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14 weekendeh january 4 19 stux backyard ice rink is a great source of fun satisfaction mark mager is a father whos experienced the joys of flooding his backyard to make a nutn- ber of ice rinks the york region resident offers the following advice for those thinking of doing the same as i started the con struction of our annual backyard skating rink i thought it was time to share my techniques so that other unsuspecting souls can benefit from the successes and fail ures of my experience right off the bat i should tell you that ive never ruined my lawn in any way making an ice rink but im not guar anteeing anything i dont know why i do it year after year every spring i promise its the last time its too much work period i probably do it because when it works its great whether its a family hockey game under flood lights in the evening or a birthday party on a sunny sunday afternoon it cant be beat over the years ive made 10 or more rinks ive tried all sorts of methods and this method ill describe seems to work best first its an easy way to get an ice base started and second even if theres a thaw in january or february the plastic liner holds all the water like a bathtub for refreezing our rink is 18feet wide dripless oil ha will not make a mess on your driveway i get stops all rusting action from eating your car on works on new used and even rusty cars its not too late protect your car from the winter elements oil spray special rr i e r n auto tint accessories i i i i i 1 i limited time 11 2 marwiam i i offer with coupon 9054717555 i the mager children zoe andrea and jamie make good use of their back yard rink made by dad mark photocheryl johnson by 45feet long the backyard is not level so the low corner of the rink is about eight inches deeper than the high corner this fact becomes very signif icant when you realize that you have to build eight solid inches of ice in one corner before you get total coverage for those really low spots on the rink you can level it up with leaves and then put the plastic on top now to start use twoinch by 10inch planks around the perimeter use long planks and fasten them together end to end con necting them with an 18-inch- long piece of wood screwed to the outside and form your rec tangular rink i do this usually in late november i dont want to be working in foul or snowy weather once this is done you can admire your handiwork it really looks like youve got something thats the heavy work and its best to sequen tially mark the ends of the boards so assembly will be eas ier next year the next step is to put in the plastic liner you can buy rolls of polyvinyl in 20foot by 100foot or 24- foot by 100foot rolls in four or six millimetre thickness shop around by phone there are usually large price differences i spread out the plastic across my rink i cut off the piece from the roll leaving a few feet extra in length and width for stapling the plastic to the wooden perimeter boards this next step is a matter of preference some people lay the plastic on the ground bring it up the insides of the boards over the top and staple the plastic to the outside of the boards the advantage is it holds water well initially without bulging outside the boards but i choose to lay down the plastic pull it carefully under the boards pull it tightly up the outside of the boards and staple it neatly to the outside of the boards i just like the look of the wood and the ice and the sound of the puck on the boards if the plastic bulges at the low end where the water and ice get thick i use a halfinch piece of plywood and some stakes to shore up the plastic and prevent it from giving way once again this only hap pens when your yard is not level its important to clear the ground under the plastic of sticks or debris to prevent punctures duct tape will repair damage dont walk on the plastic in your shoes before stapling the edges of the plastic to the boards fold the plastic so you are stapling through most layers youre done almost now for the fun stuff flood ing making ice everyone has theories on making ice my only sugges tions are 1 dont start too early before the ground is thoroughly frozen or the ice will melt from underneath and 2 build your ice slowly a few inches at a time resist the temptation of laying it on too thick or it wont freeze under neath 3 drain the hose completely each time or bring it into a warm area after each flooding of course when its snapping cold you can do whatever you want it freezes as you pour out at night under the stars the water vapor rises everyone inside thinks what a hero you are its amazing how many household chores you can get out of this way it takes many evenings to keep the ice groomed and when the parties come around youll always find peo ple wholl want to talk tech nique and technology of the ice rink i just heard of a guy whose children put advertising on the boards come springtime when the rink starts to disintegrate and the work of dismantling it begins and there are glaciers sitting on your lawn you might feel like a rinkmaking expert or you might feel like thatll be the last rink youll ever make but come next winter when the cold air comes blowing in youll put out the boards and for some strange reason itll start all over again good luck i