The winter season is quickly approaching, so it is important to start thinking about ways to enjoy the outdoors!
One of our family’s favorite winter activities is skating on a backyard rink.
Not only is it great exercise, but it is also an excellent way to spend time with family and friends.
So if you want to learn how to build a backyard ice rink, and some tricks to not damage your lawn, read on!
What Is a Backyard Ice Rink?
As the term suggests, a backyard ice rink is an ice rink situated in your backyard.
Backyard ice rinks are rectangular sections of ice for you to skate on.
They can be any size, but generally, a backyard ice rink would be about 20 feet wide by 40 feet long.
To make a backyard ice rink in your yard, you will need to create a frame out of wood or other materials and then line the frame with plastic.
Finally, you will fill the frame with water, most likely with a garden hose. Once the water turns to ice, you will have your skating surface.
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Backyard Ice Rink
You can build a backyard ice rink for as low as $250.
Of course, you can spend more money and make the ice rink bigger and fancier, but it is not going to change how much fun you have when you’re skating on it.
The tarp is the most expensive part of building an ice rink, at around $100 for the size and thickness you need.
Unfortunately, this is a necessary item to build a backyard ice rink, because it holds the water in one spot and does not melt all over the backyard.
The remaining $150 is for lumber, bracing lumber, and things like brackets and screws.
You should also keep in mind that if you would rather get someone to fill the rink with water instead of filling it with a garden hose, it will add another $200 to your build price.
How Much Water Will It Take to Make a Backyard Ice Rink
Ice rinks will come in all shapes and sizes in your backyard, and so it will take various amounts of water to fill it.
The typical backyard ice rink is 20 feet by 40 feet, and to fill your ice rink to a dimension of 4 inches of water, you will fill it with 1,995 gallons of water (for purposes of our table square backyard that is completely flat).
Using thisweb site will do the math for you if you know how big your ice rink will be. The website will even calculate how long it will take to fill the ice rink, based on the speed (gallons per minute) of your water supply.
If you find yourself in a situation where filling your ice rink is going to take too long, you will want to hire a water delivery service to expedite the process.
Do Backyard Ice Rinks Kill Grass
There are tons of worries that backyard ice rinks will kill grass.
But, that is not true. Backyard ice rinks do not kill grass because perennial grass goes dormant when temperatures are consistently below 50 degrees. You will need temperatures much below that anyway for the water to freeze so your grass will have definitely gone dormant.
Then, as long as you remove the rink and melt all the ice before the days get longer and the weather warms up, your grass will not die.
If you are worried about your lawn, you should use a white liner under the ice.
Dark liners will absorb light and create heat during the winter and thus, potentially damage grass in its dormant state. Since a white liner will reflect light, there will be no heat produced to harm your lawn.
How Long Will a Backyard Ice Rink Last
Your backyard ice rink will only last as long as you have below freezing temperature.
If you are fortunate to have traditional winters where below freezing temperature are the norm, you can expect to keep your ice rink up from the beginning of December until late March.
You will probably have some days where it is too sunny and too warm, and your ice will melt a little bit.
Don’t worry! It’s just water. If you do not have any tears in your liner, it will freeze back up the next time it’s cold enough outside.
Step-By-Step Building Guide
The time has arrived, the time you’ve been waiting for; the guide on how to actually build a backyard ice rink.
Materials
First, let’s go over the materials you need to build your ice rink.
- Boards: Grab 4 sheets of 4’x8’ OSB that are cut into 12-14” wide vertical strips. Each sheet will yield 4, 8’ long boards. This is just enough to frame in a 20’x40’ ice rink.
- Supports: The sheet framing will be under immense water pressure as it holds nearly 2,000 gallons of water. You will want supports to relieve some of the weight of the water off of the equalizer boards to keep them from flexing or breaking as the weight of the water accumulates. Typically rebar stakes or wooden stakes of 24” length will suffice.
- Liner: Any sort of plastic will do, as long as it is larger than the size of the rink in which you want to create. The liner is going to act like a tub for the water, so you will want extra on the sides. You will want at least 2 feet of extra length and width for a deep enough basin to hold the water.
- Building Hardware: There are a few essential pieces of hardware you will need to build your frame. The first is some type of USP structural connectors that will be used to connect your boards together. You will need two L-shaped brackets for each corner; you will need a total of 8 brackets for a 20’x40′ rink. Finally, you will need a box of screws to screw in all the boards, and screws to attach the L-brackets.
- Spring Clamps: Any type of clamp would suffice; the more the better. You will need these to hold your tarp on the frame while the water is being poured in.
- Water: Ice rinks need ice, and ice is frozen water, so you are going to need a lot of water. You have the option of using your hose to fill your ice rink or you can call a service that will fill the ice rink for a fee.
Step 1: Find The Right Spot
Choose your ice rink location.
A suitable location should be completely flat so you don’t have to deal with the slope.
You will need at least a 20’x40’ space that also has no obstructions like trees or utility poles.
In the winter, it gets dark quickly so if you can place your ice rink where you can get light from a street light or your back door light, it will be safer to skate in the dark.
Step 2: Build The Frame
Once you select a place to build your ice rink, lay out the boards in a perimeter of where you want to install your ice rink.
With your USP Structural connectors and screws, attach the boards together.
When you reach the corner, use two L-shaped brackets to make 90-degree angles; place one bracket on the outside edge of your corner 2 inches down from the top and the other 2 inches up from the bottom.
When your frame is built and in place with one row of posts, install the stakes into the ground along the outer edge of the frame to support the frame. Start by placing a stake every 3 feet.
Quick tip: Watch your frame when filling the ice rink with water. If you observe your frame bulging, insert more stakes!
Step 3: Attach The Liner
Simply put, you do not need to line the frame the same day you build the frame; however, the liner and the next step need to be completed the same day.
You want to wait until you have several days with below freezing temperatures and no precipitation!
Now for the fun part! First, determine which side of the liner is short, and center the short sides around the short side of the frame.
Then place as much liner inside the frame as possible to give you plenty of slack while filling the rink.
You should let the overage of the liner drape over the top of the frame and use a clamp to hold it down.
Do not staple the liner to the frame!
Stapling puts holes in the liner and limits your ability to manipulate it while filling the rink if you have to add more slack.
Step 4: Fill
The day you fill your pond rink should also be the same day you lay out your liner.
This way, you don’t risk any sticks, animals, or falling ice, which may cause a hole in your liner.
Keep an eye on your rink while you are filling it, while doing this, you will want to keep your eyes glued to your liner, the boards, and the water level.
If you start to notice the liner is coming away from the edging boards and water is pooling in the middle, loosen the liner so the water can expand to the edge of the boards.
If the boards are bending downwards at all, that’s a good time to add in more stakes to provide a little extra support.
You should also keep an eye on the water level on the entire edge of your frame.
If you have a slight slope in your back yard, the end closer to the slope will “fill” faster than a side that’s higher on the slope.
Remember to take note of the slope of your yard for next year and you can summer the structure of the rink to accommodate with either a wider board or make another adjustment.
Tips For Your Backyard Ice Rink
Determine If Your Backyard Has a Slope
When you see the backyard, it looks flat for the most part but depending on your location, it’s possible there is a very small slope.
This video does an excellent job of showing you how to find out if you have a slope in your backyard.
If you determine that you do have a slope you would recommend using a wider board in your ice rink frame to accommodate where your backyard is lower.
Fill It All At Once
When installing your ice rink, fill it at once.
Ice made from freezing water in layers is weaker than ice made using the ‘All at Once’ method, your rink will crack more often.
Keep Snow Off Your Ice Rink
If you can put a cover over your rink before the snow arrives, that will be an incredible way to protect your ice rink.
If that is not possible for you, go ahead and shovel the snow off your rink when you have the time.
Resurface Your Rink
If you’re unable to prevent the snow from melting off your rink, or if the top layer melted and then refroze a windy day – the top layer of ice will be bumpy and will ruin your ability to have a smooth skating experience.
To resurface your rink, all you need to do is take the garden hose and put a thin layer of water on the ice surface.
Do not use the spray function to apply the water – you will just make another rough surface and have to resurface again!
Final Thoughts
Building a rink in your backyard is a project that is doable financially, but more importantly is one of the most satisfying things you can do in your yard this winter.
There are just two concerns people have about building a backyard ice rink.
The first concern is if you are wondering what it costs to build an ice rink in your yard, and are concerned it is going to be way too expensive? The second concern would be will it damage the lawn that you have spent months tending to.
By the end of this guide I hope to give you the confidence, and get past these questions, so you can build your own backyard ice rink!