Hi all. My kids are 3, 6, and 13. My 13yo daughter figure skates and she told me last week that she thinks I should build a rink in the back yard. I've got the other two in skating lessons/hockey so I figured they'd enjoy it too. I asked a few friends who have done this before and they all tried to ...

I got a late start so I just filled the rink a couple days ago. Yesterday was too warm for it to freeze but last night the top inch or so froze. The problem is that despite making sure there were no leaves, a gust of wind must have blown in a few after I went to bed. So I woke up this morning to lea...

Thanks for all your replies! I'll be picking up a scraper along with some other items I've decided are necessary (rubber gloves, for example... I'm such a girl). I'm surprised you guys don't freak about leaves. I remember playing pond hockey as a kid and the leaves would cause the ice to melt above ...

The leaves are getting on my nerves. We just thawed out and refroze over the last couple days and a bunch of leaves got in the water. I could get most of them around the edges but with only partial ice I couldn't walk out into the middle. Somebody have a good design for a cover? It would have to be ...

My rink is pretty small so pictures would not be very impressive. But I wanted to share how happy it's making me. We've had great skating weather lately, my ice looks great (except the leaves I keep bitching about but I'll get over it), and my 3 year old can't get enough. I've got lights up so we ca...

ditto!! everything you just said. I just shoveled mine off by hand. I made a lot of huge slushy footprints. I tried to smooth them out as best I could with the shovel and then did a very thick coat of hot water. We're supposed to have highs above freezing most of the week, and evenings below freezin...

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Stop! I'm not ready for the "melt" word. [plugging ears and humming until this talk is over]

Danny, the leaves bug me too. I'm rigging up a net this year to keep them out. It might be a total failure and waste of time but if it works out I'll post some pictures.

really? 60 degrees on Christmas eve in New England?
I haven't even put the liner in yet because it hasn't been cold enough. Patience....

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