Backyard rink thread.

[Slava]

^thanks, that's exactly what I used. IIRC buy them at Totem because I think I paid more...regardless were not talking about a lot of money though.

[TylerSVT]

So im having some really big issues this year...

All the seals i used to keep my plastic liner together are not holding so a full-on flood is going to be pretty useless..

SO now i basically have to walk back and forth down the rink with the hose watering down the snow to make a slush which i then stand on, my idea is that if i can make the whole rink like this, i can flood more effectivly because the water wont run through it at all.

Problem is, i just spent the last hour out there and i got a pretty much 8x32 stretch done of my 60x32 stretch...

Anyone have any advice?

Also my dog ate part of my liner....

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by TylerSVT

So im having some really big issues this year...

All the seals i used to keep my plastic liner together are not holding so a full-on flood is going to be pretty useless..

SO now i basically have to walk back and forth down the rink with the hose watering down the snow to make a slush which i then stand on, my idea is that if i can make the whole rink like this, i can flood more effectivly because the water wont run through it at all.

Problem is, i just spent the last hour out there and i got a pretty much 8x32 stretch done of my 60x32 stretch...

Anyone have any advice?

Also my dog ate part of my liner....

Buy a 40' x 60' tarp and you'll be good to go.

Disclaimer: I would directly benefit from the sale of this tarp.

[Slava]

Sounds like you're doing the right thing. The other option is to go buy a tube or two of Acousti-seal. That will stop leaks even under water. Its about $4 at home depot, and you need a caulking gun for it as well.

[BOSSY]

Originally Posted by Flames_Gimp

That's what I use... works like a charm - probably be perfectly smooth and skatable by this weekend (as long as it keeps getting around -10 this week)...

[Draug]

Here is a picture of mine. We tried it out today for the first time. The kids had a blast! This picture is after we skated on it for about an hour, so the snow makes it look really rough, but it was originally nice and smooth.



I still havent got around to putting in the liner yet ... but I spent a lot of time getting the ice base level and smooth. The ice looks a little dark because its over the garden. I am going to put another row of 2x6's around the whole thing so that those stakes arent sticking up above the edge; that should less work than cutting them all off, plus I'll gain a higher side.

I had a problem with the ice being very brittle. With my weight, any fast turn would result in ice chips flying all over. There were tiny little air pockets about 1/4" under the surface. Not empty air pockets, but tiny little bubbles frozen together - think of something like an Aero chocolate bar. These little patches broke out and left divets.

How do I not end up with brittle ice that isnt really that solid?

I'm going to try freezing a really thin layer with extremely hot water and see what happens. It is my best theory at this point. I wasnt freezing thick amounts before either; each freeze was about 3/8" thick.

[3 Justin 3]

I am tempted to build one. The backyard is decent size, but has a pretty wicked slope. The neighbors on the other hand could build an enormous one and they have a level slope.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by Draug

I had a problem with the ice being very brittle. With my weight, any fast turn would result in ice chips flying all over. There were tiny little air pockets about 1/4" under the surface. Not empty air pockets, but tiny little bubbles frozen together - think of something like an Aero chocolate bar. These little patches broke out and left divets.

How do I not end up with brittle ice that isnt really that solid?

I'm going to try freezing a really thin layer with extremely hot water and see what happens. It is my best theory at this point. I wasnt freezing thick amounts before either; each freeze was about 3/8" thick.

Hpt water is the answer. Cold works good for a base, but because it holds air when it freezes you get pockets and brittle ice. If you can flood with hot you will have a nice surface in no time. I am going to try and make a flood tool, with some pipe and towels, which should help with the finish coats. Will try and post pics. Mine was doing great as far as building a base but it is +1 today so I am on hold for a day or two. Grrr.

[TylerSVT]

Draug, what was your method for getting a base???????

[speede5]

I want to make something similar to this for topcaosts. I have seen them made out of pvc for about 15 bucks, but if you have some extra cash this one isn't that bad.



https://www.clickhost.com/~byoung2/rinkorder.html

[Draug]

Originally Posted by TylerSVT

Draug, what was your method for getting a base???????

My method is more or less a big troubleshoot, right from the get go. I'd never attempted such a thing.

The rink is on the garden, so in the late fall I rototilled the garden until all vegetation was in itsy, bitsy, buried pieces. This also helped level the garden.

Then, I put in my 20 foot 2x6's to make the outside frame. I should have used 2x12's. I put the frame in by pounding in stakes and screwing the 2x6's to them level. This resulted in a border that was touching ground in some places and off the ground in others. Instead of trying to seam fill the 2x6 joints, I just raked up some dirt along the outside of them and did the same at the ground level.

Next, I used my level frame as a foundation for levelling the dirt of the skating surface. I spanned from side to side with a board that was to just touch the ground. I used a rake to make the garden completely level within my border. I was within 1/4 inch everywhere.

At this point, I should have rolled the garden quickly with a sod roller, or something similar. There were lots of marble sized dirt balls that ended up sticking through my ice base until I got over 1/2" of ice frozen. Next year, I'll squash those down.

By now it was late fall, and was almost freezing every night. So, I watered the garden. I got the dirt good and wet. Right before that first good cold snap, I made sure the garden was good and damp. When it turned cold, the dirt froze rock hard, basically overnight.

Right here is where I should have got a plastic liner down. Instead, I procrastinated because it was so cold. Then it snowed. My rink blew right level with snow. I used my snow blower to get most of it out, but left about an inch.

I thought I could use that inch to make a slushy base by flowing water on it. Instead, it just made a lumpy mess. I only did a small area before I realized that was not going to work. But, I couldnt blow the rest of the snow out because of the dirt; I didnt think blowing dirty snow would be great for my new snowblower.

So, I watered down all the slush, with about an inch of water. Before it froze, I used a garden rake to level out the slush, more or less. This was all during those -15 temperatures we were having, so it froze nice and hard.

Then, I added water over multiple floods to even out the bumps. As I did this, the few dirt lumps I should have rolled were eventually buried. This left ice that is about 1.5 inches thick.

It is very level, with the exception of where the ice chipped out unevenly when we skated on it. As mentioned earlier in this thread, the consensus is that hot water, in a thin film, with leave me with ice that has less air in it and therefor harder.

My plan is to now try the hot water, and ensure that leaves a good surface. If so, I will then add my layer of plastic. At this point, the only purpose the plastic will serve is to make the ice look nice and white, and also help reflect heat away in the late winter. Hopefully, my ice will last a few weeks longer with white underneath it.

[TylerSVT]

What did you use to fill it though? a garden hose?

It seems REALLY big. I would imagine walking back and forth and making it into slush took a LONG time. That was pretty much how i was going to do it until i realized a 8'x32' strip took me about 2 hours to do...

Im having a real difficulty trying to get the rink going... once i get a base its not problem. its getting that ice base which for me is impossible.

In hind sight i should have just gotten one of those huge tarps, the 60x40 ones and just filled it up with water overnight and then let the cold freeze it before it snowed... the snow is what is screwing me up, i cant see past it to see where the ice is, if i walk on the rink i hear it cracking to #### which is going to make the ice uneven. I dont have a snow blower so shovelling the snow on a plastic liner is a bad idea.

I feel SOL right now.

[Draug]

Yeah, I just used a garden hose, fully open, to get as much water on as fast as possible. I filled the whole rink to about 1 inch deep, then while it was still a big puddle, used a landscaping rake (upside down) to level the slush out. I levelled it as one would level dirt before planting grass.

The whole process went pretty quick with the water so deep. It didnt dry totally level, but it only took about 4 floods after that to fill in all the depressions and bury the high spots.

That picture makes the rink look pretty big. But, it is only 20'x40'.

[TylerSVT]

Hmmm, my problem is that when i throw the hose onto the rink it just melts through the snow and then runs underneith it, it dosent turn it all into slush... I usually only put the hose on for a couple of hours though. how long did you leave yours running for?

[Draug]

I held the hose the whole time ... I went back and forth across the rink soaking a 2' or 3' strip each pass. I waved the hose around to wet as much snow as possible. It probably took me just under an hour to get the 1" depth of water. At that point, any snow that wasnt slush became slush really quickly once I started playing with the rake.

[Slava]

^that's what I did/do as well. Even once you have a base if you leave the hose on the ice and run it you'll end up with a hole. My rink is smaller than what you guys have and it took me a couple of hours of playing with the slush to get it all soaked and then leveled out as best as I could.

If you want to clear the snow off the liner then the only other idea is to use a broom and brush it to a corner and then shovel it off I guess? I can't think of anything else. I would just soak it, but to each their own.

[SeeBass]

Sorry if these has been asked before.

Can you have a decent rink when you have a southern exposure in Calgary?

I would do it but I don't think it would last more than a couple of days.

[Slava]

I think it would work fine. The sun is not that powerful at this point, and even when we get temperatures of 5 degrees you really don't have any melting...it's a solid block of ice that lasts well into the spring.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by Draug

At this point, the only purpose the plastic will serve is to make the ice look nice and white, and also help reflect heat away in the late winter. Hopefully, my ice will last a few weeks longer with white underneath it.

I have heard that the best way to make the ice white is to get some white latex primer, mix it into your water and spread it. If you've ever painted and cleaned the brushes/rollers you will know how milky a small amount of primer can make a large amount of water. Mix it inside in pails and dump it on as you flood. Pick a day when it won't freeze too fast so you can get a good even spread. Plastic is a pain cause you get air underneath, so in your case you are starting over with a bumpy base, and water gets under it and makes it float.

[TylerSVT]

Originally Posted by Draug

I held the hose the whole time ... I went back and forth across the rink soaking a 2' or 3' strip each pass. I waved the hose around to wet as much snow as possible. It probably took me just under an hour to get the 1" depth of water. At that point, any snow that wasnt slush became slush really quickly once I started playing with the rake.

Ok so that was what i was pretty much doing, it felt like it was taking WAY longer.

I should have been raking though, that is where i went wrong.