Steve in Minne!

[ah1fgunner]

Hi guys, Steve from Minneapolis here. Started playing hockey as a 38 year old, when my 4 year old son asked me to "show" him. He's 8 now and regularly "shows" me! We had our rink on the lake for the past few years and it worked our great. This year, the city had to pump the lake down to eliminate a species of aquatic plant. Consequently, the level is too low in my bay, so this year it's going in the yard. I have never tried a yard rink and this one will be a learning expirience I am sure. My rink is 25 X 50 with 2 foot side boards. Diagonally across the rink, I have a 24 inch drop in grade and this is why I think I'm in for a learning curve. I will post up pics as I progress, but with unseasonably warm temps here, ice making is going slow! I look forward to picking your brains and sharing my successes with you as well.

[Joe]

Welcome Steve! Doing is the best way to learn, so good for you giving it a shot.

A 24" slope is a bit risky with 24" boards. You'll have water cresting over your deep end with only a thin layer at your top end, and a thin layer may not hold your weight. Doesn't sound like you've filled yet, so what I'd suggest is getting some taller boards (ie, rip a 4x8 piece of plywood into 4'x32" strips) and slip them inside your deep end boards before you put the liner down. This will give you some extra height so you don't have the overflow issue. I built my first-ever rink with 12" boards and ended up having to get some 2' boards for the same reason.

Good luck and post your questions in the rinkbuilding forum - we're here to help!

[ah1fgunner]

Hi Joe, Thanks for the tips. I already leveled the boards with a laser and cut shim panels to consume the difference from the bottom to the ground. I am still in the process of bracing the boards and then will follow-up with the liner install. Would you suggest freezing my 24" low spot in with a couple of floodings, letting them freeze completely before flooding again or all at once? I fear that if I do it all at once, the ice will take longer to completely freeze that 24" slab. What do you think?

[Joe]

The problem is not the contour of the bottom of the boards and the ground, but the height of the top. If you want 4" of ice at a minimum in your highest area (and you do), with a 24" slope, that means the water will need to be at 28" in your deep corner. If your boards are only 24" high, what will happen is the water will overflow onto the ground outside your rink with hardly any in your high area. A very common, but potentially rink-ruining issue. You need to increase the height of your deep end boards to accommodate the extra water height you'll need.

As for the layers vs all at once....go all at once. It will freeze from the top down and it's not uncommon to skate on a floating slab. Ever skate on a pond or lake? They freeze from the top down too and it doesn't affect their ability to hold weight once it gets cold enough.

[ah1fgunner]

I get that Joe! The tops of my boards are laser leveled if they over-overflow, they will all over flow. In other words, I have already completed what you are suggesting. Someone told me that unless we get good cold temps, Ie: less than 10 degrees, that the layering is the way to go. If you say that it's no difference, I think I will fill all at once. I'll keep you posted, hopefully we'll start filling on Sunday night after our next 40 degree day! Ugh!! Thanks for the info...

[Joe]