Dan Mellon's Backyard Rink - Howard's Corner of the Web

"Hi Howard, I hope that the winter has been good to you so far. We had a great start, but have been into our 8th day now at temps aboue freezing. I still have ice however, as I managed to get about 14 inches down before the freeze.

This was the second year for building a rink. Both times we have used the liner and board method, and both times, we have had good results.

I have ringed the rink with 16' 2X8 spruce boards. In the deep end of the rink, I have stacked the 2X8' so that I have 16" of wood up in the end. The plastic sheet is a 4 mil, 32X70 piece from The Party Supply Company in Stratford ON. We have 4x 500 Watt Halogen floodlights mounted to light the rink at night. 5 feet from the one end of the rink is a 10 foot dug well that I use in combination with a sump pump to supply the water. Living out in the country, we don't have to pay for any water.

I have a home brew resurfacing device as well that I built for about 8 bucks. It works great, and I didn't have to pay 60 - 80 dollars for a similar one from a store. Off to the side we have a garden shed, that I converted into a place to put on skates, complete with removable benches, and a switched light that is attached to a long extension cord for easy removal in the spring. I have two steel 48 X 72 official size nets as well.

Overall, I have learned a lot about the science of icemaking, and have had tonnes of hours of skating fun. We had ice so far this year from December 17th - 26th, and have not gotten back on until Jan 5th due to mild, October like weather! Our best game to date was on Christmas Day, as the neighbours came over and we had a big game!

My wife and I had our first child this fall, and so far, little Alex has only been on the rink while being pulled in a sleigh, but next year, he may get his first taste of skating, and hopefully if I can keep it going every year, he'll have a fun safe place to play and get some exercise during the winter months.

Love the website I refer my friends and family to it all the time. Nothing beats hockey on the backyard rink with the kids.

Nice rink Dan. Thanks for the pic.