Conference 7.286::home_work

    SKATING RINK HELP
    
    DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE OR HELPFUL HINTS ON BUILDING A BACKYARD
    SKATING RINK?  TIPS ON FLOODING, SMOOTH ICE SURFACE, ETC?
    
    THANKS,
    
    KATHI
    
    
    

    I have some experience with this.  First...what size is your rink??
    
    First...find a level area...sand or gravel is best...grass is the
    not so good.  Use boards staked in the ground or timbers to outline
    the rink.
    
    Now, if it is small enough, line the rink with plastic...this will
    allow you better control over getting the base ice started.  If
    it is larger than the largest plastic you have you simply start
    building the ice from the ground up.  Get the hose and start watering.
    Remember that the temperature has to be below freezing.  The best
    time to start is in the evening....this gives the ice all night
    to set up.
    
    Don't try to do the full thickness of the ice all at one shot. 
    It will go faster if you put down a layer of ice each night.
    
    After the rink is going the best way to keep it smooth is simply
    to flood it again....I am assuming here that you don't have easy
    access to a ZAMBONI machine!!!!!
    
    Remember that while a sunny spot is nice a shady spot will extend
    the skating season....however, don't put it under any pine trees
    the needles cause a lot of sudden stops.
    
    Ric

    I do remember my Dad buiding a rink for us one year (we got skates
    for Christams) and the way he did it went something like this. After
    a snow, he made a snow "wall" around the to-be-rink area about 8
    inches high. We then "pressed" down the snow inside the rink be
    using the backs of shovels and our little feet. It was like a grape
    stomping party. We then flodded as suggested in the previous note.
    The rink was probably about 20 x 20 feet. This would take a long
    time if you are planning something much bigger. But the trick, I
    think, was to have the base of snow and the "wall" let us know where
    to shovel after subsequent snows. It was a fun winter that year!!!
    Good luck!!! (With this method you don't have to stake your lawn,
    if you care about it that much.)

    Ah - yes.  I've done a few.  And here are a few hints I've learned
    the hard way.
    
    - find the most level area possible.  Sounds real simple, but is
      critical in building the base and maximizing the life of the rink.
    - keep the snow off of the area until the ground freezes.  This
      is a subtle one.  I learned this by pouring much much water into
      the ground to help it set up.
    - use plastic to also also prevent much much water from going into
      the ground.  Overlap the seems and tape if possible.  Also try
      to build the base (first floodings) on the 'top' sheet first
    - build the base a little at a time.  This also goes for subsequent
      floodings.  I used to go out twice a night.  Once around 7 and
      then a couple of hours later.  Two light floodings worked much
      better than one dowsing.  
    - Use the sprinkler if you don't feel like standing outside with
      the spray gun.  Water running from just the end of the hose will
      bore a hole in your ice surface.  With the sprinkler you can spend
      minimum time outdoors and get a nice thin layer.  (Notice how
      little water a Zamboni puts down when it refinishes a rink.)
    - remove leaves and debris before flooding.  Sounds obvious but
      a couple of years back I figured it was easier just to flood them
      under.  Worked ok until the afternoon sun hit them and then they
      became little solar collectors and melted the surface above -
      real tough when you tried to skate over them.
    
    good luck - also, make it as big as possible.  You'll never regret
    a larger surface AFTER the base is built.  
    
    Stan