DIY Backyard ice rink
Follow this winter’s rink design and construction on my Backyard Ice Rink page.
Update 12/19/2007 – I make it sound easy so it’s only fair to tell the story of my first rink
Update 12/9/2007 – Find out how to build your own rink rake for under $20
Update 12/6/2007 – Here’s a tip for keeping your garden hose from freezing
Update 11/25/2007 – Click here to see photos of how I built this year’s rink.
When I was a kid, every winter my dad would pull out some old boards and plastic tarp and assemble a backyard ice rink. We had a collection of old skates we would go through to find a pair that fit and have a blast skating on the ice.
Three years ago for Ethan’s 2nd birthday we got him his first pair of skates and I decided it was time to put up our own backyard hockey rink. I’ve been putting the rink up for each year since then and have gotten it down to a very simple process. I typically assemble our rink during Thanksgiving weekend, but I decided to post this early for anyone planning on putting up a rink for the first time. I’ll post detailed pictures when I put our rink up, but here is the basics.
How to Build a Backyard Ice Rink
1) Location. You’re yard might seem flat, but you would be surpised. Put 4 stakes in the ground for where you envision your rink will be and rink string across diagonally making sure to keep it level. Now measure how high the string is off the ground from one end to the other. If its 5″ on one end and 8″ on the other you have a 3″ drop. Considering you will need at least a 2 inch ice base that means your water level will be 5″ at the deepest end. This is important for determine what size lumber to buy. If you have a very large drop from one end to the other you can either build a super structure or start getting fill. I’ve done both and getting the fill is the easiest in the long run.
2) Lumber. The construction is actually very simple. I settled on a 16 x 24 sized rink which is two 8 foot boards on one side and 3 on the other. No cutting involved. I had been using 2×8 boards, but am considering going with 2x10s to allow me a deeper ice base and let me cover more ground for a larger rink. 16×24 for fine for little kids, but as they get bigger they will want a larger rink. Make sure you get pressure treated wood and buy a couple extra boards.
3) Hardware. Buy a box of 2 1/2″ prime guard decking screws. The new pressure treated wood will eat threw the old galvanized screws very quickly. The prime guarded ones have a coating to protect the metal. They cost more, but you can use them for several years.
4) Liner. There are 2 ways to do a cheap liner. The first is to buy a large sheet of vapor barrier. Lowes sells a 20′ x 100′ roll which I used for my rink. This stuff works great, but is hard to use for more than 1 season. The roll is long though so I used half one year and the other half the second year. Last season I bought a large tarp which is much thinker material. It seems to have held up fine and will try using it again this year.
5) Assemble. I cut the extra boards into 12″ pieces. These are used on the outside of the rink to attach the boards together and to reinforce the corners. For my 2×3 setup I needed 1 piece on each end and 2 on each side for a total of 6. Add in 4 for each corner and thats 10 pieces. Lay your boards out on flat surface, put a 12″ inch piece over a seam and start drilling in screws. Make sure they bite into the boards, but don’t go all the way through. I used 8 screws on each seam. Once the sides are together, stand them up in place and overlap at the corners. Put a couple screws in to hold it up where they overlap and than add your corner piece on the side to give it some reinforcement. I’ll get better pictures of this when I put mine together.
If you have any gaps under your boards because of dips in the yard, rake up some leaves to stuff under them. If you leave these gaps as-is your liner might bulge through them as it freezes and tear. I used hay for this as well. Anything that the mower can simply eat up in the fall is easiest.
Once the boards are all up, lay your liner down. I’ve attached the liner to the boards 2 ways. With the ‘disposable’ liner I stapled it onto the outside of the boards. This works, but as the weight of the water pulls on the liner it will tear. You also have a mess of staples to pull out in the spring. With my tarp I simply wrapped it over the boards and tucked it back underneath. This worked great, but you need to make sure your tarp is big enough to handle it.
6) Fill It. You are now ready to fill it up. It is best to wait until you are getting some consistently cold temperatures, but this is often hard to predict. Last year we had a very mild winter so I had over 6 weeks with a pond instead of a rink. I fill it from my garden hose to a depth of 2 inches at the shallowest. When it freezes it will expand making it a little deeper.
7) Wait. It will take awhile to freeze all the way through so be patient. If you get on the ice too soon with will just break and freeze uneven. Try and fish out any leaves, branches, or critters that find their way into the water.
Prep it. Zamboni time! I purchased a Rink Rake to smooth my ice, but you could easily build one. This is a simple device made of PVC pipe that distributes a thin layer of water onto your ice just like a zamboni. Do this a couple times to build up your ice a little more and make it really smooth.
That’s it! It does take a bit of work and practice, but the materials are really very cheap and most can be re-used for a long time. I’ll post more tips and pictures when we get closer to winter. Feel free to send me any questions you have. Here are some pictures of our hockey rink from last year.
Ethan rescues salamanders from the rink during a warm spell.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
We survived the January thaw! Our rink is banked by snow, no wooden boards with a 6 mil liner. At the height of the thaw (a week ago) all the snow banks were gone and we had a bad leak at the low end. I took some 4x4s, stacked them, banked up snow behind them and stapled the liner up on the inside. I attempted to fill the rink with a hose but found that the low end had some holes so everything leaks out. At this point I almost gave up. But, as things got colder the ground froze again and the holes froze up as well.
I now have a rink rake and after several spraying sessions and rakings things are looking great! We plan on going out tonight and skating for the first time since New Years Eve. Thanks for all the advice.
Hey guys, I have built a rink out of snow barriers and lined it with a ful 1 peice of plastic. Its 30′ x 70′. My issue is i flooded it but it is not high enough to cover the high spot on my lawn. I need to get another 7″ into it. Currently I have 3″ of ice and i can stand on it but everytime i add water it burries a hole adding water but not getting any higher. This week it suppost to be -16 to -11 all week, what would be your advise. Just flood it. Or wait till it is frozen to add to the top not bottom? Seems like everytime i flood it it does nothing.
Anthony,
The warm water can easily melt holes and even crack your ice. I had the same problem my first year. It’s always easier to flood it to the depth you want than to try building up the ice when you need that much more.
However…with temps that low you might be able to flood it. Try filling a garbage can with water and dumping that onto the ice. This will make the water spread out more and is less likely to melt a hole like a hose would. This is how my dad used to do it when I was a kid. Add a few garbage cans, let it freeze, then add a few more. If you add too many it could also melt through in spots.
Hey John,
Things going great here with the rink. Kids loving it..neighbor kids skating on it….Mite hockey practice happening here as well. However, When i Rinkrake it the ice cracks and leaves huge cracks that dont seem to bother the surface too much but as we skate the cracks get slushy and water leaks through?? Have you see this happen? What do I do to prevent it? Do I need to prevent it or will these cracks re-freeze and settle down? Your opinion will be helpful. Thanks ..Dutch
Dutch,
Is the ground frozen yet? Sounds like the ground might still be warm and is melting the bottom of your ice. A few more days of cold weather might be all it needs.
As for the cracking…applying warm water from the rake can shock the ice and make it crack. Not a big deal and will stop happening as your ice base gets thicker.
To all,
I have just found this web site and have read almost all the comments. I built our 1st rink last year and was talked out of using a liner, which was going to cost $250.00. That was a huge mistake. It took well over 20,000 gallons as 50% of it leaked out due my slope of 24″. By the time I realised I was going to build a rink, I didnt have time levelling it. This year I spent most of the summer levelling it with my gardening tractor. A Bobcat would have been way better. Then I decided to lay a grain tarp down this time. It was well worth the money due to the time it saved my and my son flooding this rink. As I live in Canada, even with our winters, the ground doesn’t freeze until around the end of November, and even when it did I had water thawing the edges around my 4 ft boards. My water comes from a well but runs through the house. The tarp is the only way to go, especially for the larger rinks and warmer climate.
I too will be building a rink rack when I get home, as I am using to much water with a sprinkler, and thanks to all the comments I think I finally have my answer about not using hot water. The pipe insulation idea for the rink rake sounds great too.
I wish our rink building went as smoothly! We bought an ice n go rink last year and it worked well. But this year some mice moved in underneath the plastic liner, and when there was a thaw the ice melted and the darn dog dug a hole right through the middle of the tarp – ARGHHH! So we need to get a new liner. Any thoughts on which kind to get? Ice N Go makes a replacement liner, but I wonder if a tarp would be less suseptible to tears?
Thanks in advance.
Hi! When your rink melts in the spring, what do you do to it?
Matthew,
In the spring I siphon out most of the water with a garden house. This gets the water further away from the house. Once the water level is low I just take the boards apart and let the water run out.
Some people simply cut the liner with a knife and let everything drain out. Since my rink is only a few feet from my house I don’t use that method.
After its drained and disassembled I stack everything up behind my shed until next winter.
I have a very large concrete surround around my pool. Can I put an ice rink on the concrete?
Well, the time has come to say ‘goodbye’ to the rink. The Wife wants to be able to get the boys out to play on the basketbally court, and since it’s unlikely we’ll get another cold snap deep&long enough to freeze it all again, it’s time to drain and disassemble. I use as many garden hoses as I can get my hands on to syphon the water away off the yard and into a wooded area. I finally splurged and bought a 1/4HP utility pump from The Depot to make it go a little more quickly – i’m hoping it drains in an afternoon so I can roll up the tarp and disassemble the sideboards.
Not the best skating year, due to whacky weather and also cold/flu, but my daughter did get enough use out of it to keep her happy.
For next year, I’m toying with the idea of running some 2″ (or larger) pipes *under* the tarp, at least around the edges, and then using a small blower to circulate really cold air when it does get cold at night. I’m wondering how effective this would be in freezing it or keeping it frozen. Thoughts?
Also – I had a lot of nicks in the liner this year from the kids’ skates, and also from a shovel (my fault). I will end up buying a new one next year. I’m considering making a ‘cover’ for the sides out of PVC/composite boards for the edges and a spacer out of a 2″ board. The idea is that each section would fit over the side boards like an upside down ‘U’, and protect the liner from the top all the way to the bottom. The corners will be a challenge (where the liner bunches up), but I have thoughts on that one. Anyone have some thoughts on how effective this would be?
Wow, I have enjoyed reading all the comments and suggestions. This year I made my first rink. Used snow piles for the sides and a tarp. Tarp was a big mistake – made in China – seems didn’t hold water. There was a big snow storm after I started and basically couldn’t get the tarp up! From there just did it the old fashioned way – pat down the snow and wet it. Fill in any low areas with snow and wet (slush) and freeze. After many hours 15-20 – and fortuanately very cold nights – I had a sealed ice surface. Any cold night added water. Here in Michigan we had 3 thaws/rains – but I had it so thick that is survived all of them. Got a good 7-8 weeks of skating with my kids – and two sprained wrists – fell racing my son – but I won!! Next year I will use boards and plastic – the old fashioned way is a lot of work.
We had so many thaws this year we didn’t get as many skating days this year, but when the ice was good we had fun.
Yeah, I was disappointed with my tarp. Worked fine last year, but I think the coating breaks down and gets numerous pinholes. This year I went back to clear plastic and it worked great. That’s the only expense each year is buying more plastic. No point reusing for me because I usually get holes from the shovel and mice that nest UNDER the rink and chew through the liner…to get a drink?
Next fall I’m going to look into expanding my rink and adding taller boards. My current rink wood will probably get used to build a fort for the kids this summer.
Hi
I am considering contructing another ice rink this year dispite last years problem.
I have about an 8 inch drop from end to end of my rink area. Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions to contemplate for the drop.
For an 8 inch drop I would either have some topsoil delivered to level it off a bit or prop up your low corner so the top edge of the rink is level all the way around. You can then use plywood to skin the inside. I work with a guy who has a 2 foot drop and has a rink setup like this. My first winter my rink was built this way until I ordered fill to level the front yard.
http://www.myfamilylovesit.com/blog/index.php/2007/12/19/backyard-ice-rink-confessions/
Hi
I really enjoy reading all of these comments with regard to rink building.
This year will be year #4 and let me say I’ve made all of the mistakes possible, including this one.
We live in Edmonton so winter kicks off usually around Halloween, in order to avoid too much construction in the sub zero temps I constructed every thing well in advance including installing the 6 mil vapor barrier.
Before I could flood, my dogs had a riot playing in the rink and made dozens of holes which I attempted to patch with vapour barrier tape. Of course I didn’t find all of the holes and had many leaks to contend with.
Every year it’s something, but, the fun we have on it is worth the work.
Hello,
I’m planning to build my first home rink this year. I staked out the area this morning and it looks like I’ll have enough room for a 27 x 55 surface. Do you have any suggestions on where to purchase a quality piece of 6 mil plastic? I took a ride up to HD and Lowes today and it looks like they only have 20 x 100. I’m thinking I’m going to need to purchase a 40 x 100. I took a look on a few websites and the plastic is going for 300+ dollars. There has to be a cheaper way to purchase. There is also a slope of about a 7″. Is there something I should do for this or can I just add more water to the lower end.
Thanks in advance,
Brian
Brian,
So far I have only used that same 20×100 liner from Lowes. I have the same dilemma this year. I’ve read on other sites different ways to tape/glue 2 pieces together. I might try that this year since I’m making my rink wider than 16ft.
I’ve seen those liners for sale online and my concern is that I’ve never had a liner last more than 1 season. Other people have recommended buying the white plastic used to winterize boats. It comes in large sheets to shrink wrap boats for winter storage. The white color is perfect for reflecting the sun heat. If you have a boat supply store nearby, stop and check it out.
I have a slope on mine too, but just keep in mind that you’ll need 3-4 inches of ice so that means your low end will have to have walls 12″ inches high to handle the extra depth and the 4 inches of ice. Plus if you’re going to play hockey it nice to have extra board above the ice to keep the pucks in. I’ve seen plenty of rinks that had deep ends up to 24 inches deep. It will work, just takes more wood, water, and assembly.
These are really good instructions for a first rink – because at the end of the day rinks are work, and you can complicate matters quickly. Keep it simple first time around.
My neighbours and I went the complicated route after doing it simple the first year. We invested several hours to frame a much high board system. The low board rink worked fine when our kids were learning to skate but once they started hockey boards became a must…we had to even add chicken wire at the ends. If you want to grow your rink system check out our webpage for more detailed instructions for a modular DIY rink that uses the same basic structure that is described here.
Does anyone know if the weather in the Tidewater area of Virginia gets cold enough for one of these rinks?
Hi Lynn,
I’m not familiar with the winters there. You’ll need the ground to freeze and then to have enough days that don’t go above freezing. If you can build the rink on the north side of your house or some large pine trees it will help a lot! My rink is on the north side of our house and gets about 80% shade for most of the winter. This has saved my rink from short warm spells. If you get some flurries, look at the parts of the yard that are the last to melt.
Hi,
I have put together a 36×56′ rink the last two years and had a blast.
For the liner, I use a 40×60 White Poly Tarp, 3.1 oz. / 10 x 10 Weave from the “Tarp and Cover superstore”. This is cheapest place I have found, although I didn’t look at Lowes. It worked out well for me and is about 1/2 the cost of the liners on the specialty ice rink web pages. I bought a new tarp each year to be safe and gave them away on freecycle.
Another tip that might be useful is to paint the boards white to reduce board melt.
Let’s hope for cold weather!
Thanks,
Dave
Ok. I am in just outside of Milwaukee and want to put up a simple rink in my backyard. Assuming it is level, based off all the posting here, let me know if I am on the right track. I will do a 16×24 out of 2×10′s pressure treated and braced 12″ on the seams and corners. A 6 mil plastic liner (20×100) seamed with duct tape. The frame is assembled and put out after Thanksgiving then when it gets cold, put the liner in, wrap over the boards with slack on the inside bottom and tuck it under the outside board. When cold out, fill it with water, assuming it is 4″ ice, then fill 4″ and wait for it to completely freeze, then go over with Rink Rake made from 1″ PVC Plastic with a T and covered at the bottom w/ foam pipe insulation. If it is a big snowfall, then shovel off and rink rake then good to go. Hose storage, wrap up after each use keep in garbage can in garage? When using, screw it on and turn on water…will it still work as I never turned an outside hose bid on in the winter? Do I need to get a frost free hose bib?
Mark,
That’s it in a nutshell. There’s a lot of variations, but that will work. I leave one hose on all winter and it will frequently freeze. I pour boiling water on the faucet to get it going again. This is probably not the smart way to do it since I risk a busted pipe. I’ve heard of other people hooking a house up to an inside faucet or right to their water pump. When I was a kid my dad would fill a garbage can with water and dump it onto the ice to get a smooth surface…I think this would work if your base is thick enough, but when I tried it my ice cracked from the extreme temperature change and the water flowed underneath. The first year is always a learning experience and I guarantee that once you figure it out mother nature will throw a weird winter your way. Last year was great with cold temperature very early and I had my best ice yet. The year before I got about 4 weeks of decent and 2 months with a shallow lap pool.
hey folks, This will be the first time I have attempted a rink at home. I have graded an area with a bobcat 30×60 and would rather not deal with the liner method. I have edges built up around the entire rink about 18 inches high. I was planning on waiting for the ground to freeze and layer it up. We live in MN and can have very cold winters. Sounds like most use liners, any body have success with ground method?
Mike,
I’ve never tried that method since my yard is so uneven, but I’ve read about Canadians making rinks without liners. They wait for the first good snowfall, pack the snow down, then lightly sprinkle from the hose, freeze, repeat. The problem is getting your base started. If you use too much water it will melt through the snow. Without the snow I worry it would thaw the ground enough to seep in. I guess it depends on how cold it is and how much water you use to start. We had a freezing rain storm last year that left an inch of ice over our driveway and parts of our yard. The kids put their skates on and skated all over the yard!
I would recommend checking other sites for someone who uses the snow packing method and ask their advice. Just keep in mind that the water coming out of the hose may feel cold, but it will melt ice very quickly. If I leave the hose on one part of my rink too long while resurfacing it will melt a rut.
The first winter is always a challenge, but its a fun way to keep busy in the winter. Good luck!
I saw your plans for the home made rink and it looks fast and easy. My ony concern is the grass under the rink when the spring arrives. Will this create an unmanageable dead patch?
Hey, I have been searching around on how to build my first backyard ice rink and came across your great site! Anyways, in the garage of my we have a hot and cold hose bib. For the Rink Rake/ Zamboni, would it be better to use the cold water or the hot water, or warm-ish water? Also, would it be possible to build a 2 or 3 foot wall on the perimeter of the rink? Would you recommend it? Thanks!
- Andy
I NEED HELP. I spent three days constructing a 24ft by 36ft ice rink in my backyard. My whole yard has a gentle slope but I thought I leveled it enough. I just filled my rink with water and its to the top of one side of the boards but there is no water at all on the other side. How can I fix it without starting over? I can send a picture if it helps with suggestions!!
Shoudl I try to let it freeze then block the back half off with wood and try to water the side which isnt filling?
This is probably the #1 beginner error. It is amazing how much a gentle slope adds up to in vertical height.
I’m not sure what the best solution is. You could drain the water, prop up the low side until your wood is level and then screw some crap wood into it (so the scrap reaches the ground) to fill in the gap. This will prevent the ice from pushing through the liner when it freezes.
How much liner do you have hanging over the low side? is it possible to attach a second tier of boards on top of that side and have your liner run all the way up? If so, that might be the best answer. If the liner doesn’t go all the way up and over, just staple it on the inside.
hi we had bilt a ice rink this year and a way that we did was went out and bought murilax…. like a heavy duty trash bag……. that are super strong…. we got it really cheap like 24 dollars for 40x by 30x yards …..what a bargin……. welll we just used plywood and zip tied it to the fence since there already is a fence around it…. for the boards….. and works great……!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I made my own DIY rink this year 26×36 used a 8 mil tarp $110.00, frame was made up by 40′ and 24′ aluminum ladders, seperated, set up by pounding 4 ft rebar through the d rungs every 2 ft, to flush. I have a 6 inch slope on 1 end of the 36′ side.
I built up with 16″ plywood and on the other side 8 ” ply, ends are 16 inch as well. Low end is overkilled braced every 2 feet, with 2×4 sitting begind D rung and wired on. plywood was secured by drilling half inch holes on top and vinal coated heavy duty guage wire( aerial cable messenger) and securing to D rungs every 8 feet. All joints were gone over with a 4″ x 16″ scrap and screwed on, as well as all seams duct taped over by six inches, only took 6 hrs to build, solid as a rock. Total cost 225.00 not including all my ladders. Bring on the cold weather
i’ve read all the tips and i’m gonna try this for the first time this year, any helpful hints or words of advice?
The most common, and biggest, mistake in the first year is underestimated the slope of your yard. I’ve had 2 people this year that filled their rink and one corner was full and the the other was dry. Best thing to do is stake out where the rink will go, run string between them and keep it level. This will show the height you’ll need for your boards. Another option (what I did) was put together the rink, but use a level so the boards are level all the way around. If there is a lot of slope you’ll end up with a big gap in spots. If its not too bad you can attach scrap boards to cover the gap before the liner goes in. If its really big you might need to consider a different design for your boards using plywood. Even if it means extra wood and work, better to get it right before you put down the liner and fill it up.
Just built my first rink in Ohio… froze last to an inch thick… should get another tonight…thanks for the rink rake recommendations..
have you come up with a way to protect the tarp on the side boards?
I have a old 50X50 dip in my yard that is fron a leach fiels and would like to make a skating pond for the kids I can only fing 7mil plastic in 25ft withs what is the best way to seam the plastic?
Loved the reading. This will be my 3rd year for the rink in North Attleboro, MA. I have a 24 x 60 set up and use a single piece of 7mil boat shrink wrap that is 26x 64. I use std. 2x10x12′s. I just set up the boards and will wait till the ground freezes b/f laying the tarp and filling. I am going to make the rink rake you suggested. thanks for the tip.
All things being equal and if the land was flat and level, what is the best depth to fill the rink? in the past I have gone @6 inches of water and it freezes to about 8 inches of ice. With the economy being what it is, I would love not to spend too much extra money on the water.
Your comments are appreciated
Hi,What is murilax? I googled it and found nothing. Where can I get it? This is my 3rd year for building a rink. My rink is 30×40. the 1st year I just used tarps duck taped together and the water leaked out. 2nd year I used the same tarps as a base then with 6mil plastic duck taped together on top of the tarps (since i had them I thought it might prevent some hole from poking up through the bottom) The plastic was 20x 100 at Lowes cut in half to make 40 x 50. It worked, leaked a little but it was fine after it froze. I was going to do that again until I checked this site and read the entry about murilax. thanks for your help! This is an awesome website!
John. We are on our third year of our back yard rink. We too have had lots of fun and it is great for my two sons who play Mite hockey. Last year I made a rink rake which works well. However at times I lay a new sheet of water and when it freezes it doesn’t seem to bind with the underlying ice and then the new layer shatters when you try to skate on it. Is this because I have used too much water or not enough? Or is it from using cold water as opposed to hot or warm water. Bill
Hello… This is my first year building a rink. I layed the tarp the week after Thanksgiving and filled which I’m starting to believe was too early. We got several cold days in a row here in the North East so the rink froze up pretty good. The problem is that it is now 60 degrees and windy. The Ice has totally melted around the edges and is still about an inch thick as you move toward the middle of the rink. It is extremely windy out there today so I now have leaves that have blown onto the rink and under the ice. My question is should I walk out there and break the ice or should I just leave them?
I had that problem last year. I just left them. If they are under the ice it won’t be a problem. When you get some on top they can melt holes, but here’s a tip. Whenever you get a hole in the ice, pack wet snow into it and then use your rink rake like normal. Works great. You see NHL refs do this all the time by scraping some ‘snow’ off the ice with a skate and using a water bottle to freeze it.
I’m late with my rink this year, but with the weather this week it looks like I got lucky. Hopefully we get a cold streak soon.
Hey John,
i just read everything and i am also a begginer in making these rinks..
I live in canada and i THINK because i don’t get all the math stuff,
that i can go width wise 18 feet.. and about 10 feet in width..
i was wondering how big is that rink is your picture,
because that looks perfect for my yard.
THANKS!!!
WOOPS,
18 feet lenth wise maby 19 ish.
haha sorry!!
I just got our rink set up. We live in Northern Indiana and everything has worked out well, minus a few first timer problems: ground wasn’t level, not enought tarp, etc. Well curretly we havea 30 by 70 rink, I had to cut out one corner a little bit because it was too high. I basically have about 12 inches of water on one corner and 3 inches on the other. Will be need to wait until all 12 inches have frozen completely or will it be ok to use when there is 4 inches or so like we do for the lakes? We are suppose to be getting snow at the end of this week, I just want to be able to get it off if it is feasible. Thanks
UPDATE 12-11-2008…
Thanks to John and the info on this site I managed to put a rink together and last night the kids went on it for the first time. I made a frame of 2×10′s (8ft) and braced on seams and corners as John suggested. The overall dimension is 24×40, a little larger than I originally wanted but I figured if I am going to do it, do it as big as I can. We did a continual flood which took about 10 hours off of the hose. As we were flooding I miscalculated the pitch of the yard and added 2×6′s essentially around the back half of the rink, although the water didn’t rise up to them, I wanted somewhat of a small sideboard. We got a white boatliner 30×50 and just rolled back as it was flooding, put the 2×6 on top and secured with a 2×4 to lower board. The depth runs 4″ to about 15″ over the diagonal. We had about 2 cold days then the 3rd was snow/freezing rain, etc…Since it is supposed to be warm this weekend and my kids wanted to go on, I thought why not. I walked the surface, sure some cracking sounds, but they had a blast. I put on my skates and carved around really hard to test it out. There was cracking but no upheaving. Water was coming on the sides, but I think that is due to it needs a little longer to freeze. We are due for 2 clear days of 16 degrees and I think that will solidify it. I built the rinkrake John suggested and flooded yesterday. Looked like glass but seemed alright this morning. QUESTION – on the rinkrake, are the holes down or up? Also, I did not attach carpet to it and it seemed fine, do you need the carpet? We also plugged a radio in and listed to Christmas music, it was great! My kids are understanding now that if you have the ice skate on it cause you might not be able to the next day due to weather.
John,
Another question…
After I do the rinkrake outside, do you do one coating at the end of the night, or two and approximate timeframe in between coats.
Mark,
Glad everything worked out. I haven’t tried a carpet on my rink rake yet. Had a recent post where someone glued cloth on one side and wrapped around. Lots of different tricks. The idea is that it smooths the water out more. I think this helps when it is REALLY cold and water is freezing quickly. It’s worked fine for me in NY without anything on it.
For the holes, pointing them down is for flooding. Go slow and it will melt your ice more. This is good after you get sloppy weather that messes up the ice. For smoothing I point holes up and get more dispersal, less water by moving a bit quicker. I’ll resurface at night after the kids are done, but I don’t do it after every session, only when I think it needs it. My kids are little so the ice isn’t getting dug up much.
That cracking is normal. What happens sometimes is the air is below freezing, but the ground hasn’t frozen yet and is holding some heat. Also the boards are dark and will warm during the day melting a little ice along the sides. As long as the ice is sitting on the ground and not floating, its fine. Every year I’ll get on too soon at some point and make a big crack. Easy to smooth out.
TIP: In the spring we take the chunks of ice our of the rink as they melt and use them as pucks on the driveway.
How much did the boat wrap cost? Did you find it at a marine shop or order it online?
John and All,
John, thanks for a great blog. I have posted to one of your other blogs, but I like the way us rink builders can banter.
I have a commercial rink rake. I drag a towel behind it and it works terrific to disperse the water.
On very cold nights I am able to put down as many as three layers of ice in about one hour with my rake. I only do that many for special occassions of heavy use.
I live in southern MN. We have farm supply stores nearby called Fleet Farm. I buy silage tarps that are 40X100 feet. They are white on one side and black on the other. I put the white side up. Because of the size I don’t have to worry about a seam. I just cut off the excess length and use it for other projects around the house. The tarps are also available in larger sizes. My rink is 34X72. I have it framed with 16″ high boards. 2X10s with 2X6s on top and joined together. I also have a slope issue. I end up with about 16 inches of water/ice in one corner. I build that corner to 20″. I have to stake the boards into the ground due to the weight fo the water.
Thanks for the great reading,
Tom
This is our first year building a rink and we love it. This site has been a great help! When we use our rink rake though, the water freezes smooth, but it shatters when you try to skate on it. Is this due to using too much water? not enough? Or does the water need to be warmer to melt some of the ice? Thanks.
This is my second year building a rink. First year was very tough. Many leaks due to tears,leaks, refreezing, high winds, however i did not give up and we had about 3 weeks of skating.Best tip, use a large garbage can, plastic, fill it with water and dump it on the rink late at night without wind and you have a nice surface.Also do not buy tarps from home depot because they they rip easy. Good luck to all. JIm
what is the best type of wood to buy redwood ceder ?
First year building the rink up in MI. Last night we got 3 in. of snow which turned into slush on the ice. Does that happen because the ice isn’t frozen all the way through? I think we had about 3 in. of ice frozen. It was about 20 degrees last night when it was snowing.
Sounds like I have the same situation as Steve. I’m also located in MI. Seemed like the rink was freezing well. We’ve been staying off it just to make certain it was completely frozen – then it snowed and the snow on the top turned to slush. I shoveled some of the slush off the top and there seems to be solid ice under it. I don’t know if I should just leave it for a while longer or try to shovel off the slush and snow.
This is my second winter in a row putting up my 28′ x 36′ rink. I use 2x12s on the low end and taper down to 2x10s on the high end. The low end gets about 9 inches of ice and the high end gets about 3 inches. I’ve purchased my liner from Nicerinks online for about $115 (32′x40′) the past two years. I’m in Eastern Iowa, and I felt lucky to have had 7 weeks of skating my first year. After observing the first couple of weeks of weather in December this year and recalling what happened last year, I’ve decided that my Skating season in Iowa will generally be between Christmas and Valentine’s Day. This year I jumped the gun and filled my rink with water on Dec 3rd. There was 3 days forecast without snow and highs in the 20′s and lows in the single digits. The only advantage I see of getting your base ice made early is that when it does snow it is easier to shovel off the ice then it is to shovel off the lawn. Tonight I will be conducting an experiment. There is freezing rain/ sleet & snow in the forecast with highs around 25 degrees. Instead of letting my rink fill up with frozen slush, I’ve got it covered with last year’s plastic liner. My only concern is that the plastic will get too heavy with the snow and ice to be able to slide it off after the storm. Will let you know how it turns out… btw.. I enjoy reading this blog.
-Jim
My first year building, before I could flood we’re getting a snowstorm of 9-13″. Has anyone started the with a base of that much snow on top of a liner? Should I flood to melt the snow or let nature takes its course?
John,
Forecast isn’t looking good for Sunday either. I’ve never tried flooding on top of snow. Once the forecast looks clear I would flood with the hope that the snow will all melt and settle into the water before it freezes.
This has been a SLOPPY December for rink building, but rule number one is patience…we’re at the mercy of mother nature. If you get snow on top of your unfrozen/partially frozen rink, wait it out. If you can shovel some off without getting on the ice, go for it. Do NOT get on the ice until it is completely frozen. Once you can walk on it shovel everything off, use a metal shovel or ice scraper to remove as much bumps as you can, and then give it a good flooding with your rink rake. The warm water will lower bumps, while raising a smooth surface. Will take several passes, but you’ll get there. Once your ice is frozen completely it is much easier to recover from snow storms.
This is my first time doing a rink with boards and a liner. My Dad would flood our backyard when we were kids and it was great. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to setup and I’m kicking myself for not doing it years ago. I have a 4″ drop on one end so I made 12″ side boards from 7/16″ OSB. I used 18″ spikes that I made by ripping some leftover fence boards in half. I put spikes on both sides of the side boards to hold them in place. No nails or screws. I folded the liner over and covered the excess with snow since we already had a few inches on the ground. I used 4 4×8 OSB sheets at $7.17 each. Unfortunately the liner was $140 so I’m hoping I can get at least 2 years out of it. The whole thing only cost around $200. Not bad. Especially if I can get another year out of the liner. I got half a night of freezing time before we got 6 more inches of snow here in Windsor. The ice was like glass before that and now it is bumpy and full of leaves. So much for that. It seems like it is almost frozen now so I can’t wait to smooth it out. Like John said, you have to be patient. It will freeze and then you can work on it. I guess more snow is coming Sat and Sun. I hope it is frozen by then so I can just shovel it off. Good luck to everyone and I hope the cold weather continues all winter.