Hi from Baie-Comeau, Quebec!

[yannickg]

Hi,

it's my first time building a serious rink this year, the last three years we had an ice slab without boards but it was so fun I decided to build something this year.

282905_10151621070067282_561044285_n.jpg (182.08 KiB) Viewed 10864 times

I'll be posting more pictures soon.

By the way, this site helped me a lot come up with ideas, so thanks!

[Joe]

Awesome, welcome! The rink looks amazing, nice work! Only comment I'd have is to use something to fill the gaps between the bottoms of the board and the ground (assuming you're using a liner).

[yannickg]

I plan to fill the gaps with packed snow. Do you think it's enough?

I also plan to flood my liner gradually, let it freeze and add another layer the next day.

[Joe]

I'd use wood or some other hard material (even carpet remnants might work). Reason being is the water you're going to put in there will be warmer than the snow, and it may melt it. Also, if we get a mid-season thaw, you lose your liner containment at the base of your boards. You want your rink to act like an above-ground swimming pool...and there's no way anyone would ever build one of those with the liner exposed at the base. It's a gorgeous rink, but if you let your liner bulge under the boards like that, there may not be any water/ice in it.

We're a big "fill all at once" community. There's really no good reason to do otherwise. If you put in an inch and then let it freeze, the next day when you go back and drop your hose in it's immediately going to bore a hole in your ice and start filling your liner from underneath the slab. Then the slab becomes this giant floating object with sharp edges. As you continue to fill, it will push the ice slab up and as it moves, it could puncture your liner.

I've been building rink since 08 (others here much longer), and it's so much easier to just dump your water in all at once, and if you time it right, you're skating in 3-4 days. A lot of people think you can just add layers on top of the ice, but the new water just will not sit nicely on top of your day-old ice...it either bores a hole in the ice or seeps under it around the edges. Don't risk it...dump the water all at once.

[yannickg]

God! Thanks for those tips, I'm convinced.

Will patch those holes ASAP!

Thanks again

[corbyville]

I dont see any angle braces?
Think the straight stakes you have will support the weight?
Im no expert but thought i throw it out there.

[Joe]

Looks like there are some pieces of rebar in there. What water depths are you expecting?

[yannickg]

yes there are rebars supporting to boards, there's at least 12" in the ground.

I'm guessing the water should reach about 3 to 4 inches above the bottom of the first 2x10.

[pnltbox20]

For patching the gaps under boards last year I used bags of topsoil. I used the cheap bags at around a $1 a bag. You can either use the soil the next spring to patch bare spots in the lawn or stack it up to use again the next rink season.