Progress on the Rink

Alright! School's out until the new year! For me, at least. I wrote my last exam last night, so now that I'm done with the studying, I can get back to blogging more regularly. Now, on to the topic at hand...

Well, I always said this was going to be a learning experience...here's what I've learned so far from working on the ice rink.

First, water is very, very heavy. I didn't realize just how heavy it could get. I mean, obviously, I know how heavy water can be, but the way we put the frame together did not handle the weight very well. The boards have pulled apart in a couple of places where the ground was lower and the water pulled the tarped boards away from the top brace. So, we've had some leaks so far.

Second, not all the water freezes right away; the top of the ice is good, but underneath, it's still very much water. We discovered this when I accidentally ripped a couple of holes in the tarp trying to fix the aforementioned pull-aparts, and the water drained out to create a second patch of ice on the ground instead. I've tried blocking it off, but with no success.

Third, make damn sure the ground is level, or at the very least, very carefully level the entire frame before letting any water get in. The side closer to the road is lower than the backside, so we've got some nice ice on one side of the rink, but bare tarp at the other side. Now, if it wasn't leaking, we could fill the roadside up some more, and it would fill up the whole think and cover up that tarp. But so far, that's not happening, yet.

So, tomorrow Ashton and I are going to figure out how to repair those little holes in the tarp so we can properly fill this rink. Next year, we'll have a better idea of how to do this, and we'll make it even better. For now, we're not giving up just yet.