Backyard Ice Rink Faqs
Building an awesome ice rink for your kids to enjoy is an art form, dont let anybody tell you differently. The best part is, if you live in a cold climate where the temperature stays relatively chilly , building one of these rinks is simple.
Can you build a backyard ice rink in a day?
You can build your own backyard rink using one of these kits, or by adding water to frozen ground, in under a day if the weather is cold enough. If you use a liner, you can skate on your backyard rink within hours.
Ive done it before, on numerous occasions. Living in Minnesota, its not that hard. The first time the weather is forecasted to stay below 10 degrees for the week, I head outside and flood. Many of my friends will simply let their hose run into their rink with a liner and as soon as theyve got 2-3 inches of water, turn the hose off and let it freeze. Skating on your backyard ice sheet is just as good as going to the rink, if not better!
What are the best boards for backyard rinks?
2 thick by 12 tall by 10 long are the best outer boards for a backyard rink setup. These boards last the longest, especially if you get green treated wood and paint it white.
Its worth checking your kit, if youre using one, just because it may use something like 3/8 or 1/2 plywood.
Do I need a liner for my backyard ice rink?
The use of a liner conserves the most water, provides the most even skating surface, and allows you to use your ice 10 times faster than without one.
Consider Building A Traditional Rink First
A backyard ice rink will need constant attention to keep the surface smooth and ready for skating. If you dread shoveling the snow off your driveway, youll need to keep in mind that your ice rink will also need to be shoveled after every snowfall. If this will be your first backyard rink, you can keep things simple by building it old-school style. You wont need a tarp or plastic liner, just wait for consistent below freezing temperatures, tamp down the snow with your feet until you create your desired rink shape and size, then flood the surface with water and wait for it to freeze.
When Skating Season Is Over
Winterkill of the lawn beneath a skating rink is possible in the spring, as freezing and thawing occur and water pools on the grass for long periods of time. When the rink starts melting, take measures to speed up the melting and draining of the water. Snowbanks and boards around the edges of the rink should be removed so the water can run off easily. Breaking up the ice and spreading out dark materials may speed up the melting.
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How To Build The Best Backyard Ice Rink: Conventional Vs Synthetic Ice
Find out what type of backyard ice rink suits you best and how to get started on your own rink now!
Cone drill on a synthetic backyard ice rink
The best backyard ice rink is the one that fits your requirements if you are looking for the most realistic feel and enjoy building things from scratch, you might want to construct your own conventional ice rink in winter if you prefer using your rink all year round and keeping the installation simple, synthetic ice is the perfect choice.
What are the advantages, disadvantages and requirements of Do It Yourself , refrigerated rinks and synthetic ice?
Read on to find out how do it yourself compares to refrigerated and synthetic rinks in terms of glide experience, installation, maintenance, pricing and other factors to get started on the best backyard ice rink for your purposes right away from hockey training to skating fun!
The feel here is the deal
Hockey match on a DIY backyard ice rink
Ice time why it matters
NHL All-Star Roman Josi training on synthetic ice during the summer
DIY and refrigerated rinks are fun to skate on if only they would last a little longer. Limited to colder regions and winter months, you are looking at a small window of opportunity to use your rink and that window is getting smaller in times of climate change. Weve all seen more and more public and private rinks disappear over the last couple of years, as winters are getting warmer.
Installation what do you need for your backyard ice rink?
The Value Of A Backyard Rink
Consider the financial side of building a backyard rink. Not only does a family likely need to own their home, but they also require a reasonable backyard to install even a small rink. According to research at Wilfred Laurier, and looking at companies Rink Master and EZ Ice, the cost of materials for a backyard rink begin at around $500 and can range upward of $2,500, not counting landscaping or water costs. Then there comes the time it takes to install, maintain, disassemble, and store the rink each year.
These factors should lead us to pause and consider some questions that are often overlooked in media narratives about backyard rinks: which families are included and, perhaps more importantly, who is excluded? If we examine the numbers, we see that Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour disproportionately bore the economic hardship of the pandemic, with Indigenous people facing the greatest unemployment ratea gap projected to persist following the pandemic given that non-Indigenous peoples unemployment rate had dropped to 8% at the end of 2020, while Indigenous mens and womens unemployment remained at 11% and 12%, respectively.
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How To Build An Ice Rink In The Backyard
- Time to read: 9 min.
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Winter is coming, and that means its time to start thinking about ways to have fun outdoors!
One of our favorite winter activities is skating on an ice rink in our backyard.
Its a great way to get some exercise and spend time with family and friends.
Want to learn how to build your own backyard ice rink and some tips on how to prevent it from damaging your lawn? Read on!
Applying The Tarp And Water
Here we go again, another hard part…To add the liner first lay down the 6 mil plastic liner over top of the PVC frame and then snapped the PVC cap over the plastic liner. The cap provides a duel roll, holding the liner in place and providing protection against skate blades. From this picture you can see why the liner has to be larger than the frame. 4 foot extra on the sides is plenty to not lose any sides.Make sure to keep the caps at least 2″ away from the corners. Later I plan to make a triangular piece from wood to sit over the corner to protect it . Notice the piece of wood under the corner. Use small blocks to shim the height of the frame so it is all at the same level.I had some comments about the toughness of the PVC when playing hockey, or skating on it. The PVC its self is pretty sturdy and tough, and you could probably get a good 3-5 years out of it. It really all depends on what your using it for.Once again, if you have any questions, just post a comment below and ill Try to get to them.
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Make And Care For The Ice
Jacques Laliberté recommends using a garden hose with an adjustable nozzle for spraying the base layer. The warmer it is, the finer the spray has to be and the less water you can put on. Spray crosswise in strips. Once youve sprayed a thin layer over the whole rink, leave the ice to harden for 2 to 4 hours before spraying it again. Repeat as many times as it takes to get the ice 6 to 10 cm thick. When is the right time to get started? Wait till the temperature falls below 10°C for two nights in a row. And when youre done and satisfied that the rink has brightened up your backyard, dont forget to maintain it. Clean the ice after every skate or snowfall. Fill in any holes with snow, not water. Laliberté also recommends re-flooding the rink a few times each winter, first smoothing out the ice and then flooding it to a depth of 4 mm. Note that if you can use warm water, youll get harder ice.
How To Build A Simple Backyard Ice
Kelly Burke is a professional turf manager for a manicured corporate campus in New England. He is accredited in organic land care and is a licensed pesticide applicator. He formerly managed the turfgrass as a golf course superintendent and has held several senior management positions at private country clubs overseeing high maintenance lawns.
Kelly Bacon is a licensed general contractor with over 40 years of experience in construction, home building and remodeling, and commercial building. He is a member of The Spruce Home Improvement Review Board.
- Skill Level: Beginner
- Estimated Cost: $30 to $50
A simple backyard ice skating rink creates a wonderful way to spend active time with the family during the cold winter months. A small rink is fairly easy to build and maintain if the conditions are rightyou just need consistently freezing temperatures in the winter. A DIY rink does require some natural snowfall to cover the ground before construction but once completed, it is relatively easy to maintain for the entire winter season. You can use wooden boards or PVC pipe to aid in the construction or go the truly no-cost approach by building it entirely out of snow and water.
A backyard ice-skating rink depends on having a relatively flat, level site in your yard. Small dips and rises can be leveled out with snow before you pour the rink, but a very uneven or sloped lawn will not be very well suited to a skating rink.
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The New Pandemic Project Has First
Listen to article
On a crisp morning at the end of January, Chelsea Parkin crouched beside the shallow pool of ice and slush in her backyard, put her ear close to the surface, and listened. She was sure the water underneath was escaping through a hole somewhere.
The 8-foot-by-19-foot rink her husband had constructed for their daughter a week earlier remained thin and patchy, despite nightly attempts to fill it with fresh water. When Ms. Parkin eventually discovered the main source of the leak, she soaked through three pairs of mittens while picking her way through phyllo-pastry-like ice so she could patch a hole in the woven blue tarp underneath.
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How To Make An Ice
In the winter, Rockland is known for ice management and snow removal in Edmonton. But even we like ice if it involves skates or hockey! As parents of 3 boys, the owners of Rockland spend weekends at the ice rink so we wanted to bring our love of hockey and landscaping together with a fun homemade ice rink!
Heres how to make a skating rink in your backyard in 7 easy steps:
1) Choose and prepare a spot for your ice rink in the backyard. Look for the most level area in the yard that is away from big objects like boulders or other landscape design features. Clear now down to the grass level.
2) Use 2×12 wood planks to frame out the space. Press the frame solidly into the ground to ensure it is in place and study.
3) Use a 6-mil polyethylene plastic liner to line the backyard skating rink. Measure the plastic liner to be 2 feet bigger than the framed rink on all sides.
4) Fill the ice-skating rink with water one layer at a time. The temperatures need to be well below 0 degrees for a few consecutive days which should not be a problem during the winter in Edmonton!
5) Continue filling the skating rink until your ice is approx. 30 cm thick. Add one last thin layer and smooth out the surface of the ice rink using a flat ice chipper to scrape any bumps or irregularities away.
6) Invite your friends over and pour the hot chocolate because youll be playing hockey, skating and having fun all winter long!
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Building A Backyard Ice Rink
In its most basic form, building a backyard ice rink involves simply watering your lawn with below freezing temperatures. Of course, there are plenty of ways to drastically improve the backyard rink, but not all are necessary. Were going to take you through the process of building your own backyard rink this winter.
How you can build your own backyard ice rink
Preparing the area for your backyard ice rink
If youre using a liner for your rink, we recommend setting that up a few weeks prior to the first anticipated deep freeze. While building a rink without a liner is absolutely doable, having a liner does come with its advantages. One of the big advantages to using a rink liner is that it will allow you to use the rink earlier. One of the disadvantages is that if the ice is not maintained properly, it can crack easily and degrade.
Staging the rink
If youre choosing to buy a kit for your rink, its far easier to set that up before the ground freezes. Not only is pounding stakes into a frozen landscape more challenging, its a whole lot less fun when youre freezing cold the entire time.
Flooding your rink
Maintaining a backyard rink
Let Your Insurance Provider Know About To Avoid Nasty Surprises
Suzanne Michaud, CAA-Quebec Vice President, Insurance, will tell you its best to let your insurance provider know about your backyard skating rink. It only takes a few minutes to make sure youd be covered if anything were to go wrong. If a skater is injured and manages to prove negligence on your part, the liability component of your home insurance covers injury to other people. If youre worried about your pipes freezing because you couldnt shut your outdoor tap off for the winter, get an all perils except policy that covers you for that. And dont worry about flooding when your rink melts in the spring. According to Michaud, the risks are minimal. A really thick skating rink might be maybe 10 cm thick, she says, and thats the equivalent of only 15 mm of water. Any heavy rainfall will produce more rain than that. And of course your rink wont melt away in a couple of hours. It is however true that any damage to your yard or landscaping your rink causes wont be covered by your home insurance.
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Our Latest Hockey Rink Design & Installation
With the vision for a quality backyard ice rink all it took for this Chanhassen family was one call to Warners. From start to finish we handled the entire installation and setup. Hiring a professional services company with landscaping experience will help ensure your ice rink is set up in a way that does not damage the lawn.
Adding The Water And Let Freeze
adding the water is a simple step, all you need to do is add some water by using a hose, or doing a rain dance. Remember not to over flow or go to high with the water!Also remember to do this were its usually below freezing, so it will freeze sooner, and stay frozen!Ive also had many people ask me about the grass underneath the ice rink. As far as I’m concerned the grass wont die, as long as you but it away before spring, or as soon as you can. This will prevent the grass from dieing, though there are no guarantees as every bodies house is different.I honestly don’t think you will need help for this step… 🙁
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Best Backyard Ice Rink Kits
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Thinking of building a backyard ice rink? After building these things from scratch for the past 30 something years, Im convinced buying a kit is the way to go. Now, with the way 2020 went, if lumber prices stay where theyre at, building one yourself wont actually be any cheaper .
My reasoning for using a kit to build your backyard ice rink is fairly simple. If kids can keep the puck in play, and the ice quality is better, theyll use your backyard rink more often.
Wait, what does an ice rink kit have to do with making the ice quality better? Ill get to that. But for now, yes, the best backyard ice rink kits actually make the quality of your ice better.
So with all that being said, building a backyard ice rink is actually pretty simple. Youve got to set up boards, install a liner and add water. Oh, and it has to be cold out. For the sake of ease, we do recommend getting your rink ready to go before everything is totally frozen solid, as it will make your life a lot easier.
At the end of this guide, well show you how to build a backyard ice rink step by step.
Anyhow, enough of my mumbling.
Here are my favorite backyard ice rink kits that you can buy for this winter.