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Average Guy DIY | ||
Outdoor Ice RinkBuilding an outdoor ice rink requires only a few things: a level backyard, free time, one friend, lumber, hardware, tarp, tools and lots of water. I was able accomplish over 90% of this task in one day, but I had the help of one friend and two of my brothers. Read on and give this backyard ice rink project a try for yourself. It provides a whole winter of outdoor skating and hockey fun. To begin, I checked my backyard for level using a water level and a tape measure. An alternative is line level, stakes, and a taught line. There is an 8" change in grade across my backyard. Good ice for skating on requires a minimum of 3" of ice. So in order to have 3" at the highest spot in the backyard, there has to be atleast 11" of ice at the lowest point. With 12" sides, the outdoor ice rink project began. 
My outdoor ice rink size was limited by the size of my backyard. I decided on a 40'x60' ice rink liner to build a 36'x56' rink, leaving a couple of feet extra on each side to go up and over the side walls. Then I started building my lumber list. I designed a bracket so I only had to use 3/4" plywood for the sides. This bracket is constructed out of 2x4 lumber and 3/4" plywood. I chose pressure treated lumber for my application, so I could get as many years as possible out of the construction, considering it is going to be outside for a few months a year. The bracket consists of 4 pieces nailed together: 12" long 2x4 for the bottom, 8" square 3/4" plywood for the face, 8.75" long 2x4 with 45° ends for the top, and 4" long 2x4 with one 45° end for the middle piece. The bottom piece has a hole drilled in it to fit the 12" long spike. The spike is galvanized to avoid rust in this outdoor application. Each bracket is spaced 4' apart. So with a perimeter of 184', I needed 46 brackets. One 4x8 sheet of 3/4" plywood plus 12 8' 2x4 covers all the lumber needed for the brackets. Since I decided on 12" sides, I can get 4 8' sections out of one 4x8 sheet of plywood. I needed 6 sheets of 3/4" plywood. Total lumber list
Rough Cost = $600-700 including the white rink liner 
I brought the lumber home, grabbed my saw horses and a scrap piece of plywood. I used the scrap plywood as a table top across the two saw horses. I put on one sheet of the 3/4" plywood to make the 8" square front of the bracket. See Cutting Plywood for an easy way to make the squares. I cut the rest of the 2x4 wood sections of the bracket and started assembling them. I used a couple of scrap pieces of 2x4 to give me a place to rest the wood against when nailing the bracket together. I nailed the top 8.75" section to the bottom 12" section using the scrap wood to align the back of both pieces together. I nailed the middle 4" section next. Then, I fastened the 8" plywood square on front. After the assembly was complete, I drilled a hole for the spike to squeeze through about 1.5" from the front edge. 
Next, I placed all the other sheets of plywood on the scrap piece of plywood. Then I snapped chalk lines every 12 inches to cut 4 8' sections for the rink's side walls. Notice the cut-aways in the plywood sections. This is to allow the bottom of the bracket to poke through. The picture shows a 4' section, an 8' section has a 2"x2" cut-away on the ends and a 2"x"4 cut-away in the middle.
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Tools for the Job |
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