How to fix a leak in a backyard rink liner
A rink that loses water has a hole somewhere in the liner or at a seam. I found no rink-specific repair guide beyond two rink sites. This page collects what they say about finding the hole and patching it in winter, then adds the one thing they do not give: how many gallons your rink loses per inch of level, so you can tell a pinhole from a tear.
Finding the hole
The FAQ at Backyard Ice Rinks, a rink-building site, suggests this order:
- Look outside the boards. A wet spot on the outside means water is escaping there.
- Scan near the boards first. The site says to check the liner along the boards, then the bottom edge, and widen the search toward the shallow end.
- Open the ice if it is thin. If the ice is about 3 in or thinner, the site says to break out a small section 12 to 18 in from the side boards to look at the liner.
- Try dye. A mix of food coloring and milk poured into calm water may drift toward a hole.
Seams are the first suspect. Seller My Backyard Ice Rink notes that taped seams can still leak despite careful work, which is why it recommends a one-piece liner. The liner size chart shows which sizes you can buy as a single sheet.
Patch options
Both sites sell or promote products, so read these as vendor guidance. I have not tested any of them.
- Tape. Backyard Ice Rinks says to use NiceRink repair tape or underwater glue, not both together. It passes on one expert's tip: red Tuck Tape under the water, covered with white patch tape so no red shows under the ice.
- Mid-season tape job. Clean and dry the area, place the patch, and warm the back of the tape with a hair dryer until it bonds. My Backyard Ice Rink warns that any crease in the tape may end up leaking.
- Underwater glue. Backyard Ice Rinks calls it a temporary clog until spring. For a larger hole it suggests gluing a liner patch, pressing it over the hole and weighting it with a stone or brick.
- Other products. My Backyard Ice Rink lists a patch kit in sheet form that you heat before applying, silage film tape for small holes, silicone caulk that cures in the cold, and an underwater-curing plastic patch. It also lists 3M Super 77 spray adhesive for bonding two liners together. It does not give instructions for them.
- Replace instead. The same seller notes that some builders skip repairs and buy a new liner each year.
How much water is an inch?
The sources never say how much loss is normal, so here is arithmetic of my own. If the water level in an unfrozen rink drops by a given amount, the loss is the rink area times that drop. These are US gallons on a level rink, with hose time at 5 gal/min to put it back.
| Rink (ft) | 1/2 in | 1 in | 2 in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 x 28 | 140 gal 28 min |
279 gal 56 min |
559 gal 1 h 52 min |
| 20 x 40 | 249 gal 50 min |
499 gal 1 h 40 min |
997 gal 3 h 19 min |
| 30 x 60 | 561 gal 1 h 52 min |
1,122 gal 3 h 44 min |
2,244 gal 7 h 29 min |
| 40 x 80 | 997 gal 3 h 19 min |
1,995 gal 6 h 39 min |
3,990 gal 13 h 18 min |
On a 20 x 40 ft rink an inch of lost level is 499 gallons. That is a leak worth chasing before you flood again. My suggestion: mark the water line on a board with tape in the evening and check it in the morning, so you know the loss per night. The calculator gives the full fill for your size if you have to start again.
After the patch
- Check the edge. My suggestion: look at folds and gaps where the liner meets the boards. The boards list has the stake spacing.
- Think about thickness. If you are buying a new liner, compare options on liner thickness.
- Water that got out. For lawn damage see the lawn guide, and for bumpy or cracked ice the ice problems page.