"It's the first time in a few years that I've made a rink. With my recent move back to Sault Ste Marie the weather is supposed to be ideal, however, the season started with limited snow and limited cold weather.

This year I didn't use a liner on the 25' X 50' rink as most of the boards (rink boards & garage were the most important features of buying the house) were up already when we moved in. Next year I will definitely be using a liner. I also have some chain-link fencing which will be installed at each end of the rink.

To build the rink, I started by having the kids play soccer to pack down the snow. Then utilized my 6-yr old as a "Human Ice-Resurfacer" as I pulled him around in a snow scoop to further compact the snow. I then put the sprinkler on for several hours at a time over a few days to allow the base to solidify. Then came the countless hours of flooding and repairing the holes which were allowing the water to drain (why I will use a liner next year). The holes went from bucket size down to dime size and eventually disappeared. It was around Christmas time when the kids were finally skating on it.

We has a bit of a setback yesterday with the ultra cold weather we've had over the past few days (-30 Celsius). The kids went out to skate only to find some major cracks in the ice. Hopefully the repair work carried out this morning and a few floods (once it stops snowing) will bring the rink back to form.

Looks good Denis.  The liner will make your life easier for sure. Thanks for the pic.