Building The Perfect Sand Castle

There’s so much to do at the beach aside from sunbathing and relaxing. Beside the obvious sport of swimming there’s plenty of other water sports to enjoy, rafting, water boarding, kayaking, skiing and much more.

But if you’re not too keen on getting in the water, maybe it’s too cold or you want to dry off before you head into the car, then there are plenty of dry activities you can enjoy at the beach, such as beach-combing, rock stacking, volleyball, playing Frisbee, throwing a beach ball, or wave chasing.

But one of my all time favorite activities is sand art, drawing in the sand, sculpting the sand or the ultimate, making a killer sand castles!

After some research, I’ve gathered the best advise on how to build the perfect sand castle.

Some basic tools start with your hands, yes if you have nothing else, your hands can do the molding and shaping but it really helps to have a bucket or even and old empty soda bottle for carrying water. Driftwood, rocks and shells can all serve as carving tools or add-on as part of the construction or decoration elements of your castle.

So if you plan ahead you might want to bring a few buckets, preferably one with a bottom and one without. Various bottomless tube like containers will really help in building your castle as you’ll see further down in the video, by Dan in the Sand, featured below.

Before you start to build, you’ll want to choose the right location, A spot on the beach where the sand is moist and has a good consistency will help you to start your castle off on a good foundation. If you want your sandcastle to last, try to build it in a spot where it won’t be washed away by the tide or kicked by a passersby.

You should try to start with the right mixture of sand and water. Too little and your sand castle will crumble, too wet and it will just melt like a cold Popsicle on a hot summer day!

The type of sand is also makes a difference. You want sand that is tiny even granules without rocks. This is where a sifter can really come in handy. Passing the sand through a sifter ensures all your sand granules are of similar size.

But these steps are only necessary if you want to sandcastle building to a professional level. The main thing is that you have fun!

Don’t worry if the sand has a little clay, this will help act as an added glue in the mixture. But if your sand has no clay, not to worry it will still work just fine as long as you follow the not too wet, not too dry rule.

After you’ve got your sand mixture free of rocks, beach glass and other debris, (this step is totally optional) it’s time to ad the water. (The water is not optional!)

Most castle creators recommend one part water to one part sand. It’s good to let the sand sit a few minutes to drain excess water. The next step is to pack the sand into what ever container you’re using to create the base. If you’re not using a container you can create your base by packing the sand and shaping it to the desired form with your hands. It’s important that the base be strong so it can hold the upper layers. A strong foundation is key to sandcastle success!

Each added layer should follow the same rules, you don’t want excess water leaking down into the lower levels or the base. This will cause the castle to be too wet and weaken the base. Too dry however, and your upper layer can crumble.

Here’s a great video on the basics of building a strong base. Of course you’ll want to go further and pretty it up with all kinds of sand sculpting and adding shells, rocks or other beach treasures for aesthetics. But this will get you started with a solid foundation.

Try to keep the sand moist. You can sprinkle it with water as you work. Having spray bottle that can adjust to mist would be supper helpful so consider packing one in your sandcastle tool kit.

Continue to build up the walls using your shovel and smaller tools to carve and shape the sandcastle walls, adding more wet sand as needed.

Once you’ve made got your basic layout of your castle you can start adding details like turrets, windows and moats. Use smaller tools, shells or driftwood to carve out these features and make them as detailed as you want.

Building sandcastles can be a fun activity or relaxing distraction when visiting the beach, but there are some really serious builders who pride themselves in making intricate designs and structures to show off at the beach.

Want to get serious with your sandcastle design? Here’s some great tips from Andy Hancock.

Now if castles aren’t your favorite you can also make sand sculptures of just about anything your heart desires. Here’s a great way to create a sea turtle by Dina Norlund.

Whether you choose to build a fancy elaborate sand castle or just a casual structure to play Godzilla and smash after you’re all done for the day is totally up to you! What’s important is you enjoy the process, let the sand on your skin help you relax and make a few memories and maybe some new friends along the way.

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