Hey everyone just want to say thanks for this site! Joe you've done a great job helping people all over to build there rink, also thanks to all the contributors. This is my first attempt at a rink I live in southern Ontario around the Hamilton region. I have a 50' X 100' backyard, and am doing a 28'X48' rink. I did the line and level check for slope and my high point is about 6", i do have some bumpy spots between the corners where it raises and lowers but my boards are 12" so they should suffice. I had a question in regards to laying the liner, I got a 30X50' industrial tarp online for 100 bucks, its 5 mil thick so maybe I can use it again???
Im not doing it till its cold but I want to put my boards up now. How much of a overhang should I allow for the tarp over the boards? Also is there a different way to make sure it stays attached without driving staples in? Anyways thanks for the feedback guys! Not only are my little girls thrilled (3 & 6) but im excited to get a couple shinny games in lol.
All the Best,

Ryan
Oh and Hopefully we get the NHL season back! Noticed some Senators fans so just wanted to say.....

GO LEAFS GO! hahahahaha

Hey Ryan, welcome to the site and glad you found it helpful.

I always suggest not reusing a liner. Just factor it into your yearly rink budget and sleep soundly knowing it won't break on fill day in year two.

There's no general rule for overhang, at least that I've heard. And honestly, I know veteran rinkbuilders who have full plywood on their deep end and the liner doesn't even make it up over the boards. So long as the liner is higher than the water level you should be good. All that said, when I design rinks for my Elite Rinks customers, I always allow for a couple feet of overhang.

As for attaching, I used to use inexpensive plastic spring clamps from the big box stores. Now that I'm a Nicerink distributor I use their bumper caps, which are inexpensive, good looking, and provide a way to keep the liner in place and the top of the boards soft.