How to resurface a backyard rink
A resurfacer lays a thin film of water over the ice, and the film freezes into a smooth skin. You can buy one, or build a basic version from PVC pipe, a ball valve and a towel. This page lists the parts, shows how much water one pass takes for your rink size, and walks through the steps. For the first fill and top floods in general, see the flooding guide.
Parts for a PVC and towel resurfacer
The build below follows a homemade resurfacer on Rogue Engineer, a personal blog. The author gives no hole size, hole spacing or dimensions, so the quantities and notes marked as mine are untested suggestions.
| Part | Qty | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PVC pipe, 3/4 or 1 in | 1 set | The blog suggests 3/4 in and used 1 in from leftover pipe. Handle length is up to you. |
| Large PVC T fitting | 1 | Holes are drilled along the horizontal part, so water runs out evenly. |
| Ball valve | 1 | Set it so the towel is just wet all the way across. |
| Garden hose adapter | 1 | Joins the valve to your hose. |
| Towel | 1 | Zip-tied along the drilled part. It spreads the water as you drag it. |
| Zip ties | several | My suggestion: one every few inches along the towel. |
Other versions exist. A New England rink-building article describes a garden hose on PVC tubing, dragged across the ice. Sellers also offer ready-made units, for example a stainless hand resurfacer with a hose reel (a seller page, so read it as a sales pitch).
Water for one pass
Gallons to cover the whole rink with one even layer, and hose minutes at the 5 US gallons a minute used on the flooding page. The 1/64 in column is a light pass that only fills scratches, which is my suggestion for a nightly touch-up; the 1/32 in column shows what a heavier pass costs in water.
| Rink (ft) | Area | 1/64 in layer | 1/32 in layer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 × 20 | 400 sq ft | 4.0 gal 1 min | 8.0 gal 2 min |
| 20 × 40 | 800 sq ft | 8.0 gal 2 min | 16.0 gal 3 min |
| 30 × 60 | 1,800 sq ft | 18.0 gal 4 min | 35.0 gal 7 min |
| 40 × 80 | 3,200 sq ft | 31.0 gal 6 min | 62.0 gal 12 min |
Level rink, no losses. The towel holds some water and some runs off, so real passes use a bit more.
What's next
I'm thinking about a season log for your rink: note each flood night, how many layers went down and how thick the ice is, and see the whole winter on one page. It isn't built yet. The button below only adds one to a counter, so I can see if enough people want it.
Thanks, counted.
Steps
- Clear the snow and shavings. The Rogue Engineer author says to shovel or scrape the snow off first.
- Pick a cold evening. My suggestion: resurface last thing in the day, so the film has the night to freeze before anyone skates.
- Open the valve a little. Keep the towel just wet. The blog's author found that flooding the ice meant waiting for the top layer to refreeze, and that more water takes longer to refreeze.
- Drag the towel in overlapping strips, starting at the far end so you do not walk over wet ice. Keep the hose off the fresh film (my suggestion).
- Leave it to freeze, then check the surface before you skate. Drain the hose and resurfacer afterward and store them where they cannot freeze, as the blog advises.
Hot or cold water
Opinions differ. The Rogue Engineer author ran the hose from a hot water heater and says hot water helps knock down small bumps. Family Handyman's rink tips also suggest a resurfacer with a thin layer of hot water. The New England article's builder lays down a thin layer and says spraying or aerating makes rough patches, because the water freezes too fast. Cold water from an outdoor tap is the other common choice, so use what your setup allows.
Related
- How much water the first fill takes
- Flooding a backyard rink: first fill and top floods