How to Build your own Ice Rink

If you are an avid hockey fan, curler or figure skater, try building your own ice rink in your backyard. Ice rinks provide hours of outdoor entertainment for the whole family and can even benefit your entire neighborhood, if you allow them access to your rink.

Things You'll Need

  • Tarps
  • Plywood sheets
  • Deck screws
  • 2-by-4-foot stakes
  • Hose
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Instructions

    • 1

      Design the rink and decide where on your property the rink is to be placed. In order to have the best rink possible, you should choose a location on your yard that is large enough to accommodate your rink and is flat. Sloped or bumpy surfaces are not suitable for a skating rink.

    • 2

      Construct rink boards if they are part of your design. Boards are not necessary for a do-it-yourself rink but they can make your rink look more professional. To make rink boards you will need to create a perimeter around the rink using sheets of plywood that are nailed together with deck screws.

    • 3

      Clear a larger area than is to be used for your rink, and lay the boards around the perimeter of the rink. Assemble the pieces of plywood together by nailing smaller sheets of plywood over top of the seams. Stake posts into the ground outside the boards to keep the boards from falling over.

    • 4

      Lay down a tarp (or several tarps depending on the size of your rink) onto the area you have chosen for your rink. This will act as a liner for your rink and will save you a lot of maintenance in the long run. If you go through a warm spell and the ice melts a bit, the tarp will trap water so that it doesn't seep into the ground --- that way, when it freezes again, the water will turn back into ice and your rink will be salvaged.

    • 5

      Spray water over the entire surface of your tarp so that it pools evenly. If you're working on a cold night it should begin to freeze right away. Repeat this process over a couple cold nights until you have a good, even layer of ice. Don't skate on the rink until the ice has hardened or you will damage the surface before it has set.