Around here we always had to have some barrier under the ice, or lose a
lot of water to soaking into the ground, even if you waited until the
ground had apparently frozen. Who knows how global warming, even if it
is only temporary, will affect this.

We never had board around our home rinks; just a berm of snow. The rule
was if you put the puck out of play, you had to chase it, which was some
incentive to learn to pass accurately.

I know the kids don't really like it, but if you want to become a good
hockey player, you start by learning to skate, and you don't carry a
stick while you are doing it. Figure skaters, no matter what one thinks
of them, are stronger and more knowledgeable skaters than hockey
players, and the figure skaters learn to skate without a stick. Too
many kids lean on their stick, or try to use it as a balancing bar, and
all of that gets in the way of really learning to skate. Once they have
mastered skating and start to use sticks, your mini-boards won't be much
help, as its pretty easy to accidentally loft a puck over such a low
barrier. So I would stick with a cheaper and easier snow berm; you will
need the money for fixing broken windows, which you will want to
consider in locating your rink.

You might look into a cheap laser for leveling your site; you can use it
to set up some stakes pretty easily.

C_L_R_D wrote:
Anyone have any dos and don'ts before I start this project ?

I was given 50 yds poly tarp 12' wide.
I thought i would use a string level to level the soil and place the rink
over were I plant my garden.
2 by 10" treated 10 and 12' boards screwed with scrap pieces.

CathyLee