Build An Ice Rink. Follow these 10 easy steps to making your own backyard rink now. Soon you and your family will be spending countless hours on the ice. 1. Find an area of your yard or property that is fairly level and then wait for the first substantial snowfall. 2. After the snowfall, mark your out rink. A standard North American rink is 200' long and 85' wide, with the corners rounded in the arc of a circle with a radius of 28'. Chances are you will not have that much space, so scale the rink according to the amount of land you do have. Once you make your measurements, pack the snow around the radius of your ring so that it conforms to the shape of a traditional hockey rink. You can create the flat surface by stomping the snow until it is flat and then “smoothing” out the surface with the thin side of a sheet of plywood or a two-by-four to finish the surface on which your ice will sit. If you don't want rounded corners then you can square them off. 3. Now that you have the basic shape, create the side “boards” of the rink using snow. Build your snow banks high enough so that, when someone is checked, he is buffered and not thrown out of the rink. You can also leave two spaces on opposite sides for people to enter and or exit the rink. 4. The first thing you need is ice. Starting early in the morning, begin to hose the flat surface and build your layers. This will take hours, so bundle up and fill you travel mug with a hot beverage. 5. Once the first layer of ice is done, it is time to make your lines if you want any. Paint your lines with a water based paint. You can use the powder additive you find at most dollar style stores. Let them dry. 6. Now it's time to paint your face-off spots. You will need to create or purchase a tool that will allow you to paint the face-off circles. Once crude-but-effective way is to take a spike with a rope attached and, measuring off the center point of the rink, drive the spike into the ice. Attach your brush to a pole and fasten the rope to the pole. Using this simple device, you can paint the circumference of each face-off circle. Once this is done, let the paint dry. 7. Now make your goal creases. Put your hockey net where you want it and then mark them out to the size you wish and paint them. Let them dry. 8. If you are feeling ambitious, you can paint a logo at center ice. Either find or create a stencil and use your ice paint to make the logo you desire. Once completed, let dry. 9. Once the paint is dry, you're back to adding layers of ice. Ice the rink until it is thick enough that, although you can see the markings, you will not gouge them during play. This will take time and at least four layers of flooding. 10. After adding the extra layers, then add 2 more layers using hot water to get a better more smooth surface.
Hang up some christmas lights or temporary flood lights to increase visibility. Invite friends over and have an open fire as well to make marsh mellows or smores and to have a warm up area. |
