Postby Joe » Mon Oct 01, 2012 8:46 pm
Hey Bob, welcome to the forums!
I just took a look at that link, and honestly, I have no idea how people can skate on that. Some questions I have:
-They used 4" PVC, meaning that even given LASER-FLAT ground (which does not exist), they're getting a max of 4" of ice. 4" is just fine, but to my point, flat ground does not exist, so part of their rink has less than 4" of ice. Not ideal.
-Did I mention flat ground doesn't exist? I build my rink on a tennis court, which one would imagine is flat. But yet along my 56' long side, I have about a 6" slope. You know what happens when you have a 6" slope and you use 4" PVC? It's not pretty, I can tell you that much.
-PVC will crack if you hit it with a puck, or a stick, or a snowblower.
-They have a total price tag of $300 for their rink, and it uses inferior parts. We have a price tag of $250 for one of our most-visited posts, and it gives you up to 12" of board height (or enough for about 8" of slope).
My suggestion? Don't build a PVC rink. You'll see if you read the site that I very rarely "prescribe" solutions because every yard is different and thus, every rink is different. But I will shoot down ideas I don't necessarily believe in, and this is one of them. A rink with 4" PVC will work on about 1% of yards, tops.
Take a stroll through our how-to posts and start by finding your slope. Once you have that, the basic design of our "build a rink for $250" post will make more sense, and you'll know if 12" boards are high enough. And if you have any questions along the way, don't hesitate to ask!
I'm Joe from Backyard-Hockey.com and EliteRinks.com.
Please visit your "User Control Panel" and update your location, rink dimensions, and materials used. It helps us when giving advice.
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