Backyard Rinks

[dbowl57]

Whats up everyone. I'm thinking about putting a rink in the yard this winter. Is it best to make one myself? Or should I buy one of those kit that are online for $300-400? Thanks for any advice

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[BrianE]

Whats up everyone. I'm thinking about putting a rink in the yard this winter. Is it best to make one myself? Or should I buy one of those kit that are online for $300-400? Thanks for any advice

Build it yourself unless you have extra cash laying around. I bought a Nice rink kit but it got too small for the kids as well as my yard (i have a small corner lot). Time passes so fast.

 

[dbowl57]

Build it yourself unless you have extra cash laying around. I bought a Nice rink kit but it got too small for the kids as well as my yard (i have a small corner lot). Time passes so fast.

yes those kits were the exact ones I was talking about. Thanks for the advice

 

[Creepingjeff]

I have put up a rink two years. I followed this guide http://www.backyard-hockey.com/2010/10/14/how-to-build-a-24x40-backyard-rink-for-under-250/ to start. I took out a tree in my yard the second year and was able to make a much bigger rink following the same ideas as the article has.

 

[NDiesel]

I haven't ever made the rink myself, however my father did every year for me while growing up.

I'm not sure of the price, however he would buy large plastic tarps (he also put up boards, but that's optional depending on what you want) lay them down as flat as possible and flood each night until frozen. We had pretty great ice for the most part every year from doing this.

 

[dbowl57]

I have put up a rink two years. I followed this guide http://www.backyard-hockey.com/2010/10/14/how-to-build-a-24x40-backyard-rink-for-under-250/ to start. I took out a tree in my yard the second year and was able to make a much bigger rink following the same ideas as the article has.

Thanks! ill check it out

I haven't ever made the rink myself, however my father did every year for me while growing up.

I'm not sure of the price, however he would buy large plastic tarps (he also put up boards, but that's optional depending on what you want) lay them down as flat as possible and flood each night until frozen. We had pretty great ice for the most part every year from doing this.

Awesome, seems the do it yourself way is the way to go

 

[Goonzilla]

I've skated outdoors a number of times, even in LA which was interesting, but only on artificial rinks. I don't exactly have a bucket list, but I hope to get out on both a decent backyard rink and hopefully a lake some day. I'll probably plan a vacation around it.

 

[alko]

I assume, you live in a place, where is winter still winter.

But what about places, that are not so cool? Are there any options?

 

[puckpilot]

I assume, you live in a place, where is winter still winter.

But what about places, that are not so cool? Are there any options?

If you have a few hundred to a few thousand extra dollars burning a hole in your pocket, you could get synthetic ice. You could probably get a pretty decent size going for a couple of grand, enough to comfortably work on shooting and skating.

If you have even more money to blow, you could get the special skates designed for synthetic ice which makes things a lot closer to skating on real ice.

For poor me, I'm lucky there are lots of rinks around my area that offer stick and puck times for reasonably prices.

Otherwise, I have my own practice area created with dry land training tiles for stick handling, paired up with a DIY slide board to simulate skating and stick-handling on ice. Cost was around $200.

 

[alko]

If you have a few hundred to a few thousand extra dollars burning a hole in your pocket, you could get synthetic ice. You could probably get a pretty decent size going for a couple of grand, enough to comfortably work on shooting and skating.

If you have even more money to blow, you could get the special skates designed for synthetic ice which makes things a lot closer to skating on real ice.

For poor me, I'm lucky there are lots of rinks around my area that offer stick and puck times for reasonably prices.

Otherwise, I have my own practice area created with dry land training tiles for stick handling, paired up with a DIY slide board to simulate skating and stick-handling on ice. Cost was around $200.

My pocket has very much holes. So, this is not an option.
Sadly, we have here not very winter weather in last decade. Damm global warming.
Where are the times, we had winter from December to March?
We have a "hole" in size of a tennis court, but we cant simply put water there and wait, till it freezes.

 

[Neutrinos]

I assume, you live in a place, where is winter still winter.

But what about places, that are not so cool? Are there any options?

Yes, they're called "rollerblades"

 

[Cams]

rollerblades still aren't the same though.

Making an outdoor is fun. I did it a couple years for my daughter, but she is no longer interested in hockey, and my yard is too small (plus the maple tree in the middle doesn't help) for my own use. It would have to L shaped to get any decent size, due to tree(s) and garage!

Plus, in my area, you never know what kind of winter you will have. Last year, I think we were lucky to have 6" of snow total!

One year I did it without plastic. Just hard packed the snow down, which sucks....so hard to do, and keep it relatively divot free (footprint free). Got lucky, weather stayed cold, so keep on flooding - had good ice. The other couple times I used a vapor barrier (can get a roll at any hardware store - plus the part you don't for the rink can be used for other things). Never used wood to frame it in, just worked on packing the snow hard for banks and freezing it as thick as I could. Always had it for dinking around with my kid, or just goofing around. Don't have the space for a big one.

One of the guys I coached hockey with though, has a house and owns 1/2 the lot beside his house - he can build a rink that is almost full size - he has 2 NHL size nets, constructed 4 ft high boards, with netting above - 2 benches. Uses his utility shed as a dressing room. Impressive to say the least!

@Goonzilla - outdoor rinks are fun - we have one left here, and it's fun to have a good skate. However.....if you are (un)lucky enough to get it when it's really cold (and even windy), it is cold like you've never felt cold. Where I am (Windsor, Ontario), cold is -10 - -15°C - I can't imagine skating outdoors in places like Minnesota, or Norther Ontario, Quebec, prairies when it gets cold than -20C! Also, have done the frozen pond (you could call it) around here when I was young. There is a river called River Canard and it quite wide, shallow - lots of marsh outside of the winter season. People go and clean off areas for their games, and it's great! But again....with the weather here so different from winter to winter - you never know how it's going to be.

 

[Fremitus Borealis]

@Goonzilla - outdoor rinks are fun - we have one left here, and it's fun to have a good skate. However.....if you are (un)lucky enough to get it when it's really cold (and even windy), it is cold like you've never felt cold. Where I am (Windsor, Ontario), cold is -10 - -15°C - I can't imagine skating outdoors in places like Minnesota, or Norther Ontario, Quebec, prairies when it gets cold than -20C! Also, have done the frozen pond (you could call it) around here when I was young. There is a river called River Canard and it quite wide, shallow - lots of marsh outside of the winter season. People go and clean off areas for their games, and it's great! But again....with the weather here so different from winter to winter - you never know how it's going to be.

I can attest that it's a bit of a mixed blessing Even with global warming and all that, the lakes in MN still freeze pretty reliably, and we can have artificial outdoor rinks as well (we have an outdoor winter carnival that has a mini skating rink that parks and rec leaves up for the rest of winter even after the festival's over).... but, it can be hard to motivate to go out and skate when the windchill is twenty below zero Fahrenheit Parks and rec on one of the lakes near me actually puts up a full-size rink when it gets cold enough, and we can usually get at least two good months out of it (they even shovel it off and re-surface the ice!), so it's cool for hockey practice, but again, it can be pretty hard to get guys to show up when it's cold. There's also the fact that you can't really wear your equipment properly when you're primarily worried about not freezing to death, so you just have to be extra careful. Thank the hockey gods for warming houses

 

[Cams]

I can attest that it's a bit of a mixed blessing Even with global warming and all that, the lakes in MN still freeze pretty reliably, and we can have artificial outdoor rinks as well (we have an outdoor winter carnival that has a mini skating rink that parks and rec leaves up for the rest of winter even after the festival's over).... but, it can be hard to motivate to go out and skate when the windchill is twenty below zero Fahrenheit Parks and rec on one of the lakes near me actually puts up a full-size rink when it gets cold enough, and we can usually get at least two good months out of it (they even shovel it off and re-surface the ice!), so it's cool for hockey practice, but again, it can be pretty hard to get guys to show up when it's cold. There's also the fact that you can't really wear your equipment properly when you're primarily worried about not freezing to death, so you just have to be extra careful. Thank the hockey gods for warming houses

THIS! A few years back when I was coaching my daughter, we always did a parents vs the kids outdoor game at the local outdoor rink (a little smaller than NHL dimensions, but full boards, glass, roof overhead - even small dressing rooms, but otherwise exposed to the elements). Got lucky and it was snowing quite hard, and extremely windy out of the NW - windchill advisories. Here we are trying to have a good time and the kids are complaining they can't feel their toes or fingers after 10 or 15 mins! Hard to wear winter gloves and hockey gloves - or as you said, the proper warm clothing as well as playing with mostly full gear on.

 

[Fremitus Borealis]

Yeah I hear ya. Not to mention, getting your skates to fit properly while wearing socks that actually prevent your feet from falling off

 

[Backyard Hockey]

Umm - based on my avatar and screen name, this is a topic near and dear to me.

I've been doing a rink in my yard for a few years. Every year I refine it. Water is going in tomorrow (Chicago area) - 3 weeks earlier then last season.

Don't know if it is for you or the family, but for my kids (12 year old pee twins, 7 year old mite), it is one of the highlights of the year. If you are sentimental dude like me, THESE are the memories that you'll keep forever and will bring tears to your eyes. My kids (especially the pee wees) have advanced their game SOOO much over the last two season. Ice time is critical and hard to find. Practice is practice but sometimes kids just wanna work on power skating, or crossovers or stick handling drills or shooting or just having fun playing 2:2 short area games or 3 bar. Can't do that at team practice and stick and pucks at the rink are usually too damn crowded and there's never a goalie there.

My kids are both centers, but we have goalie gear. One will put on the gear, one will shoot and visa versa. Plus all their teammates, buddies and neighborhood kids.

Last year sucked as far as weather. Water in 12/29. First skate 1/4. Last skate 2/7. Year before it was water in 12/27, first skate New Years Eve and last skate (albeit on garbage ice) was 3/17!

I would venture to say that, even last year, with warm weather and limited rink season, they go an extra 10-15 hours a week of ice time without the rink. That's worth it's weight in gold!

It's a lot of work but go for it!

 

[Backyard Hockey]

Some advice:

- Bigger is better. Period. End of story.

- Boards on the ends are essential. Resist the urge to have 2x12s as the full perimeter. Use 4x8 sheets of plywood and 'wrap' the ends with 4'x4' boards. Keeps pucks in and board play is real hockey.

- The two main manufacturers are NiceRink and IronSleek - I'm fortunate in that Iron Sleek is 20 miles from my house, so I just grab the stuff and no shipping costs. GREAT guys too.

- HOT water is your friend. I had a plumber run the hot water line to my outdoor hose spigot. Resurfacing the ice with a HOT water spray (versus cold) is night and day - makes for perfect ice. Don't ask me why - it just does. Amazon sells a red 100' hose - it's like $50. One of those collapsible ones. Works perfect. Mine has lasted 3 plus years (including summer use). Spray, drain out and keep it in a bucket to bring in and out when you use it.

- A floor scraper is your friend. Home Depot sells them - it's a reasonably riding metal 'blade' on a pole. I have them side by side so instead of 14" W it's about 26" inches. Scraping the surface of the ice after use, then shoveling out the snow and a quick hot water spray - makes the ice like glass!

- There are many great sites for advice and forums. Check out backyard-hockey.com and even Youtube. There's a great cheap book you can order from Amazon or download on iTunes called Backyard Ice Rink by Joe Proulx. It's a quick read but has invaluable info.

- Don't leave ANYTHING dark on your rink after use - goals and most importantly, pucks. The sun will attract to the black puck and burn a hole in your ice. Our rule is NOTHING is left on the ice after use.

- Skaboots - check this things out. Essentially a vibram boot sole attached to a blade guard that easily velcros on. They work! Kids put skates on INSIDE the house and go out the rink, the Skaboots easily go off and on for coming back inside. Saves skates, avoids having to put skates outside in the snow and cold and more importantly saves the deck!

- Have two sets of skates. My kids have their good skates that stay in their hockey bags and a separate pair of 'backyard skates' - cheaper ones. Murphy's Law - kids will skate outside before practice or god forbid, a game. They'll come inside and put their skates on the boot dryer by the door and then FORGET to put them back in their hockey bags. Imagine getting to practice or game or even tourney hours away to find that you left your game skates at home - ouch! Come to think of it, we have an extra set of gloves, helmet and skates for the yard rink (that's all they need). Cheaper stuff you can get at Play It Again. Makes life easier and avoids the above problem.

- Halogen or LED floodlights (work lights) on 8' 4x4 posts work great. 4 floodlights gives TONS of light on our 40x60 rink. I have them on a remote so can turn off with a button from inside the house.

- Nets behind the boards keep pucks in the rink and out of the neighbors yard. Truding through snow in skates to retrieve pucks sucks. You can get fancy sports netting or even the plastic construction netting. You aren't trying to keep pucks from hitting spectators in the face that are 5 feet away - you are just trying to keep the pucks in the rink.

As for synthetic ice - it's cool, but expensive. We had a few 4x8 sheets that we used for a shooting pad on our patio (got a deal on them). They work, but...an hour of skating absolutely eats your blades. Seriously, you'd have to sharpen after almost every use (prohibitive). You can do hockey stops and all other bits, but pushing off is hard. Lots of friction. One of the trainers here (Chris Chelios' brother Steve) uses it in his training facility. He feels that it helps you be faster on regular ice - almost like a batter using a weighted bat in the on deck circle.

So there ya go. Get in your yard and skate!

On and if you use a WHITE liner - not colored of white with black backing, but WHITE - your grass is fine. It's dormant and a white liner and ice is the same as snow. Snow doesn't hurt your grass. If anything, the grass where our rink is comes in fuller and healthier each spring.

 

[dbowl57]

Some advice:

- Bigger is better. Period. End of story.

- Boards on the ends are essential. Resist the urge to have 2x12s as the full perimeter. Use 4x8 sheets of plywood and 'wrap' the ends with 4'x4' boards. Keeps pucks in and board play is real hockey.

- The two main manufacturers are NiceRink and IronSleek - I'm fortunate in that Iron Sleek is 20 miles from my house, so I just grab the stuff and no shipping costs. GREAT guys too.

- HOT water is your friend. I had a plumber run the hot water line to my outdoor hose spigot. Resurfacing the ice with a HOT water spray (versus cold) is night and day - makes for perfect ice. Don't ask me why - it just does. Amazon sells a red 100' hose - it's like $50. One of those collapsible ones. Works perfect. Mine has lasted 3 plus years (including summer use). Spray, drain out and keep it in a bucket to bring in and out when you use it.

- A floor scraper is your friend. Home Depot sells them - it's a reasonably riding metal 'blade' on a pole. I have them side by side so instead of 14" W it's about 26" inches. Scraping the surface of the ice after use, then shoveling out the snow and a quick hot water spray - makes the ice like glass!

- There are many great sites for advice and forums. Check out backyard-hockey.com and even Youtube. There's a great cheap book you can order from Amazon or download on iTunes called Backyard Ice Rink by Joe Proulx. It's a quick read but has invaluable info.

- Don't leave ANYTHING dark on your rink after use - goals and most importantly, pucks. The sun will attract to the black puck and burn a hole in your ice. Our rule is NOTHING is left on the ice after use.

- Skaboots - check this things out. Essentially a vibram boot sole attached to a blade guard that easily velcros on. They work! Kids put skates on INSIDE the house and go out the rink, the Skaboots easily go off and on for coming back inside. Saves skates, avoids having to put skates outside in the snow and cold and more importantly saves the deck!

- Have two sets of skates. My kids have their good skates that stay in their hockey bags and a separate pair of 'backyard skates' - cheaper ones. Murphy's Law - kids will skate outside before practice or god forbid, a game. They'll come inside and put their skates on the boot dryer by the door and then FORGET to put them back in their hockey bags. Imagine getting to practice or game or even tourney hours away to find that you left your game skates at home - ouch! Come to think of it, we have an extra set of gloves, helmet and skates for the yard rink (that's all they need). Cheaper stuff you can get at Play It Again. Makes life easier and avoids the above problem.

- Halogen or LED floodlights (work lights) on 8' 4x4 posts work great. 4 floodlights gives TONS of light on our 40x60 rink. I have them on a remote so can turn off with a button from inside the house.

- Nets behind the boards keep pucks in the rink and out of the neighbors yard. Truding through snow in skates to retrieve pucks sucks. You can get fancy sports netting or even the plastic construction netting. You aren't trying to keep pucks from hitting spectators in the face that are 5 feet away - you are just trying to keep the pucks in the rink.

As for synthetic ice - it's cool, but expensive. We had a few 4x8 sheets that we used for a shooting pad on our patio (got a deal on them). They work, but...an hour of skating absolutely eats your blades. Seriously, you'd have to sharpen after almost every use (prohibitive). You can do hockey stops and all other bits, but pushing off is hard. Lots of friction. One of the trainers here (Chris Chelios' brother Steve) uses it in his training facility. He feels that it helps you be faster on regular ice - almost like a batter using a weighted bat in the on deck circle.

So there ya go. Get in your yard and skate!

On and if you use a WHITE liner - not colored of white with black backing, but WHITE - your grass is fine. It's dormant and a white liner and ice is the same as snow. Snow doesn't hurt your grass. If anything, the grass where our rink is comes in fuller and healthier each spring.

Awesome info, thanks a lot!

 

[ZosimovsCorpse]

Some advice:

- Bigger is better. Period. End of story.

- Boards on the ends are essential. Resist the urge to have 2x12s as the full perimeter. Use 4x8 sheets of plywood and 'wrap' the ends with 4'x4' boards. Keeps pucks in and board play is real hockey.

- The two main manufacturers are NiceRink and IronSleek - I'm fortunate in that Iron Sleek is 20 miles from my house, so I just grab the stuff and no shipping costs. GREAT guys too.

- HOT water is your friend. I had a plumber run the hot water line to my outdoor hose spigot. Resurfacing the ice with a HOT water spray (versus cold) is night and day - makes for perfect ice. Don't ask me why - it just does. Amazon sells a red 100' hose - it's like $50. One of those collapsible ones. Works perfect. Mine has lasted 3 plus years (including summer use). Spray, drain out and keep it in a bucket to bring in and out when you use it.

- A floor scraper is your friend. Home Depot sells them - it's a reasonably riding metal 'blade' on a pole. I have them side by side so instead of 14" W it's about 26" inches. Scraping the surface of the ice after use, then shoveling out the snow and a quick hot water spray - makes the ice like glass!

- There are many great sites for advice and forums. Check out backyard-hockey.com and even Youtube. There's a great cheap book you can order from Amazon or download on iTunes called Backyard Ice Rink by Joe Proulx. It's a quick read but has invaluable info.

- Don't leave ANYTHING dark on your rink after use - goals and most importantly, pucks. The sun will attract to the black puck and burn a hole in your ice. Our rule is NOTHING is left on the ice after use.

- Skaboots - check this things out. Essentially a vibram boot sole attached to a blade guard that easily velcros on. They work! Kids put skates on INSIDE the house and go out the rink, the Skaboots easily go off and on for coming back inside. Saves skates, avoids having to put skates outside in the snow and cold and more importantly saves the deck!

- Have two sets of skates. My kids have their good skates that stay in their hockey bags and a separate pair of 'backyard skates' - cheaper ones. Murphy's Law - kids will skate outside before practice or god forbid, a game. They'll come inside and put their skates on the boot dryer by the door and then FORGET to put them back in their hockey bags. Imagine getting to practice or game or even tourney hours away to find that you left your game skates at home - ouch! Come to think of it, we have an extra set of gloves, helmet and skates for the yard rink (that's all they need). Cheaper stuff you can get at Play It Again. Makes life easier and avoids the above problem.

- Halogen or LED floodlights (work lights) on 8' 4x4 posts work great. 4 floodlights gives TONS of light on our 40x60 rink. I have them on a remote so can turn off with a button from inside the house.

- Nets behind the boards keep pucks in the rink and out of the neighbors yard. Truding through snow in skates to retrieve pucks sucks. You can get fancy sports netting or even the plastic construction netting. You aren't trying to keep pucks from hitting spectators in the face that are 5 feet away - you are just trying to keep the pucks in the rink.

As for synthetic ice - it's cool, but expensive. We had a few 4x8 sheets that we used for a shooting pad on our patio (got a deal on them). They work, but...an hour of skating absolutely eats your blades. Seriously, you'd have to sharpen after almost every use (prohibitive). You can do hockey stops and all other bits, but pushing off is hard. Lots of friction. One of the trainers here (Chris Chelios' brother Steve) uses it in his training facility. He feels that it helps you be faster on regular ice - almost like a batter using a weighted bat in the on deck circle.

So there ya go. Get in your yard and skate!

On and if you use a WHITE liner - not colored of white with black backing, but WHITE - your grass is fine. It's dormant and a white liner and ice is the same as snow. Snow doesn't hurt your grass. If anything, the grass where our rink is comes in fuller and healthier each spring.

Great stuff. We're in Byron (South West of Rockford) and this is the 3rd year we put in the rink. Our fill dates and first and last skates are about identical to what you posted. I flooded last night and am thinking that hopefully the kids (10,9 & 7) will be able to skate this weekend.

I've also been using iron sleek products. You're right about them being great guys! First year our rink was 25x40, and we're up to 30x70 this year. I've been using 2x12s (& 2x10s on the low side) but we got the yard graded and leveled this spring and would love to ditch at least some of the heavier lumber and in the process make taller "boards". Do you use outriggers to brace the plywood in addition to the 2x4s? Anything to make it a bit easier would be great.

Also, since our rink is at the back of our lot it's quite a hike. I've been pulling the kids out on the sled as regular skate guards always seem to fall off. Those skaboots however, look awesome! Thanks for the tip.

I completely agree with the sentimentality of putting up a backyard rink. There is nothing like watching the kids zip around on ice under a full moon in the dead of winter. It has really made the winters go by faster and makes the cold weather not only tolerable but something to look forward to! And as you mentioned the extra ice time is invaluable. The last two years both of my boys have made very noticeable jumps in skill over the January & February months. That alone is worth it!

 

[Backyard Hockey]

Great stuff. We're in Byron (South West of Rockford) and this is the 3rd year we put in the rink. Our fill dates and first and last skates are about identical to what you posted. I flooded last night and am thinking that hopefully the kids (10,9 & 7) will be able to skate this weekend.

I've also been using iron sleek products. You're right about them being great guys! First year our rink was 25x40, and we're up to 30x70 this year. I've been using 2x12s (& 2x10s on the low side) but we got the yard graded and leveled this spring and would love to ditch at least some of the heavier lumber and in the process make taller "boards". Do you use outriggers to brace the plywood in addition to the 2x4s? Anything to make it a bit easier would be great.

Also, since our rink is at the back of our lot it's quite a hike. I've been pulling the kids out on the sled as regular skate guards always seem to fall off. Those skaboots however, look awesome! Thanks for the tip.

I completely agree with the sentimentality of putting up a backyard rink. There is nothing like watching the kids zip around on ice under a full moon in the dead of winter. It has really made the winters go by faster and makes the cold weather not only tolerable but something to look forward to! And as you mentioned the extra ice time is invaluable. The last two years both of my boys have made very noticeable jumps in skill over the January & February months. That alone is worth it!

Yep, know Byron well. I'm in St Charles.

I filled yesterday - two water trucks! 11,000 gallons. 6" at shallowest, 19.5" at deepest. Skimmed over last night and hoping for nice freeze over the next two days. Predicting 3-6" of snow starting later Sat afternoon through Sunday. That will suck if the snow comes and the rink isn't able to support weight yet to shovel! My kids have a game on Sunday morning and hoping a couple of their teammates will be riding back with us to skate on Sunday afternoon after the game.

I did another thing - bought a cheapy ($40) inflatable 'rink' at Target. Garbage..but...I threw it out on my paver patio and filled it up. Froze over night. It's like 10'x13' so not really skatable - but...it's a sheet of ice. So, my kids will be out there after school using it as a shooting pad. 10x13 thin slab of ice and a goal with the net surround = shooting practice and 3 bar games until the big rink is ready!

My water guy said with this weather, they got a RUSH of calls to fill rinks. He was at my house at 1pm yesterday and said he had already done 3 rink fills and had 2 more after me and two packed days today and tomorrow with first deliveries at 7am!

I'm gonna have my yard leveled this summer (have to relocate sprinkler heads though).

 

[Backyard Hockey]

Oops - forgot to respond to your question. There are pictures of my rink on the Iron Sleek site. I send them to Mike every season.

My sides are 2x12's stacked on top of each other with the Iron Sleek brackets connecting them and lots of sleeks holding them in. The end boards are 4x8 sheets of plywood. I use a 12" x 4' plywood strip on the outside that spans the gap where two boards meet. I put an outrigger in that center area where the boards meet, as well as one at the half point of the 4' board.

So, if you had two 4x8 sheets side by side to make a 16' end board, it would have 5 total outriggers - 1 on each end, one in the center where the to sheets meet and one in each board at the half or 4' mark. Basically this means I have an outrigger every 4' on the ends boards. And then I 'wrap' the side of the end boards with a 1/2 sheet of plywood (4x4) and put on outrigger on that. Doesn't need much there as it's supported by the 2x12s.

On my 'deep' side wall, I use a series of short (20" pieces of 2x4) outriggers screwed into the 2x12 to support the outward pressure (every 4' again). There's a LOT of water there. Haven't had any issues over the years.

I've got EVERY board labeled with stenciled letters and drew up a schematic that I scanned and keep in my computer and I stake out the first corner starting point. When I pull the boards out every season, rink construction goes SOOO much smoother - the rink is in the EXACT same spot each season and every board is in the same place as last time.

 

[jw2]

Had a big storm yesterday, knocked a bunch of leaves, pine needles a 2 pine cones into "water"... somehow got 3" of ice over night... everything frozen. Kinda mad about that. Not a great start. Luckily it's just for 2 little beginners

 

[jorbjorb]

Man a back yard rink would be a dream. Too bad I live in a condo. Luckily I live in Winnipeg where rinks are everywhere but Having your own sheet to play on would be great. Definitely something I will keep in mind when picking out my next place.

 

[Pez68]

Had a big storm yesterday, knocked a bunch of leaves, pine needles a 2 pine cones into "water"... somehow got 3" of ice over night... everything frozen. Kinda mad about that. Not a great start. Luckily it's just for 2 little beginners

This winter has been pretty bad for that. Seems the nice weather kept leaves on the trees quite late this year. I've had leaves and the little whirly things from the maple trees falling on the ice all winter long. Quite annoying. Some are just frozen down a few inches below the surface. Wasn't going to dig them out, so just layered over them.

 

[STC]

This winter has been pretty bad for that. Seems the nice weather kept leaves on the trees quite late this year. I've had leaves and the little whirly things from the maple trees falling on the ice all winter long. Quite annoying. Some are just frozen down a few inches below the surface. Wasn't going to dig them out, so just layered over them.

Pez, do you freeze the above ground pool?