Backyard Ice Rinks

The cold of our winter has finally migrated elsewhere and spring has finally arrived!
Usually this would be great news for most people but to our family and for other backyard ice rink lovers such as us, this news means we had to watch our ice thaw out and melt! We now have to disassemble our backyard rink and nothing saddens us most!

Our family truly looks forward to putting up the rink when the temperature drops dramatically in the late fall and we are really don't look forward to the end of the winter season. Once again, this past winter season our family had lots of fun playing outdoors on our backyard ice rink. We spent many pleasurable hours skating and playing backyard hockey with our neighbors, friends and other members of our family. That is all over now!

...BUT, there is always light at the end of a tunnel and we are now planning on our rink for next season. Every year, I make a little (or big) addition to our rink that surprises our kids and makes it more fun for everyone. Last year, I added ice paint and team logos to our ice surface making it resemble like an NHL rink surface! The year before, I added extra lights to better illuminate the backyard ice rink. Next season, I am planning to make my rink bigger...

For those wanting to build your own backyard rink, now would be the perfect time to start planning. There are many things to consider and many questions to answer if you want to successfully build your own rink.
    * What size will my rink be? What shape will it have?
    * Will I use a plastic rink liner to make ice? OR will I just pack snow to make ice (if you don't mind offering a time and labor to make ice and for maintenance)?
    * Will I need boards? What materials will I need?
    * Do I have a limited budget? Will I build my rink myself?
    * Do I have a larger budget and someone else will build my ice rink? Will Mother Nature freeze the ice or will my rink be refrigerated?
    * Is my backyard too sloped and do I have to level it prior to installing my rink?
    * When do I put up my rink? What temperatures are adequate in order to build an outdoor skating rink?
    * How do I resurface my ice and what tools are required for rink resurfacing?

There are many questions that need to be answered.
Please take time to figure the type of rink you need an answer these questions before you attempt to build your own ice rink. It will make the project much easier and fun. Having a rink in your backyard is definitely a rewarding experience for the entire family and if properly planned in advance the project of making your own rink will be a rewarding and successful experience as well.

For more information, instruction and advice of how to build your own backyard ice skating rink visit my page on how to build your own Backyard Rink
John is the founder of mybackyardicerink.com, a web site that is entirely devoted to backyard rinks and offers information, tips, advice and recommendations on how to build your own backyard hockey rink and backyard ice skating rink.


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