Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hey guys,

Haven't been active in long time, but now that I'm back I have a pressing question. I'm building a gaming table, and need a cheap way to lay down sand. Obviously woodland scenics was my first thought, but after initial experiments it's a little too expensive to cover a 4' x 6' board. I'm working on a new table that'll be 4' x 8'.

Does the Home Depot or any other hardware store sell sand that'll be suitable for a gaming table? I've tried going to a sand pit (like the ones at elementary schools), but found the sand too fine. Suggestions?

Weird. I though sand is just virtually anywhere. The more you know, I guess.

Have you tried looking around the neighborhood? Or do you live near a beach or river or body of water? Some rivers have sand, depending on the strength of their flow. Beaches will of course, have them. And when the water recedes after a rain, it might leave some sand on the concrete (really big pieces of the soil which was carried off by the water).

http://www.youtube.com/user/thekamloopian#p/u/306/cxULDLxsr74 This guy lives in Canada and he discussed where he got his sand and rocks.

A good start is to use Play Sand ... readily available from Home Depot for about $4 for a 50 lb bag. It's decent stuff that has been washed and filtered down to a consistantly sized grain.

You can always add woodland scenics basalt or other larger grain sand or small rocks to break up the play sand texture a bit.

Myrthe wrote:A good start is to use Play Sand ... readily available from Home Depot for about $4 for a 50 lb bag. It's decent stuff that has been washed and filtered down to a consistantly sized grain.

This is the way to go. You will need to dry it out some though - suggest putting it in a box under a heat lamp or atop some paper towels.

It really amazes me that people would need to buy sand while I can get a sack-full just outside my house. Is the Western world filled with concrete now that you really can't find sand anywhere or am I just living in a very rural part of a third-world country?

Both, I guess.

Kitty litter works well to add with the sand as well

Jburch wrote:Kitty litter works well to add with the sand as well

Oh yeah. This.

Just don't use used kitty litter. For all our sake's.

starsdawn wrote:It really amazes me that people would need to buy sand while I can get a sack-full just outside my house.

Speaking only for myself, I live in the middle of the country, so there are no beaches around here. I suppose I could try and find a construction site or a playground where I could steal some sand, but I don't know of any offhand around me.

On the other hand, on the way home from work there is a Lowe's, a Home Deport, and 3 pet stores which sell sand. Not only are the latter geographically more accessible, I know the sand will be clean, not smell of pee, and be free of broken glass and cigarette butts - my time is valuable, and I don't want to waste it scrounging around for something I can get on the way home from work, a bag of which will last me a lifetime, for less then $4.

Ouze wrote:

starsdawn wrote:It really amazes me that people would need to buy sand while I can get a sack-full just outside my house.

Speaking only for myself, I live in the middle of the country, so there are no beaches around here. I suppose I could try and find a construction site or a playground where I could steal some sand, but I don't know of any offhand around me.

On the other hand, on the way home from work there is a Lowe's, a Home Deport, and 3 pet stores which sell sand. Not only are the latter geographically more accessible, I know the sand will be clean, not smell of pee, and be free of broken glass and cigarette butts - my time is valuable, and I don't want to waste it scrounging around for something I can get on the way home from work, a bag of which will last me a lifetime, for less then $4.

Well I don't live near a beach, too. A river, yes, and I know my sand is always clean. I can also find natural coarse sand in some fields near my house.

Dunno, maybe it's the same as people a few years back finding it weird to buy bottled water when you can get it for free. I can eat almost two Mcdonalds meals with $4 (well, with Philippine prices), and it seems like a waste. Betting it's a cultural thing.

Instead of using actual sand would textured spray paint work for this situation?

how fine is the play sand? Has anyone else tried it/has pictures? That would be awesome and greatly appreciated!

I helped build around 6 tables for my local gaming store. We used sand for all of them, came out just fine. Only problem I've noticed is that it "sheds" sand from time to time.

Play Sand from Lowes or Home Depot or wherever with a cup or two of kitty litter , gravel picked up from any where and pine bark chips lots of white glue ...Dry it out....Paint it with a thick coat i use a roller moves stuff around and makes neat textures. Then tons of spray paint layering . I only spend a lot of money on Foam and or Wood can't fail

I use beach sand, which has a natural colour and contains a variety of grain sizes up to small pebbles.

Apply your surface by painting a layer of PVS glue on to the base board. Pour the texture material on top so it covers well. When it is dry, tap off the excess material.

Next, mix PVA glue 50/50 with water, and paint over everything. This will dry very hard and can be painted on top of.

italiaplaya wrote:I helped build around 6 tables for my local gaming store. We used sand for all of them, came out just fine. Only problem I've noticed is that it "sheds" sand from time to time.

For anyone else about to do this, if you check Kilkrazy's post, this is what the "PVA/water" step covers. I don't usually bother to do this step on figure bases since the paint is adequate, but on any larger surface, after glueing and drying the sand, you will really need that extra step to to seal it in before painting; to avoid the shedding described.

I think what you could do is buy one bag of play sand at home depot, then one bag of kitty litter at a grocery store....mixe the two and use that. I think it would give a great look to the board having both small and large pieces. best of luck!