How to Build an Ice Skating Rink

You can only fill an ice skating rink after a nice, long stretch of freezing weather. But you should begin leveling the spot and building the perimeter of your rink before the ground gets too hard. You can make an ice skating rink of any size in your backyard and enjoy it all winter long.

Things You'll Need

• Tiller
• Rake
• 2-by-4's
• Screws
• Drill
• Industrial-strength plastic
• Garden hose

Instructions

1. Level an area in your yard using a tiller and rake to prepare it for your ice skating rink. Your summer garden spot works well for this project.

2. Build a wooden frame around the area you leveled using 2-by-4's. The wooden frame will form the perimeter of your ice skating rink.

3. Lay down several large sections of heavy-duty plastic. You can find industrial-plastic at home improvement stores. Overlap the sections and allow the plastic to extend over the top of the wooden framework.

4. Fill the ice skating rink with water from a garden hose. Keep everyone off of the water until it freezes solid.

5. Add more water after a thaw when the temperature drops again. The new layer of water will level itself and fill the dips and cracks.

Tips & Warnings

• Watch the weather forecast and build your rink when you have at least 3 or 4 consecutive days of below-freezing temperatures all day and night.

• You can use a waterproof tarp if you can't find heavy-duty plastic.

• Make sure the ice is thoroughly frozen before you allow anyone to skate on the surface. Otherwise you risk damaging your ice surface, in which case you'd need to re-flood it and begin again.