Bob here...
I've made several newbie posts in other sections of the forum and gotten great input and advice from a bunch of you already. Thanks a million.
This season marks my first attempt at rink building. We live in the city and have the typical tiny Minneapolis backyard. The landscaping in the back futher restricts the space for a rink, but I managed to get a 12' x 37' setup in place. Plenty of room for our 3 year old daughter to learn to skare and for our 6 year old son to play some 1 x1 against the ol' man. I encountered a few bumps in the road since floding, but now we are close to a first skate. This weekend perhaps...
Late last night, a mini-flood to repair some serious slush and shovel damge left me with an entirely flat and beautiful surface. I brought a beer outside, turned out the lights, and just stood by this little sheet of ice, silent, and felt like a little kid on Christmas morning for about 20 minutes. If any neighbors were watching they surely thought I was mad.
We haven't even sklated yet, and I already have my eyes and brain working out a way to increase our surface area next year. Let's just say it involves more than 4 board-walls and would make the rink quite an interesting shape. It also involves going around a tree - a permanent defender as someone else put it.
Good times!
-Bob in Minneapolis