In the winter season, the best way to spend a fun and he althy weekend is to go to the ice rink. On such sites there is entertainment for lovers of skiing, skating and even sledding. It is not difficult to find an ice rink within megacities, but what should residents of small towns and villages do? The answer is simple - build a skating rink with your own hands. What do you need to know to cope with this task and how to care for the finished site? We will talk about this in our article.
Determine the type of future ice rink
To build a skating rink with your own hands, you need to decide on its location. It can be any frozen body of water or a yard in a suburban area. Based on this, we can conclude that there are two types of ice rink:
- natural;
- artificial.
The first option is preferable because it does not require spendinga lot of time and wait until the water freezes. Those wishing to ski simply need to clear an area of the right size and make sure the ice is thick enough.
To build an artificial ice rink, you need to make a lot more effort and have enough time. The chosen place should be near a source of water, be sufficiently flat and spacious. Now let's look at the order of work that needs to be done to create both versions of the ice rink.
Rules for arranging a skating rink on a pond
To be completely safe to ride on frozen waters, you need to make sure that the thickness of the ice is at least 15 centimeters. To do this, you need to cut a hole in the deepest part of the river. If an ice ax is not at hand, you can determine the quality of the ice by its color - it should have a bluish or greenish tint.
If the reservoir is frozen enough, you can start arranging the arena for active winter recreation. To build a skating rink (natural type), you need to do the following:
- Clear the area of the required size from snow.
- Make small holes in the corners of the plot. This will prevent crumbling and deformation of the ice in the event of a sharp drop in air temperature.
- Inspect the cleaned surface for frozen debris, sagging and other defects. Large irregularities and bumps can be cut down with an ax, and cracks and hollows can be repaired with snow.
- The resulting skating rink is ready for use. However,remember that the thickness of the ice on a natural reservoir can constantly change, so before each operation you need to make sure that you are safe.
Rules for creating an artificial ice rink
The territory for arranging the ice rink should be spacious enough, located away from the roadway. For comfortable skiing, the dimensions of the site should be about 20x15 meters, while its shape does not really matter. The private arena can be round, oval or rectangular.
You can build an artificial ice rink right next to your house or in any free and level place, the main thing is to follow the basic rules during work. Namely:
- An ice platform should not be built in close proximity to buildings, as during the spring thaw there will be a high probability of flooding.
- The air temperature during the filling of the rink should not be higher than -10 degrees. It is advisable to work in calm weather, as due to the wind, bumps can form on the ice surface.
- When marking the site on all its sides, free space (about 1-2 meters wide) should be provided for storing snow.
- The height of the ice in the area for skiing must be at least 10 centimeters.
- If snow falls between the stages of filling the rink, it must be removed before installing a new layer.
- The soil on top of which water will be poured must be frozen by 5-7 centimeters, otherwise it will not give heatfreeze water.
These are general recommendations for arranging a place for a winter holiday, and now let's go directly to the technology of work.
Preparing the base
To build an ice rink near the house, you need to carefully prepare a site for it. The selected area must be cleared of snow and debris, mark the boundaries of the future site on it. Along the perimeter of the ice stadium, it is desirable to make bumpers that will keep water inside the rink. Their height should be twice the thickness of the ice layer. You can use wooden boards, gravel, sand or frozen snow to create boards.
If there are recesses on the surface of the earth, they are covered with soil or rammed with wet snow. Mounds and pebbles must be completely eliminated. If desired, metal or wooden shields can be installed along the edges of the stadium. They will prevent the loss of the puck during the game of hockey and will act as a support for the rest.
To make spending time on the winter playground as comfortable as possible, you can build a skating rink under the roof, and build walls along the edges of the arena. This will allow you to ride freely during heavy snowfalls and winds.
The process of creating an ice arena
In order to build an ice rink (covered or uncovered), you need a long hose and a spray nozzle. It is highly undesirable to pour water in one continuous stream, since in this case the degree of freezing of the surface will be different, and the skating rink will turn out to be of poor quality.
If a scattering tip is not available, you can use a regular snow shovel. It is tied to a hose so that the flowing water hits the metal part and splashes all over the area.
When all the necessary tools are ready, you can start pouring the rink. Works are performed in the following sequence:
- With the help of a scattering nozzle or a garden watering can, snow bumpers are poured. They should freeze well, after which you can proceed to the next step.
- From the far edge of the site, they begin to pour water evenly, while the hose is placed at an angle of 25-30 degrees relative to the ground. Water is sprayed with fan movements. In the process of work, you need to ensure that the entire surface of the earth is equally wet.
- After the area is 6-7 centimeters covered with water, it is left for a couple of hours to solidify.
- Before pouring the next layer, the ice surface is checked for holes and cracks. Identified defects are rubbed with wet snow, after which a second layer of water is poured. The work is repeated until the thickness of the frozen liquid reaches 15 cm.
Arrangement of a skating rink on a dirt surface
If you decide to build an ice rink on the ground, then pay attention to some of the nuances in working with such a base. Since the earth tends to absorb water, the site must be properly prepared before pouring the liquid. This can be done in two ways:
- carefully compacting the soil;
- using waterproofing materials.
In the first version, work on the arrangement of the ice rink begins in the fall. The territory cleared of debris is carefully tamped with a garden roller or trampled down with feet. In this state, the site is left until the ground freezes by 7-10 cm. After that, they start pouring water.
For arranging a waterproofing layer around the perimeter of the site, wooden bumpers are installed. Inside the future skating rink, a dense film is laid, which is fixed with overlays from the outside. Water begins to be poured at an air temperature of -1 degrees.
How to make an ice rink on uneven ground?
As it has already become clear, the main condition for arranging a quality site is a flat and clean base. But what about those homeowners whose site has a lot of bumps or is generally located on a slope? How can they build a skating rink? There is only one way out of this situation - the arrangement of a snow cushion.
This method of leveling surfaces is based on the use of a large amount of snow. It is poured into all recesses and carefully tamped at the marked level. Fences are installed along the edges of the site to prevent the spread of water to the sides. The minimum thickness of the snow cushion is 10 cm. The base is considered ready for pouring if it can support the weight of an adult.
Care
As you can see, build an ice rink nearat home is quite simple, but be aware that if you want to use it throughout the winter, you will have to take care of it periodically. After each use, the ice is recommended to be polished, the cracks and grooves that have appeared in it to be repaired, and a new layer of water to be added. After heavy snowfalls, the site must be cleared to prevent ice from melting under thick snowdrifts. Depending on the intensity of use of the skating rink, its surface must be periodically updated and sanded.
In closing
Self-equipped skating rink will require some trouble and time from you, but they are incomparable to the pleasure that all members of your family will receive while relaxing on their own ice arena. If you don't want to bother with constant snow removal, you can build an indoor ice rink. It is much more unpretentious in care, besides, it is comfortable to ride on such a site even in heavy snowfalls.
Additionally, the skating rink can be equipped with a place for rest and lighting fixtures can be installed on its territory. And if, during the pouring of the last layer of ice, a small amount of water-based paint is added to the water, then your site will acquire a special colorfulness and individuality.
