Face it: Fall is history. It’s time to prepare for some serious winter fun. With a little smart planning and good effort, you can be skating and playing hockey on your very own, very cool ice rink this winter. Here’s how to make one:
– Easy does it
Start small this year, and every year after you’ll know more about how to make it better and bigger. A 10- by 20-foot rink is probably as big as you’ll want to go, and even a smaller one will give you room to mess around on.
– Find a spot
Start now. Scout out an area in your yard or a friend’s, or any spot where the ground is flat and a water hose will reach. Then get your folks’ (and the property owners’) OK. Step out the area you want, then pound wood stakes at the four corners to mark it. Tie string from one stake to the other; make sure the space is pretty straight.
– Build the sides
Sides will hold the water until it turns into ice. Plus they’ll be fun to shoot pucks off of. Get enough wood boards to put around your rink area. They don’t need to be new or even match. They just need to be at least 6 to 8 inches high. Then lay all of your sides around the rink and screw or nail long wood stakes onto them so you can pound them into the ground to make a sturdy border for the ice. Attaching and pounding the stakes is about the only hard part of the whole thing, so get some adult help. NOTE: Do this part soon before the ground freezes HARD.
– Put in the liner
Once it gets down to freezing temperatures at night, get clear or white plastic sheeting big enough to cover your rink plus a foot or two to fold over the sides of your boards. You can get it at a hardware store; get the medium-thick to way-thick stuff. If you can’t get one big piece, use heavy duct tape to connect smaller pieces. Then wait for a fairly calm day, unfold your plastic and line the inside of the rink area, flattening it down as you go. Tape or staple the liner to the outside edge of the boards. When you’re finished, it should look like a shallow swimming pool without water.
– Make ice
A good time to start making your ice is after Dec. 25. You’ll start getting good cold (below freezing) nights. You’ll need a hose with a spray attachment long enough to reach a water faucet that won’t freeze. Any basement sink will usually work. Between the sprayings, you’ll have to keep the hose someplace where the water left inside of it won’t freeze, so scout out a good storage home for it. Make sure that you keep the hose free of knots and tangles.
– Brrrrr
You’re going to be standing out in the dark of night in the middle of winter, so dress WARM, with boots, hats, scarves and gloves.The warmer you are, the more fun you’ll have.
– Layer it
Start your first layer of ice as late as you can at night. This is when you’ll make your best and quickest ice, when the air is cold and crisp. Run your hose out to the rink, turn on the water and start spraying your first layer. Just give it a good thin overall coat of water. Continue to build up layers night after night until you have a base of solid ice around 4 inches thick. If you hear your ice cracking, don’t worry. This is natural; the cracks will fill with water and take care of themselves.
– Let the games begin
The only thing left to do now is put your skates on and enjoy all of your hard work. It really is a great feeling when you first take to the ice.
You’ll also want to keep your rink in good shape by giving it a few new thin layers when it starts to get choppy. You’ll probably see some parts of your rink that didn’t turn out perfect, but that’s all right. There’s always next year!
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Shortcuts: If you can’t spend the money for the side boards, that’s OK. You can use hay bales for the sides. Or you can make the sides out of snow once it falls; just build them up for borders and spray them till they freeze solid. Also, you can try not using the plastic liner, but know that your rink won’t be quite as good or last as long without it. But whatever way you choose, remember to start small, learn from it and have fun!
