Check out the temperature swing they are forecasting in Ottawa next week - a 30 degree shift. I'm still holding out hope that I am skating for 3 more days. *fingers crossed*

50 km/hr winds with gusts up to 80 km/hr (or 31 mph and ~50mph for my friends south of the 49th parallel) have reeked havoc on the ice today. I've gone out several times already today to pick up leaves, seeds, twigs and branches - both small and large. They are still calling for a low of -9'C tonigh...

Awoke this morning to a frozen rink however, it looked like a bloody minefield. There had to have been over 100 of those anthill type bumps. Played my league game this morning and flooded from 1-3pm trying to build it up closer to the top of the bumps. Let it freeze for an hour and got my scraper ou...

Yup - I feel that is the general consensus for most of us on this forum. Unfortunately this season is probably going to go down as one of the most unforgettable, simply because of the crappy weather we had to put up with from the very beginning - whether it was the warm weather, late freezes or the ...

<shakes fist at rinkratjoey>

I know one thing - I don't lose as many pucks as I used to when I didn't have boards. :-)

At .89c a piece, I believe my tally of pucks picked up in my yard after last season was well over 100 so I'm saving at least $100/season. :)

two seasons later ive still got 8 of my first dozen with another dozen unopened on backup :) and theres a puck on my roof too....one of these days ill pull out the ladder and grab it haha. but it is a nice conversation piece. plus i have no pond! Yup, two seasons ago my neighbour was on his roof ch...

Hey Brian, First of all, congratulations on moving out of Ottawa! (By the way, 8 acres?! I'm jealous already.) Second of all, congratulations on deciding to build a backyard rink and also for finding the forums here. It's a great little community here that Joe created and everyone seems more than wi...

My kick boards are 1/4" plywood cut into 1' strips. In previous years, I have drilled through the liner at the top of the boards, with the bottom secured behind the ice (wedged between the ice and the boards). This year, I actually folded my tarp behind itself and avoided putting holes through ...

The problem isn't splitting, it's the damn kinking of the cheap hoses. My hose is always stored in the basement so it never has a chance to freeze. I think the only time one of my hoses came close to splitting was in July when I left the water on but the hose sitting outside in the direct sun - that...