Just put in first backyard rink. Everything went well except for not being as level as I thought. My question is we had 3 days of temps in the single numbers, and ice is not totally frozen. I packed snow against the boards for extra support, but I am wondering if this is acting as insulation from the cold. What I have now is a giant floating ice cube. Any advise would be helpful.

Congrats on the first build. A few questions:

-You say it wasn't as level as you thought (common first-year issue), but are your boards high enough to contain all the water?

-How deep is your water at each end?

-What did you use for board/bracing material?

Snow against the boards really won't help with support, as the water pressure inside the boards is much stronger than any snowbank, but I can't see it really insulating from the outside either. Three days of temps in the single digits SHOULD be enough to freeze most of your ice, but understand that depending on your depth, you may never freeze through to the ground. Many of us skate on floating slabs, which is fine as long as the water doesn't seep up around the sides. Is it able to support your weight yet?

Thanks Joe, The boards are supporting the water fine and am using 1x8 sheathing, (it was free). Water is 2 inches on shallow end and 8 at high end. It supports my weight but water was seeping up on the sides. Looks like the shallow end froze solid and the deep end about 4 inches. I have plenty of bracing every 2 feet. Rink is 16x24.