How to Build a Portable Ice Hockey Rink

Putting an ice hockey rink in your backyard is a large undertaking for the typical homeowner, but one that can be rewarding. You may have children that love to play the game. You may love to play it yourself. Putting up an ice hockey rink in your backyard should be a labor of love just as it was for Walter Gretzky, who put up a portable hockey rink in his backyard for his son Wayne.

Things You'll Need

  • Plastic line (40 feet by 100 feet)
  • Plywood (14 4-foot-by-8-foot sheets; 30 wooden boards 2 inches thick by 4 inches wide by 10 feet long)
  • Brackets
  • Screws
  • Bolts
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Instructions

    • 1

      Find the flattest part of your lawn to put your hockey rink. Most homeowners don't have a completely flat backyard and that's still workable. You will have to flood the deeper areas of your lawn with a bit more water than the shallow parts.

    • 2

      Plan out a rink that should be about 60 feet by 35 feet. You will need to use your plywood to make boards that stand up, but before you put up the boards, put up brackets that allow your boards to stand up. Brackets should go up every 10 feet. You can get the brackets at any home-supply store or a large hardware store.

    • 3

      Put out the boards against the brackets. Attach the boards with screws and bolts until the boards stand up tall and tight.

    • 4

      Put down a liner and flood your hockey rink. Depending on the temperature, your arena will take anywhere from six hours to two days to freeze. (You need to have a temperature well under 32 degrees Fahrenheit to consider a backyard hockey rink. Temperatures under 10 degrees Fahrenheit will freeze the water in a matter of hours.) You can have water trucked in by a swimming pool contractor and flood it all at once, or you can flood it with a hose by letting the water run two to three hours at a time on three consecutive days. This can be an expensive proposition ($500 or more to get water brought in; almost as much from your own tap, depending on your water rates). You need 2 inches of water to make a solid skating surface that will not crack.

    • 5

      Clear the ice with brushes when the snow starts to come down. It may look romantic, but your skating and hockey playing will not go as well when snow accumulates. Use two large push brooms (24 inches wide) to clear the snow effectively.

    • 6

      Put down the hockey nets at either end of the ice. You are now ready to skate.