Get Those Rinks Ready

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which marks a big day American families to be together. It’s also a good marker for when you should start preparing to make your backyard ice rink. You don’t want to wait much longer as the temperature will drop considerably soon, and this long weekend makes a good time to put it together. You’ll notice it’s been about a year since I made a post. This is mostly due to the fact that I went through the crazy effort of making a backyard ice rink last winter. Because of that, I’ll export some of my hard earned knowledge to you.

My rink from last year

Before even thinking of what you’ll need for a rink, you should first ask yourself whether or not you really want to make one. From January to February last year, a lot of my free time was dedicated to keeping up the rink. Although truthfully that’s right in the middle of the winter, where you’re probably not going out too often to begin with. These nights were filled with going out after work into the freezing cold, working with freezing water, and staying up at late hours while the temperature was its lowest. But I did it because I wanted to know I could build that, and I knew it was the last year I would have a backyard for awhile since I moved in the Spring.

Once you do decide that you want to spend the long hard winter outdoors in the cold rather than inside, then here’s some things you should do to get going this weekend.

1. Measure the perimeter and area of the rink you want. Don’t bother trying for curved corners. 
2. Figure out the height of the boards you will need. This is mostly important if you’re working with uneven ground. The backyard I used was about a foot lower in one end than the other, so it needed higher boards on one side. The normal height you should use is 1’, and increase it on the lower end to make it level. If you’re low end is 1’ below the high end, then make the low end 2’ boards and the high end 1’ boards. 
3. Purchase your boards from a home development store like Lowe’s or Home Depot. Just go cheap with the untreated 4’ x 8’ plywood, and have them cut it into smaller segments. I did four 1’x6’ segments since that was the max size I could fit in the car that was useful for the rink size. The extra wood you end up with can be cut up into small stakes and joints. 
4. Purchase ample nails and screws which are long enough to go through the boards. Just ask someone who works at the store what they suggest. I used a power drill for putting this together, so I used a lot of long nails. 
5. Make sure you have a vise grip so that something can hold the stakes or joints to the boards while you nail or screw them together. It just makes it easier. 
6. Lay down painter's plastic tarps over the boards and cover the entire ice area. It shouldn’t be water tight, as you want the melted runoff to drain.  The plastic is just there to assist with building a proper ice base, though compacted snow can do this job too, but the sheets are easy to put down.  I used 10'x100' plastic sheeting.  Just tape the sheets together at certain points so they don’t fly away. Use a staple gun to attach the plastic to the boards. 

After all these steps are done all you have to do is wait for the temperature to drop and the first snow to come. It’s just a matter of time in December. Once you get your first snow fall, compress it down (like step on it or sled over it), and add lots of water to turn it into slush. Let it freeze, then keep adding water until it evens out into a smooth ice sheet. Alternatively if it doesn’t snow for awhile, but it’s really freezing (like lower than 20 degrees), you can probably just puddle the water outside and let it freeze. But that will take more water and time on your part.

I’ll put up another post detailing some temperature and watering guidance, and some gritty details on how to avoid having your hose frozen. At least for this weekend you’ll be all set for the rink before the temperate drops. Probably by this time next month you’ll be out there on the ice.

-Drew