've been very happy with it. The canopy works to keep sun off the kids and some water out of the sandbox, but it does collect a lot of rain up top! The material is very stretchy. It doesn't seem to matter how tight I pull it, every time it rains, there are puddles up there. I removed the canopy at the end of fall, before the snow storms started because I worried about the weight destroying the whole structure. I didn't have any trouble with this during windstorms.After a long, cold and snowy winter I finally was able to open the box up again just a few weeks ago. The hinges are ruined. If I'm very gentle I can still move everything into the correct open/close positions but I will be replacing the hinges soon.My kids would rate this 5 stars. But I'm taking one away for the poor quality hinges and canopy.

Perfect just what we exspeced

(Posted by Lea Ann's husband Ed)This gets a 5 star review from my 4 year old grandson because loves having a sandbox with shade. (PERIOD!).CONSTRUCTION: As for the rest, only ONE STAR! I anticipate this thing will only make it through the summer (and it is then end of August now!)then it's to the burn pile with it. The wood pieces were very light weight, warped & twisted. The hinge screws were only in 3/4th the way and in sideways, I had to remove them and re-screw them in. The hinges were bent. The cloth cover is supposed to be held on by 2'' Velcro strips several inches apart, except that no matter which way you lay the material on the roof slats, they DO NOT match up AND the panel is narrower then the roof slats. I ended up using 1/2'' staples to attach the roof cloth and had to stretch the material tight to get it to reach both sides. I am a carpenter so I was able to make it work but the typical homeowner/grandparent would be pulling their hair out.PACKAGING: This thing was pack with foam strips that disintegrate during shipping. The tiny foam pieces stick to every inch of the wood with static electricity. Be prepared for a big mess cleanup and pray the wind isn't blowing the wrong way.My advice, buy it if you have money you'd like to waste and are willing to fix it right out of the box.

Not bad for the price. Easy assembly, looks good. I did spray all the parts with Thompsons water seal before assembly just to keep it in good shape. My issues with this item concern the poor quality of some of the components. The biggest issue is the cheap/garbage hinges. There are 12 of them in total and they all are garbage. They are far too light duty and are held in with tiny little screws that couldn't hold something a tenth of the weight these screws are trying to hold together. My 2 year old boy (just turned 2 last month) was able to pull the folding covers/benches off with almost no effort. I opened the sandbox for him and left him to play while I grabbed some new sandbox toys for him. I was gone for literally 90 seconds and he had both of the benches torn loose and laying on the ground. I do woodworking, so I know that I assembled this as good as possible using the provided garbage hinges and their tiny screws. I knew I would need to replace them when Isaw how cheap they were, but I thought I would have a few weeks of use at least. A toddler utterly destroyed that hope in 90 seconds. At least I can easily repair the problem , albeit by spending a chunk of money for 12 decent quality hinges and properly sized fasteners.The other cheap component is the shade cloth. Its flimsy and won't hold up to outdoor exposure. Its help on by velcro stapled to the wood frame. The first windy day saw it ripped loose and it was flopping like a sad green flag, holding on (barely) by one velcro attachment. I was able to refasten it, but I can see it won't last. And the fabric will rot pretty quickly in the sun if it does stay in place long enough. Another thing to shell out more money to buy a proper quality replacement part.

No complaints other than the top shade, when it rains it holds the water and starts to droop so normally I’ll just detach it when they don’t play in the sand to prevent it from tearing. Other wise it’s really great, I used a tarp underneath at first (which held water also, so don’t recommend that) I currently have cardboard underneath the sand and works much better!

It is large enough for two boys to play in it and for me to sit on The benches and play or watch them. I only put 70 pounds of sand and that was way enough although it holds a hundred pounds. It was worth it. A bit pricey but worth watching my grandsons laugh and play in it.

the canopy is a bit flimsy, otherwise good product