How to build your own ice rink at the backyard?

Question

I need an easy, step by step explanation of how to make an ice rink or place where we can ice skate in our backyard, without buying anything; eg. loggs, ice rink kit...
can u help me?
thanx

Answer 1

Go to www.backyardrink.com
They should have what you need.
Good luck.

Answer 2

You'll need the following:
- A string of days with below freezing temperatures.
- A snow covered flat area in your yard
- Water
- Patience

First, trample down and pack the snow in the area you want to fill. Build up banks around the edges of the "rink" so when you fill it, water does not flow out.

Second, spray down the area with a smal amount of water so that the snow gets wet but you are not ponding water in any places. Do this in the evening about 6-7pm and let sit overnight.

Next, repeat the previous step of adding water to the rink adding a little more each time you fill. The first few days are t turn your snow form to ice to hold the water.

Finally, after a few days of spraying things down and refilling, you can fill a bit more in the form but I would not go over a ratio of 20-25% water to 75-80% ice. This will insure that the existing ice you have built up does not all melt when applying more water.

You should expect the process to take about 7 days until you have something you can stand on and then perhaps another few to get skateable ice that you can build upon.

If you are impatient and the temps are cold enough, apply less water more times at night (ex. 5pm, 11pm, 7am)

For a better results, plastic sheeting and duct tape can be employed with wood forms to hold the water while it freezes. This however would add cost to the equation.

Answer 3

Without some kind of kit, there is no way to do it very well. If you are not willing to spend some money, then all you can do is spray the yard with water and hope for the best. If you are really lucky, you'll get a really lumpy and horrible ice surface... but you'll have something. You can try digging up your yard and making a pool, but even that might not work so well.

That said, if you'll take the time (and yes, a little money), the link below will explain one way to go about it. Good luck!

Answer 4

My brothe has done this every year for the past 5 years...

you NEED to have an absolutely flat surface. it MUST be flat.

get some heavyweight plastic from Lowe's or Home Depot. figure out how big an area you want, and get enough sheets to cover the area. lay them flat on the grass. if there is snow, you'll need to clear underneath the plastic. you need it flat, i can't stress that enough.

if you have snow fall, you can use snow banks as "Boards", but you'll certainly need some sort of border around the measured off area, to keep the water from running away. 4x4's are preferable. just set one around the endges of the plastic.

you don't need a lot of water. run your hose, and preferably use a sprayer. put a thin coating of water over the plastic. let it set. let it get hard. then do another one. and another one. and another one...you get the idea. keep adding layers of water (evenly dispersed across the entire surface) and keep letting them freeze, until you get a good, solid think layer of ice (at least an inch). you'll need to to be really cold. its best to "Flood" the rink at night. it freezes faster.

good luck, have fun! we'll be skating on ours this weekend.

Answer 5

it really depends where you live i guess... if your in cali, then good luck lol

when i was 14-16 i had one in my back yard and all we did was have a bulldozer come in and dig a hole like 2 feet deep and level it the size we wanted, then we filled it with water come winter it froze if you want to get fancy you can always have somthing custom made with a refrigeration system and all but that would be REALLY expensive youd have to get a huge compressor (most likly cost close to 20 grand just for compressor) and yeah it just goes up from there the amount of copper tubing youd need would be insane too and i know i canada 5/8" copper tubing is close to a buck a foot and you would have to space it a MAXIMUM of 10" apart and run the entire lenght of the rink then there is insulation and wow... big job is for sure...maybe i'll have one when i am rich... muhaha

Answer 6

listen it cant be easy.--but this might work ok.--you need very very level ground ----water seeks it own level.--you need to get out there and spray water from a hose so it freezes to the ground.--let it freeze so the next time in an hour or so you spray again.--now if the water runs out in one direction the ground isnt level so stop it with soemthing.--it wont matter much though it wont look nice is all.--well anyway assuming u live in frigid area about 20 coats of water may make a suitable rink.--oh grass on that area is bad.--if its still there.--u need to get rid of it.--beacuse that wont make a solid base it will crack a lot.

Answer 7

Too late now if you don't have anything to put around the edges to keep the water in. In the fall you should plan where you want it and pile up dirt around it to make the edge. Make it a couple of inches tall. You should also even the ground out as best you can. Keep it in mind for next year! Sorry :(

Answer 8

when i was a kid, the neighborhood fire house would build a skating pond by leveling an empty field and building a 1 foot berm around it, and when the weather got real cold, flood it and in two days all the kids would be skating on it.