How to build a hockey rink? What is required to construct an ice hockey rink?

Building a hockey rink is a fun and rewarding project for any backyard enthusiast. This article will provide a step-by-step guide on how to build a hockey rink using simple materials and tools in this blog. Furthermore, Adam Matter also shows you know what is required to construct an ice hockey rink. Now, let’s get started!

How to build a hockey rink?

Any hockey player will attest to the rarity and beauty of having an open, clear sheet of ice. For the rest of us, it can be a daunting task to construct one ourselves. Luckily, all you need is some surface area, a few steps, and some easy instructions.

Step 1: Decide your size and available space

Make a plan that fits your available yard area before beginning any construction. You’re limited to the size of the largest, flattest part of your yard unless you want to pay for an excavator to level the landscape.

It should just have a few inches of slope and be large enough to fulfill your skating needs for the season. If you merely want to teach your young children how to skate, a 10-foot by 10-foot space should enough. If you want to truly start tiny hockey games, you’ll need something much larger.

If you’re going to the trouble of building a rink, I’d make it as huge as your space and funds allow. This guide is for a 12-by-24-foot ice skating rink.

Step 2: Mark out your rink and draw level lines

Drive wooden garden stakes into each corner of the rink after you know its size and location.

Start with the tallest corner and attach a piece of twine to the stake four inches above the ground. Tie the twine’s opposite end to the next stake. Line level the string.

Make sure the string is four inches off the ground along the side. Raise the string to get four inches of clearance everywhere. For safety, the ice must be at least four inches thick and this thread symbolizes the top.

To guarantee four-inch space on all sides and diagonals, repeat this step.

Step 3: Create a box layout

After drawing level lines, using a straight edge and T-square, create a box layout. Make sure your two-by-10s fit by laying them down. Start building from the corners. Check the corners with a carpenter’s square before joining two two-by-10s with L brackets and  connector no.9 screws.
Measure diagonally to ensure the box is square. Diagonals should be equal. If not, push the longer diagonal corners closer together to equal diagonal lengths.

Once the box is square or near, fasten the remaining boards along the long edges using tie-plates and No. 9 screws.

Step 4: Make a second layer if necessary

All around, the top of your lumber should be several inches above the twine. If any of your corners or sides are near or below the ice line, you’ll need to add a second layer to keep the water out. Build the second layer only where the water depth necessitates it to save money.

Step 5: Construct bracing and support

Push wooden garden stakes into the ground at regular intervals, pressing them tightly against the box.These anchors will assist in keeping the lumber in place while it bears the weight of the water. Drive the stakes at least a foot into the ground, preferably more.

Cut the tops of the stakes above the box with a circular saw or reciprocating saw.

Step 6: Set up the lining

The most crucial aspects are that the box be constructed, squared, and braced, and that the lining be white or clear plastic. Clear up the inside of the box and cut enough plastic to cover and wrap around the wooden frame. Pull the plastic taut and avoid excessive folds and creases, which can interfere with solid ice formation and trip a skater. Instead of staples or nails, use spring clamps to secure the liner and modify the plastic as needed.

Step 7: Flood the skating rink with water

Flood the rink when it is likely to be extremely chilly. Bring your hose down, turn it on, and clamp it in place. The length of time it takes to fill the rink will be determined by its size and depth. Inspect it on a regular basis and adjust any plastic that is moving around. Once the water has reached the height of the twine, stop filling and allow the water to freeze for several days until it is solid all the way through.

Step 8: Keep the ice in place.

Invest in an ice resurfacer to smooth out the ice and reapply a thin layer of water to create a glassy, skateable finish, but this can be costly. You may also refinish the ice yourself by scooping out all of the loose snow and ice and then soaking the rink with water. When this refreezes, you’ll have a smooth, clean surface.

What is required to construct an ice hockey rink?

Tools

There are many tools that are required in order to build an ice hockey rink. Some of the most common tools include a straight edge, T-square, circular saw, reciprocating saw, carpenter’s square, L brackets, screws, and nails.

Materials

In order to build an ice hockey rink you will need lumber of different lengths and sizes. You will also need twine, a water hose, stakes, plastic sheeting of various sizes and colors, and a resurfacer to smooth out the ice.

The Ice Rink offers public sessions, figure skating, time, group skating lessons, private skating lessons, adult and youth hockey programs.

Source: https://www.huntingtonny.gov/

10 hints for creating the ideal backyard hockey rink

Slope measurement first! “The yard is very flat, don’t need to measure” people end up with water rushing over their deep end boards and their liners flapping in the breeze at the other end. Know your slope and water line as you fill. This is the most crucial step in rink construction.

Look for a flat space near the house, an outside water source, not over the septic or leach field, and appropriate outdoor lighting when planning my customers’ rinks (or the ability to add it).

Brace well:  Prepare your rink for nuclear fallout and avoid disaster.

Don’t fill until the next week has below-freezing daytime temps (colder at night). If you lay your liner and fill early, tree limbs and animals may penetrate it.

Fill all at once and use a water delivery service if you can. Layering could damage your lining. If you put down one inch of ice first and try to fill again, the new water will drill a hole in your ice and fill from the bottom up. Pushing up the first layer of ice could harm your liner. Filling at once avoids this. Fill quickly and fix holes. Acoustic sealant, roofing tar, and Nicerink patch tape work well. If you planned it well, the top layer will freeze soon. Get your mending material in before it does or you’ll have to punch through the ice to reach the liner.

Zamboni-like ice surfaces are excellent. Using a shovel, snowblower, broom, or squeegee, the Zamboni sweeps and collects snow first. The Zamboni applies hot water. Use this homeboy or Nicerink’s NiceIce resurfacer for your rink.

Cold water works well, but hot water is preferable. Resurfacing requires numerous thin layers, unlike initial fill. Bring your hose and resurfacer inside afterward.

Provide appropriate rink lighting. You’ll need illumination to maintain your rink, even if you don’t skate at night. Nighttime is excellent for resurfacing.

Snowstorms happen. Keep the rink tidy. Wait until the storm passes, but get to the rink fast. Snow insulates and adheres to ice. Long-term exposure can damage your surface. Several floods can restore it, but it’s difficult. Shovel often.

Early liner installation won’t damage the grass. Drain it with a submersible pump or siphon after the ice melts in spring. After emptying, cut the liner into strips and dispose of it. Start anew next year with a new one!

Do backyard ice rinks destroy grass?

If you put up an ice rink and take it down at the correct times, it won’t ruin your yard. Waiting until after the first freeze to build it and then dismantling it before spring begins will be safe for the lawn because grass is dormant at this time.

FAQs: How to build a hockey rink?

What is the ideal thickness for a backyard rink?

The ice must be at least two inches thick to support a person weighing 300 pounds. Ideally, the municipal rinks should have at least three inches.

How challenging would it be to create an ice rink in one’s own backyard?

If winter temperatures remain persistently low enough, constructing and maintaining even a tiny rink is a simple task. Homemade rinks require a snowfall to cover the ground before installation, but once built, they require nothing in the way of upkeep during the winter.

How much does a do-it-yourself outdoor rink cost?

A backyard ice rink normally costs between $50,000 and $25,000. Backyard skating rinks typically cost between $0.50 and $3.50 per square foot. The cost of a backyard rink is determined by how much the work you do yourself. Remember to include the cost of filling your rink with water in the total pricing.

How can you fill an ice rink in your backyard?

Cover the area with a tarp or similar material before filling it with water. Fill it all at once to allow the water to level out; freezing in layers can result in an uneven surface. If hot water is available, the following flooding should be performed. Your rink will be ready after you have two to three inches of ice!

Conclusion

In the end, we hope the information above that will useful for you. If you have any questions related to how to build a hockey rink, let’s contact hockeyheritage.org to answer!