News:

This discussion group is best enjoyed using Google Chrome, Firefox or Safari.


Stu Grant

  • Karma: +0/-0
What does new sand cost?
« on: August 08, 2006, 08:55:41 PM »
My home course, located in SW Ontario, has 43 bunkers of average size.  If we were to replace the sand in our bunkers with sand of better quality, what type of sand would you recommend...given our geographical location (i.e. must be sand that can get to SW Ontario within a reasonable budget).  And roughly what should we expect to pay on a per-bunker basis?  Is $1,000 USD per bunker in the right ballpark?  Just curious as to how expensive a project this might be, should our club decide to improve its bunkers.  

Thanks for any feedback

Stu

Mike_Young

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:What does new sand cost?
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2006, 09:25:32 PM »
you can expect 50 sq ft of bunker sand for every cubic yard delivered.  In SE te sand is around $28 per ton and cubic yd is 1.4 tons.  Does that help?
Mike
"just standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona"

Stu Grant

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:What does new sand cost?
« Reply #2 on: August 08, 2006, 09:51:59 PM »
Thanks Mike,
So in southeast USA, 50 sq. ft of bunker sand is about $39 then using those figures.  How many cubic yards of bunker sand would you need for the average bunker?  I don't actually know how deep the sand is in a standard bunker.    

Mike_Young

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:What does new sand cost?
« Reply #3 on: August 08, 2006, 10:18:52 PM »
At 6 inches deep you will have 50 sq ft.  I would guestimate avg bunker at 1500 sq ft
"just standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona"

Mike Nuzzo

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:What does new sand cost?
« Reply #4 on: August 08, 2006, 11:34:16 PM »
Mike Y.
I'm assuming the $28 price includes freight - at least it does for me.

Stu,
Why new sand?
Don't forget additional cost to remove and dispose of old sand.
Drainage installation - if needed - likely.
Installation and compaction.
I like 5" compacted to 4".

I'd look into buying from Chardon, Ohio - near cleveland.
Might as well....
But then I'd redesign them a bit too.
Thinking of Bob, Rihc, Bill, George, Neil, Dr. Childs, & Tiger.

Marty Bonnar

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:What does new sand cost?
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2006, 04:18:08 AM »
Stu,
strong is the power of the internet. Try any of these boys...

http://www.apao.com/

BTW, 1 cubic yard (when will you lot get 'metricised'!) spread to a depth of 6 inches will of course give you 6 square yards of coverage. It'll compact itself nicely with the first rainfall!

DEFINITELY take a good look at your native soil and try to match it or at least complement it for colour - unless you really, REALLY want that Augusta look :'(

FBD.

The White River runs dark through the heart of the Town,
Washed the people coal-black from the hole in the ground.

Scott Witter

Re:What does new sand cost?
« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2006, 11:32:10 AM »
Stu:

As Mike N. is getting at, new sand is one thing, but there may be other matters directly related that should also be looked at before dumping a lot of money with new sand.  I'd hate to see your club throw money at something that may in fact have other fundamental issues that should be corrected first.

At a minimum, the drainage systems in the bunkers should be checked to make sure they are performing properly.  This of course would come after consideration is given to the design, placement, arrangement, etc., of the bunkers first and whether or not improvements in the form of restoration, renovation, preservation and so on, should be weighed.  Assuming for moment that the bunkers are all just right/perfect, doubtful, but then I don't know your club, then you need also to take in account the other costs such as sand removal and drainage cleanout/potential redo? that Mike N. is referring to.

Depth of sand is largely a subjective/playability issue as well as a maintenance one, but I have rarely found the need to go deeper than 5" and if the construction technique is good and the underlying soils not too problematic with respect to stone migration, etc., then filling to 5" and compacting to 4" works very well and the costs savings can be substantial.

Now comes the sands' performance which in this area too many opinions will leak in and throw off the decision making process in many directions.  As you know, many of the new courses are using more and more indigenous sands from the site and not getting too hung up on performance...it is what it is, play it as it lies ;)  There are those private clubs, many still, that insist on great performance and the bunker really not being a hazard (unfortunately!) and so your decision and research must take this into consideration.  I will say when this is the case, the cost of the raw sand will be expensive :(

You have places to search out options and one is the USGA site...look under construction and find "How to select the best sand for your bunkers"  It is a good article and it tells a lot about the performance of various sands.

Now comes the sand itself.  Here, there are many choices and one of the better suppliers just happens to be in your neighborhood.  HUTCHESON SAND & MIXES in Huntsville Ontario, IM me and I will give you the details and a contact name.  There are many others and I can give them to you as well.  Cost will be reflective of the performance quality and the color, but the better performing processed sand of lighter color have been running between $43- $58 per ton.  The conversion ranges around 1.3 to 1.5 tons per cubic yard so you can do the math.

Be prepared for high costs.  I know sand in the south is normally MUCH cheaper than here in the north.  I am in Lockport, NY not too far from you.  It also comes down to trucking with gas prices so HIGH! :'(  Actual costs per bunker comes down to square footage.  So a 1,000 SF bunker at a 4" compacted depth for sand alone would be, 1000x.33/27 = 12.2 CY or approx. 17 TON, so if raw cost is $45/TON then you have +- $800 just for sand.

Sorry for the long explanation, but there is more to consider than just sand costs and the variables can cause the costs to normally float up, but rarely down.

Tags:
Tags:

An Error Has Occurred!

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()
Back