Would it be huge no-no to have sand all through play area in garden?

[Moomin]

Loads of playgrounds have sand on the floor don't they?

So I'm sick of the baldy weedy grass in our play area, dh has to move the slide and climbing frame to cut the grass. We've had bark and that was smelly and harsh on bare feet. Would it be completely disasterous to have play sand down in this area? Area is about 12ft by 10ft (complete guesstimate)

Cons:
Drainage would need to be good
Cats toilet
Bit scummy after a lot of rain maybe?

Pros:
soft
lovely to play in
easy to maintain?

Additional con:
sand trailed all through your house

might i suggest artificial lawn?

cats cats cats

They hide it too.

having just returned from a Cornish beach holiday i can confirm that bozza's con is a big con

Colditz, thats what I thought straight away!

I would also worry about cats too!

The cat poo would be by far the biggest con. I've never researched it, but can you buy that bouncy foam they use in playgrounds, for home use? Once you're past the climbing frame and slide stage, you could re-turf the area.

DO NOT DO SAND IT IS MADNESS. apart from the negatives above it will get full of leaves and stuff, and weeds will start growing in it, and in winter you will have somethign more like the edge of the sea when the tide has just gone out - soggy sand with loads of bits of who knows what in it. Not easy to maintain. This is wet england girl, not the south of france.

Go for artificial lawn OR have another go with bark but put a layer of big bark underneath then smaller bark on top. It shouldn't be smelly.

Cats. Oh my got it would be horrendous, the cats would have an enormous litter tray.

DD has a small sandpit. If I turn my back for 1 min and DD has got out and I have not covered it, one of our cats are in there instantly, and pee does not notice. You would never be able to say for sure that a cat has not peed in it. And if they have/or crapped, you would need to clean the entire sand away.

Sand in house not too much of a problem as the play area is at top end of garden and would put outdoor mats down outside the futility room.

fucking cats. How do play areas cope with having sand all through then?

Sorry I just read the thread title and thought 'cat's toilet'.

Would those giant jigsaw foam mats be a rubbish idea? The rubber floor you get for playgrounds is very expensive, I've used it for community projects.

A friend has the bark down and their cat poops in that, too.

I don't think those foam squares would be suitable for long-term outdoors would they?

What if I sat in the top back bedroom with an air rifle?

...Joke.

(probably)

Cats do shit in sandy play areas and I am reluctant to allow my dss to play in them

Cat poo.

What about large coverable sandpit and woodchip the rest?

woodchip no good for bare feet and cats still shit in it.

Really liked the idea of big sand area as well. Cats - BAH

I don't think sand in the house is a huge problem, but I do think you need to be able to cover sandy area when not in use.

We have wood chip, but bought one lot that was great, its smaller pieces and very rounded and not bad on bare feet. I cannot remember what it is - sorry.

Sand - NO!! Cats for starters, sand in the house, everywhere and then it will knacker your drains and plugs.

we leave the mats down in our yard for the summer, jetwash them down from time to time and they are ok. If you have a big budget, go for the rubber flooring- that would be the most durable solution- you can 'zone' it aound pieces of equipment then put bark or somesuch around it, but as I say, no guarantees for no cat poop with bark.
... our jack russel was a pretty effective cat deterrent- but he'd just dig up your play area anyway!

22 pounds per m2 for the 'home' safety grass on that link. As I say, depends on your bugdet.

Our local school has a rubber surface made entirely of small circles of rubber joines together.