Hello from Detroit

[tflutur]

Hi everyone. Greetings from Detroit. Just wanted to thank all of you for the advice I found on this forum. I filled my ice-n-go kit rink for the first time 2 days before our recent snowstorm and had 6 inches of snow over 1/2" of ice... not good.
I managed to find you all and feel much better about things now that I have the rink back under control. (and hot water from the house)
When the dust settles and I get it finished I will provide my opinion of the ice-n-go kit. So far it seems to be a pretty simple but effective way of building a rink, but this is coming from a guy who used to make rinks without a liner, so I guess I have low standards.
Anyhow, thanks again. May you all have a cold, rain-free winter.
-Tim

[Joe]

Hi Tim! I've been building rinks since 2007 (including a couple dozen for customers these last two years), and you might be the first person I've ever met that has had a (so-far) successful run with an Ice N Go kit. Don't take that the wrong way - I'm happy for you. I just have my doubts about the materials, and have heard numerous stories about the rinks simply not working. And two of my customers are former ING users who had issues, then swore off backyard rinks for several years before contacting me, which sucks me for me to hear. I've always wanted to order a kit and install it myself, but haven't gotten around to it. Please keep us posted on how it works out and best of luck!

[tflutur]

Thanks Joe.
The ING kit out of the box is probably only usable as-is on a tennis court or perfectly level surface. Even though the spot I chose was quite level I noticed very quickly when I was filling it that the blocks provided to level it are useless. I ended up having to raise the whole frame using logs and wood shims I cut.
I still have a good 2" to fill in and hopefully will have thick enough ice in a couple trouble spots once I finish flooding.
In case 2" isn't enough I piled and compacted snow all around the frame and hosed it down in order to contain any water I might need to add that wouldn't fit in the kit.
So yeah, the thing works for now, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a perfectly flat area or don't want to get creative.
I plan on building a permanent fixture next season when I buy a house, but for now my $140 ice-n-go kit from craigslist is doing the trick while I'm renting. I will post another pic when it's all done.
Hoping to replace the winter classic we lost in Detroit with a new years day game, so I'll post another pic if we can make it happen.
Take Care,
-Tim