Tips on Building a Backyard Ice Rink

A backyard ice rink can be a fantastic winter addition to a lawn with plenty of flat space. While it is not the cheapest endeavor, with a 20' by 40' rink running roughly $335, the hours of convenient fun that can be had by having your own rink may be worth the expense.

  1. Planning Your Rink

    • Find a suitable place on your property to set-up the rink. There is no minimum or maximum size, but be sure there is plenty of skating room for everyone that will be using it. If the rink will primarily be for one or two skaters at a time, a small swatch is acceptable. But if you have a large flat space, a larger rink is recommended so that collisions can be avoided if you want to put more skaters on at a time.

      Another important consideration is what type of skating will be taking place. If the rink will only be used for figure skating, there is no need for extended walls. If, however, you will be using your rink for ice hockey, you will want to have boards several feet high to prevent pucks from constantly getting away. A high wall around the entire rink is ideal, but you can save money by only building high walls along the ends behind the goal, or goals. Like with figure skating, the size of your hockey game will also dictate the size of your rink. A bigger game will be aided by a full rink with two goals. Smaller games, like 3-on-3, can be played on a smaller rink with only one net.

    Building Your Rink

    • Once you're comfortable with the dimensions, you are ready to begin purchasing your parts and constructing your rink. Home ice rink companies, such as NiceRink or RinkRake, should have all the parts you'll need. Those include brackets that should be spaced every four feet around the perimeter, end boards long enough to complete the diameter of your ring, and an ice liner that is 4 feet longer than your required length and width. Plywood sheets make great endboards for hockey rinks. To create your rink, you must set up the endboards, anchored by the brackets, in your desired shape, then lay the liner over it. The boards will come with caps which will anchor the liner in place. Once the entire rink is built, you can fill it with water and leave it to freeze.