MGoIceRink

Submitted by icegoalie1 on

So I decided to do a backyard ice rink this winter for the kids to skate on and as a finishing touch I iced over a block M at center ice to add some maize and blue flair.  I am going to have to get another inch or so of ice over it in the next week or so to make sure the skates to beat it up too bad but it turned out pretty good and the kids call the rink Yost-South.  

When I was in high school my brother and I painted up my parents side lot to look like a replica of Michigan Stadium turf complete with 6' tall "MICHIGAN" letters in each endzone.  We put flood lights on conduit poles so we could play at night and I remember friends of friends that I didn't even know coming over for night pick-up games.  Our quick 4-on-4 pick-up games quickly turned into full 11-on-11 battles.

I posted this because I wanted to see if anyone else did this kind of stuff or had any photos of their own personal UM fields, rinks or basketball courts.

Go Blue!

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LSAClassOf2000

December 12th, 2014 at 8:18 PM ^

Well done indeed, sir.

I wish I had the space in my postage stamp yard to do something like this because I probably would. As it stands, the Michigan flag on the flagpole and the block "M" on the kids' basketball hoop will have to do. 

 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130603

Jake Blues

December 12th, 2014 at 9:16 PM ^

Before we moved from Minnesota back to Michigan a few years ago, I had a great backyard for a rink (32 x 56). Here are a couple of photos (I posted links to pre- and post-flooding pictures below. Not sure how to get the pics to show up themselves.)

Joined: 12/03/2013

MGoPoints: 121

weasel3216

December 12th, 2014 at 8:52 PM ^

That is awesome. I wish my parents would have kept me skating as a kid. Didn't really "find" hockey until high school and it was too late at that point to start playing.

Joined: 08/09/2009

MGoPoints: 3502

WineAndSpirits

December 12th, 2014 at 10:08 PM ^

Someone should post the photos of the outdoor rink from the news last year. The guy had lights, boards from MSU's old rink, a warming hut amongst other amenities. I think he even planted trees to help block the sun and wind from the rink.

Joined: 05/11/2013

MGoPoints: 851

Ray

December 12th, 2014 at 10:29 PM ^

This is fantastic--well done! Apropos of nothing (for OSU grads that means "cool story, Bro") I am building a bar in my basement and one of the elements is a slate floor. I managed to find an artist who will do a maize M on a cobalt blue 12x12 tile. She'll also do the university seal. Hopefully in a couple months I'll be posting pictures here of my own. Don't think they'll top your rink though.

Joined: 07/05/2008

MGoPoints: 7044

xtramelanin

December 12th, 2014 at 10:58 PM ^

for your ice rinks.  those are excellent.

we have a good sized main barn (90 x 65) that years ago, before we gathered all the livestock, kids, and husbandry instruments, i turned into an indoor ice rink.   we only had 3 kids at the time, but they had a great winter of skating.   it is amazing how much the sun is the enemy of ice, even when the temps are plenty cold.   the indoor ice rink was the answer, no doubt. 

Joined: 12/09/2014

MGoPoints: 15439

Yostbound and Down

December 12th, 2014 at 11:08 PM ^

My neighbors used to do a decent sized rink, I'd say 60X30 or so...but no block M! Very nice. Get the kids practicing to be the next Copp or Larkin.

 

I ran across this one a couple days ago, this would definitely be one perk to living in the UP:

 

Joined: 07/27/2011

MGoPoints: -86513

birdough

December 12th, 2014 at 11:18 PM ^

What did you use under the ice? A really large tarp or several rows of plastic sheeting? We are hosting a couple NAHL players and have been kicking this idea around. any tips?

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 485

icegoalie1

December 12th, 2014 at 11:31 PM ^

This site has a lot of great info and tips for building a rink. Biggest thing is to figure out the slope of your yard first. Mine looks pretty flat but is 4" thick in one end and almost 15" on the far end. If you don't use a line level to start you won't make your boards tall enough and you will end up with a shallow end with no ice.
There are a lot of online companies that sell kits with the liner tarps and you just get some 1x12 lumber from Home Depot. Just make sure you really reinforce the boards...water is really heavy!

Joined: 03/15/2013

MGoPoints: 1226

Jake Blues

December 13th, 2014 at 9:41 AM ^

You definitely need to use one continuous tarp. Water will leak through any seams you try to tape together. And make sure you don't poke any holes in the tarp - it needs to be pristine or you're in for an uphill battle. Also, make sure you use a white one to reflect light. Finally, remove any leaves or other objects that enter the rink during flooding or you'll have leaf-sized soft spots/holes in your ice when the sun comes out!

Joined: 12/03/2013

MGoPoints: 121

goblueram

December 13th, 2014 at 1:37 AM ^

Used to skate in a neighborhood up off Plymouth road in college. A guy had a large bucket of warns water on a cart that had holes to flow out slowly, with a towel attached to drag behind and smooth it out. Lay down fresh water at the end of the day, give it the night to freeze, and it's a clean sheet in the morning.



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Joined: 08/18/2009

MGoPoints: 11701

o0MaizeNBlue0o

December 13th, 2014 at 12:14 AM ^

Love the Ice Rink.  I've been thinking about doing the same myself but my yard is too sloped.  Can't figure out how to realistically do it.  

Here's my MGoYard, though. This is the third year I've put it up.  It's 1/3 scale.  No letters in the end zone, though.  The "M" in the center is about 1/12 scale.   Last year, a guy who works in the Athletic Department stopped by and handed me 4 free tickets to a game. Complemented my fandom and rewarded me with the tickets.  

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9s5ka8bofa7htfp/AABQ4ZxR-eMR-on3fJbb15Lga?dl=0

 

Joined: 12/12/2014

MGoPoints: 2180

icegoalie1

December 13th, 2014 at 12:28 AM ^

That is awesome!! My parents yard that I used to paint up was very similar to the slope of your yard. We would have to take turns going uphill every other drive.

Bang up job on the field but you are right in putting an ice surface down would be tough. You could probably do a smaller one on the one end.

Joined: 03/15/2013

MGoPoints: 1226