Ralph Faiella is a rink-building legend — at least in his own community. He built his first backyard rink to help his then-four-year-old son, Benny, learn to skate. It’s a skill he’d learned from his own dad and has now perfected over the past 13 winters in Wasaga Beach, Ontario. It didn’t take long for many of his neighbours to want their own rink, too. “It turned into…everybody skating in different rinks each night of the week,” Faiella says. “We’d get a bonfire going and barbecue hot dogs and make hot chocolate.”

Every year, the rinks would get bigger. Faiella’s first was about eight square feet, and now, his rink takes up the whole backyard. He started with a rink liner kit supported by a frame built from four eight-foot boards screwed into ground stakes at each corner. “My backyard is on a bit of a slope, so I used 2x10 boards at the back and sides, then 2x6 boards on the side closest to the house,” he says. “You can also level a slight grade using firmly packed snow.”

Now, Faiella prefers to sculpt the entire frame from snow, with high banks on each side — no boards or liner needed. This method requires more patience, especially because he sprays the frame with a garden hose, waits for it to freeze and repeats the process until it’s coated in about an inch of ice for strength. However, he thinks a liner works better in warmer winters, so you don’t have to re-flood your rink after a big thaw. Building either type of frame is time-consuming, but he rarely does it alone. “People come over to help and you have a few laughs,” he says. “You make a day of it.”

To flood the rink, Faiella starts with about two inches of water, lets it freeze and then builds layers from there until the ice is three to six inches thick. Flood it all at once and it may not freeze solid; he has only attempted it when the weather stayed at –30 C for a few days straight. Ensure that no debris blows in, which can create an uneven surface and air pockets in the ice. “I did have a deer run through it once,” he says.

t wasn’t just Benny who learned to skate on those backyard rinks; many neighbourhood kids did, too. A few went on to play organized hockey. One used their rink to shoot a figure skating video for her film-school application. Sometimes, the adults have to push the kids off the ice, says Faiella, so they get a chance to skate, too.

Smooth Skating

Ready to build the rink? Here are some safety tips to keep in mind.

• When picking a spot, consider the grade and slope to avoid flooding. Ensure that the water will safely drain away from nearby houses.
• Never leave a hose running unattended when flooding your rink.
• Install safety netting in and around hockey goal frames to catch out-of-bounds pucks that could break windows or hit passersby.
• Wear a hockey helmet, warm gloves and ice cleats while flooding the area.
• Make sure your rink frame doesn’t leak onto nearby walkways, creating a slipping hazard.
• Be sure the weather will remain below –4 C for several days before completing your first flood.
• For all subsequent layers, spray water up and outward using a nozzle. Never direct the force of the water at the ice.
• If the water takes more than 15 minutes to freeze, you’ve added too much of it. Reduce the amount for the next flooding.