Backyard ice rink

How To Build A Backyard Ice Rink

In the winter time there are plenty of outdoor activities that are fun to do and possible without going to far from your home and one of those is building a backyard ice rink. Having your kids play in the backyard is much safer then letting them go off to explore in the woods when it is below freezing outside. With a outdoor ice rink you also won’t have to worry about anyone falling through the ice into freezing water either. You also won’t have to worry about anyone getting hurt while their sledding or tubing. Building this will not damage your lawn either.

How to build your outdoor ice skating rink

To build your outdoor ice rink you will need the following, snow, wooden boards or pvc pipe, and water. To start you will want to lay down a 1 inch thick blanket of snow around the area you plan on building it. This will act as a cushion between the grass underneath and the ice that will be on top. Now you will use the wooden boards or pvc pipes to create a border around the are the rink will be built. Make sure to leave about a 3 inches of free space to fill with water. You will need 3 inches to hold an average adult so adjust accordingly. Next you will want to lightly spray the area with a coat of water and let it freeze. This will also act as a cushion between the grass and layer of ice that will go above it. You can also use a plastic tarp or sheet to be a cushion too. Now that everything is ready you can begin to fill the rink up with water. Make sure to use cold water for this part. TO have the ice freeze over you will need the temperature to be at least freezing or below freezing. Below freezing is recommended as it will freeze faster so that you are looking at about three consecutive days of 20 degrees. If there are any cracks or breaks in the ice after freezing then simply fill them up with slushy snow or fill the holes with water. Packing them with slush is recommended as you will not have to wait another three days for the ice to freeze over again.

Things you can do on your backyard ice rink

Now that you have your freshly frozen ice rink in your backyard what can you do with it. Some of the simple activities you can do outside on it are ice skating, ice hockey, sledding, racing, and whatever else you can think of. Ice skating is a great way to pass time while keeping active during the winter. Hockey is also a great way to stay active during winter while also beneficial if your kids play the sport in school. Sledding is a great pass time especially for younger children who can’t skate or infants that are enjoying their first winter. All these activities are great for families to do together during the cold months.

Disassembling your ice rink

Taking apart your ice rink is as easy as it was to put it together. First you will want to wait until the ice starts melting. Try to do whatever you can to get the ice to melt faster. This can be accomplished by spreading out rock salt on the surface of the ice, spreading dark materials on the ice such as charcoal and milorganite, bleach, and hot water can all remove ice quickly. The next step is to remove the borders of the rink. This would be the wooden boards, piping, and snow banks. These need to be removed so the ice has space to melt and run off to avoid flooding.

So now that you know what you can do with your backyard ice rink, you can go out today and make one. The materials can be purchased from a home construction store like Lowe’s or Home Depot. An outdoor ice rink is also more cost efficient then having to get everyone ready to go out to a public rink, as well as safer then driving through a snowstorm.