How I Saved Serious Cash By Moving Rocks On My Own
In my quest to become a true DIYer, I collected many power- and hand tools over the years, not to mention my outdoor power equipment, which outgrew my “workshop” in the garage. I really wanted to either buy or build a shed but I really did not have a suitable location to place it near…
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First Time Building a Backyard Ice Rink – Day 1 Initial Planning
Even though I live in northern part of Somerset County, it is still considered to be Central NJ so I thought it was simply too warm for me to build a backyard ice rink (especially one that will last more than a week). However, it has been very cold with night temperatures in the single…
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First Time Building a Backyard Ice Rink – Day 2 Construction
Snow on the ground? Check. Snowing? Check. Temperature in the low teens? Check. Ground frozen solid like a tundra? Check. Getting dark? Check. Time to build a backyard ice rink? Yeah! I’ve broken up my DIY Backyard Ice Rink project into multiple posts: Day 1 – Initial Planning, Day 2 (you are here), Day 3…
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First Time Building a Backyard Ice Rink – Day 3 Filling the Rink with Water
So I ran out of time last night with the discovery of frozen garden hoses. It is still bitterly cold with temperatures in the low teens during the day so I think I still have a good chance of making the ice rink. I’ve broken up my DIY Backyard Ice Rink project into multiple posts:…
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First Time Building a Backyard Ice Rink – Day 4 Second Layer of Ice
Temperature is still hovering below freezing so I am going to attempt to lay down a second (thinner) layer of ice. It should be a very cold night. I’ve broken up my DIY Backyard Ice Rink project into multiple posts: Day 1 – Initial Planning, Day 2 – Construction, Day 3 – Filling with Water,…
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Building a Backyard Ice Rink – Resources
Backyard Ice Rink – Lessons Learned Leaves – Thoroughly blow off as much leaves as possible; any leaves that get trapped inside the ice will cause havoc as it will draw heat from the sun and melt the surrounding ice. This happens even to leaves that are trapped 5 inches below the ice surface Uneven…
First Time Building a Backyard Ice Rink – Day 5 Skating Time
It looks like my kids will not be able to skate with today’s daytime temperature expected to rise around 32 degrees. I’ve broken up my DIY Backyard Ice Rink project into multiple posts: Day 1 – Initial Planning, Day 2 – Construction, Day 3 – Filling with Water, Day 4 – Second Layer of Ice,…
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First Time Building a Backyard Ice Rink – Day 6 Skating Time
First Time Building a Backyard Ice Rink is a multi-part articles: Day 1 – Initial Planning, Day 2 – Construction, Day 3 – Filling with Water, Day 4 – Second Layer of Ice, Day 5 – Skating Time and Day 6 – Finally Ready. OVERVIEW Skating time! Yeeees! STATUS After another cold night, my…
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First Time Building a Backyard Ice Rink – Ice Condition January 17
First Time Building a Backyard Ice Rink is a multi-part articles: Day 1 – Initial Planning, Day 2 – Construction, Day 3 – Filling with Water, Day 4 – Second Layer of Ice, Day 5 – Skating Time and Day 6 – Finally Ready. STATUS On average, the temperature hovered around 38-40 degrees but…
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Backyard Ice Rink – Ice Condition February 2
So far, the ice rink is holding up well in the mid 30 degree weather with kids skating over the weekend. But keeping it skate-able definitely involves serious work commitment: 07:00 – We got about 3 inches of snow overnight but then by 05:00, it started to rain; 09:00 – With temperature in the 40s…
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