Backyard rink calculator

Backyard rink kit or DIY: what each costs by size

Most pages on this question give one range for kits and one for DIY, without a rink size. Here the sizes are fixed. For four sizes I put the price a kit maker lists next to what the same liner area and brackets cost when I add them up myself. Kits and DIY rinks both need lumber for the sideboards, so the lumber is a separate line that is the same either way.

The comparison

Kit prices are the ones shown on the seller pages I opened on 2026-10-10, in US dollars. Prices change, so check the page before you buy. The DIY columns are my own estimate from the cost estimate: liner at $0.16 per sq ft and brackets at $9.00 each (my estimate based on Iron Sleek's add-on bracket prices, 12 for $108), for 3 in of water, 2 in of board above it and a bracket every 4 ft. Water is left out on both sides.

Lumber is my estimate: 2x10 boards, 10 ft long, at $21.45 each (the Hancock Lumber price from the cost page), one course around the rink.

What each kit includes

• 16 × 28 ft, NiceRink Rink-In-A-Box. $419.99 on the Midwest Ponds listing: a 21 × 33 ft liner, 26 brackets, a patch tape pad, a tube of underwater glue and a puck. The page says sideboards are not included and gives no liner thickness. It also lists a 20 × 40 ft size (34 brackets, 25 × 45 ft liner) without a price.
• 20 × 46 ft, Iron Sleek. $329.99 on the Iron Sleek kit page: a 5 mil liner of 25 × 50 ft and 24 brackets. The 20 × 46 kit page says it does not include boards.
• 30 × 60 ft, Iron Sleek. $522.63: a 6 mil liner of 35 × 65 ft, 32 brackets and 8 corner brackets.
• 40 × 80 ft, Iron Sleek. $758.88: a 6 mil liner of 45 × 85 ft, 44 brackets and 8 corner brackets.

Iron Sleek's chart sets bracket spacing by water depth (8 ft under 8 in of water, 6 ft at 8–10 in, 4 ft at 10–12 in), so its kits can include fewer brackets than my 4 ft estimate. I have no connection to either maker. I name them because their prices are public and they sell the sizes in the table.

How to read it

• The bracket price drives the result. I priced every bracket at $9.00, my estimate from Iron Sleek's add-on prices: 12 brackets for $108, and its other add-on packs imply about $9 to $10 per bracket. I count one every 4 ft. At that price the three Iron Sleek kits cost less than my DIY liner and brackets, by about $160 to $350, and the gap grows with the size. Part of the gap is the count: the kits include fewer brackets than my 4 ft spacing (see above). The NiceRink 16 × 28 kit costs about $130 more than the parts. Each $1 on the bracket price moves the DIY total by $22 to $60 across these sizes, and wooden stakes would shrink the gap further, because they cost far less than a bracket.
• Lumber is a smaller line than the parts. At every size in the table it comes to less than the DIY liner and brackets together, and a kit does not change it.
• A kit sizes the liner for you. Its liner is a bit bigger than my DIY figure, which uses a 12 in overhang. The extra material covers the boards and some slack. The liner size guide shows how to work out your own.
• Thickness matters more than the kit label. Iron Sleek lists 5 mil and 6 mil, NiceRink lists none. If you buy a liner separately, see which thickness holds up.
• Boards can come with the kit. A review from November 2017 on How To Hockey quotes $1900 for a 20 x 40 kit with boards, brackets and liner. That is an old, single price for a different product, so I left it out of the table.

When I would pick which

A kit makes sense when you want one order that arrives with a liner cut for your size and the right number of brackets, and you have a lumber yard nearby for the boards. DIY makes sense when you already own lumber, or when your yard is odd-shaped and a standard liner would not fit well. On a slope you need taller boards on the low side either way, so start with the slope guide. The materials list gives the board and bracket counts for any size.

Next: the full cost estimate with editable prices, or what size rink to build.