"This is the first rink I have had in probably 15 years, but with the kids looking to skate with me, I figured it was time to break out the hose.

Our rink is 20' x 30' and is made from a 2"x6" frame with a blue tarp as my liner. One of my mistakes I learned from this site after I had started
on the rink, next year I will use white, the blue is killing me with maintenance with softening during the daytime. 

I have three girls ( 2, 5, and 7) that hit the ice whenever they can and the weather here on Long Island cooperates. I started the rink on January 10 and we have been skating on and off since the 13th. We don't always get weather here that is very conducive of a backyard rink but this year we have had some good luck. We do most of our skating at night or early in the morning on the weekends. The surface takes a beating during the day and to try and skate then just rips it apart.

The biggest problem here on Long Island with a rink is the snow. Up north you guys almost always get a powdery snow, but for the most part here it is a wet snow which as we all know is brutal on the ice. But I did come up with a solution for all those "pimples" on the ice after one of our wet snows is removed. I have included a picture of my "ice scraper" with this E-mail, and it was so simple to make. I just took a 2x4 about 4' long and screwed a piece of duct work tin to it with about a half inch exposed past the edge to make a scraping blade. Then a 2x4 handle with two supports to keep it solid. It takes a bit of effort to scrape down the surface, but it does a great job, and after a nice flood afterward the surface is amazing!  I figure many others have figured out something like this, but I thought maybe it may be helpful to someone else with this kind of problem and hasn't figured out a solution yet.

Once again, thanks for a great site and best of luck to all out there trying to make a rink. It is worth every minute involved just to watch the kids have a blast with something that only love can buy. Best to all."
 

Nice rink and good idea with the scraper...thanks for sending in your pics Craig.