Warm up to winter

With winter approaching, a Canadian's thoughts turn naturally to skating, hockey and the backyard ice rink. Providing hours of family fun and exercise, the backyard rink offers convenience healthy fresh air.

Below are instructions on building your own backyard skating rink using a plastic tarp as a liner. Having this liner will help to prevent flooding in your garden, basement or neighbouring backyards when building the rink and during thaws caused by warm spells or sudden drops in temperature.

Picking a location
The first step to building a backyard rink is to determine where to place it. Rinks can be built on most backyard surfaces but the most important things to keep in mind are the following:

Pick a surface that is flat. Many backyards slope, so find an area for your rink that has no more than a 5-to 8-inch difference between the highest and lowest point to avoid putting stress on the boards.

Try to place your rink in an area that is relatively shady during the day. This will help prevent some melting on sunny days.

What you'll need

• Wood (boards measuring 2 x 6 in or 2 x 8 in). The amount will vary on the dimensions you've chosen for your rink


• Nails or screws to connect wood and make boards.


• Thick, industrial plastic tarp (can be purchased in various sizes depending on the size of the rink).


• Old rags or carpets or any other soft materials that can be used to fill in spots where boards don't sit flush with ground. They can also be used to cushion corners to avoid tearing plastic when you flood the rink with water.


• Several days of sub-zero temperature, preferably –10ºC or colder. Check the local forecast so you'll have everything ready to go when that cold snap hits.