Chuck Spicer's Backyard Rink 2007/08
Erie, Colorado USA
90' x 38'
|
Chuck writes: "Greetings from Erie Colorado (just north of Denver). I have been looking at you site for 5 years and always dreamed of doing a rink but just wasn't certain that it was consistently cold enough. With the unbelievable success we've had this year I regret not doing this sooner. I read every single piece of advise on your site before I started and I think that made our rink a success. I first had the area leveled by an excavator (my 90x38 rink is within a 1" depth from the deepest to shallowest). I then used a white landscape fabric underlayment to use under my white liner to make the finished rink as white as possible, we have over 300 days of sun here and I knew that would be my biggest battle. I then used masons twine to lay out the rink perimeter and pounded in 2' rebar pieces 2' apart. The boards are 12" Hardiboard siding which I fastened to the rebar with bailing wire. The liner is draped over the boards and then covered with a piece of white sheet metal that I fabricated in my sheet metal shop. This holds the liner in place and protects the liner and boards from hard shots. I then installed 10, 12' tall sections of galvanized gas pipe to mount the lights (10, 500 watt halogens from Home Depot $14) to and the cable system which I intended to use for sun shade material (next years add-on). It took about forty hours to fill using city water and a hose. Rink was full by December 19th and we skated for the first time on December 21st. We have been able to skate almost every day because of our high elevation, even when the temps reach the 40's during the day the ice is skateable and by morning frozen hard again after 20 degree nights. If our average temps hold we should be skating until the end of February. Do we get the record for southernmost rink?" Good question Chuck. I am not sure who holds that record, but Kent Smith lives a little further south. Thanks for the really nice pictures Chuck. Your did a tremendous job with your rink. |
Top
Last Updated on June 30, 2008.