QUESTION
#1 Are there any duties or extra fees?
ANSWER
#1 The only extra cost is the
shipping to your destination which is commonly described
as F.O.B. This acronym stands for Freight
on Board. It means you pay the freight to your destination
from our warehouse. If you are located in the U.S.A.
there are no extra fees as the goods fall under the agreement
Section 321 stating all packages under 200.00 u.s. will
be allowed to clear customs duty free. If you have an
expensive rink costing more than the allowable 200.00
u.s. funds we will split your order into hardware box
and liner box taking advantage of Section 321 allowing
you the opportunity receive your rink with no extra charges.
Remember the exchange rate for our U.S. customers has
been helpful in off setting the shipping cost. At this
juncture as I type in 2009 it appears to have become close to par with the advantage going to our U.S. friends.
QUESTION #2 How do I know if you will still be shipping next year and that I can get what I need on a yearly basis.
ANSWER
#2 We have been in the backyard
ice rink business since 1992 and plan to be of service
to our customers for many many years to come. We take
our job of supplying you with your ice rink needs seriously.
The feather in our cap is when neighbours and friends
recommend us to other neighbours and friends.
QUESTION #3 What size wood do I buy?
ANSWER
#3 This is the trickiest
question to answer because there are several variables.
Lets start by saying that you should use a 2" x
? The reason there is a
question mark is because we don't know the lay of
your land so to speak. If you have a 5" drop from
corner to corner or side to side then you would need at
least an 8" wide board or more. The reason 8"
or more is needed is because you would have 5" of
drop and at least 2" of ice and you would need some
board to shoot the puck off of and after all is said and
done a 2"x 8" is actually only 7 1/2" wide
anyways and that leaves you with a mere 1/2" .
A 2" x 10" is actually the better
choice of frame material on the lowest side with this
as your scenario. You may not need 2" x 10"
's all the way around your perimeter and using a 2"
x 8" on the high side may be an option.
We
ship the J-brace in quantities based on using full length
lumber 12' pieces.
Your
wood frame available at your local lumber or Do it Yourself
Center (wood not included in our ice rink kit) This is
the backyard rink that is logical and affordable.
QUESTION #4 Why do I have to check my level before I start do build my rink?
ANSWER
#4 This is, as described
very important. The reason it is so..............you want
to get started with the most likely chance of success.
This is why we stress checking your level. If you were
to ASSUME your site is level and make
the mistake of confusing the words flat and level
the likely scenario would be as follows. You assemble
your frame and lay your liner and your boards are carefully
selected as 2" x 8" 's. They are a reasonable
price and fit your budget well. You start to fill your
frame with water and several hours later you notice that
one end/side is collecting all the water and eventually
the water is pouring over the frame in that area and the
liner at the other end is still bare. Guess what? You
are stuck!! You can't push or pull or force the ice or
water up hill. It just doesn't work that way. Now
picture a wider frame that will contain the water and
as the water fills the lowest area it starts to spread
out across the rink bottom gradually filling in
the rest of bare liner area. CHECK YOUR LEVEL!!!
We supply a level in our kits but to get a start on things
get down to your local hardware store and pick one up
for 4 bucks. Ask them how to use it if you are not sure. The
cord/kite string MUST BE TIGHT FROM STAKE TO STAKE
or your bubble read on your line level will be inaccurate.
We say cord because generally a light string will break
as you are tightening it up previous to your placement
of line level. See Question # 12 for "How do I check my level?"
QUESTION #5 When should I start my rink?
ANSWER #5 Different regions dictate different calendar start times. The general weather start times are the same. After your grass has gone into the dormant stage, the leaves have fallen, you've had a light snow and melt, there is frost on your car windows in the morning. These are all indications of a time to start to check your rink sizing and your site. CHECKING to see how level your site is can be done sooner and as early as midsummer. After all you will need time to make ajustments to your land and site, but if this important step hasn't been done DO IT. Do not omit this step from your
plans. See QUESTION #4
QUESTION #6 What color is your liner and what is its thickness?
ANSWER
#6 We stock 6 mil white rink poly. It is
U.V. protected and has a very high cold crack rating.
You can not abuse it and drag it across the floor and walk
all over it etc. Some care should be taken. After all
the reason for having a one piece liner is to contain
your water and having a puncture or tear would defeat
the purpose and cause you much aggravation. Remember that
you will be positioning this liner next to or within fractions
of inches to skates and pucks and shovels and snow blowers
and we suggest you replace your liner on a yearly basis.
Picture your self trying to roll up or fold a 40 x 62
liner or bigger, in the spring that has accumulated a
few worms some water and leaves. Now fold it up neatly
and in a smallish size to store safely for 9 months of
the summer and remove it in the fall to again assemble.
Frankly, its a roll of the dice if not stored
safely for the possibility to have a liner
that is puncture or tear free for your second season.
If you want to virtually guarantee at least getting to
the off season with a liner that is pristine(puncture/tear
free) then consider our Liner
Protection System (L.P.S.)You decide what is best
for you.
QUESTION #7 How do I figure out my wood costs?
ANSWER #7 Take your measurements of your width and multiply by 2 and take your length and multiply by 2. This gives you your total running length in lumber. Your local lumber depot will then give you the cost per running foot or per board but you must know the width of your board...eg. 2x8 or 2x10 or 2x12
or plywood, for this info. The standing width now is your other consideration which is arrived at by question and answer #3 and #4 previous in this section.
QUESTION #8 What if my yard is a different size than the rink kits you supply.
ANSWER
#8 Choose the closest
kit in size to your yard/site size. The rink kit can be
made smaller but not bigger than the liner that is included.
Remember you are buying the frame wood and so you can
make it any size you want, up to the "as indicated"
kit size.
QUESTION # 9 Does this rink with liner kill the grass?
ANSWER
#9 No!!! We will explain briefly. The grass
is protected by the liner through out the winter and as
long as you remove the liner in the spring with in 10-20
days of allowing your water to escape it will be in good
shape. We have even kept the liner longer as it acts as
a greenhouse and the grass is very green upon removal.
Monitor this temporary greenhouse and remove when you
feel comfortable.
QUESTION
# 10 What do I do with the extra plastic liner that
goes up and over the boards ?
ANSWER # 10 There are several options
as follows. a) After the water has frozen and turned to
ice use a blade to slice off the extra poly at ice level
around the entire perimeter.
b) use a dasher board of
1"x6" spruce or the like and paint it white
to reflect the suns rays while sandwiching the liner
in between. This extra board frame should be placed next
to/sandwiching the plastic liner to the existing 2"x
?
c.)
use our puck board roll (50' long) to sandwich the plastic
poly liner between. It will reflect the heat of the sun
and also protect your poly liner from damage by skates,
snowblowers and shovels.It is part of our Liner
Protection System (L.P.S.)
QUESTION
# 11 How
do I determine how many extra J-braces I will need if
my site is unlevel ?
ANSWER
# 11 Your kit comes with 1 J-brace for every
12' of board. This is all you will need if you have a
level site. A level site is considered level if it has
no more than 3-4" of water/ice at its maximum. Most
rink builders have somewhere between 6" and 10"
of water/ice. The basic formula is.....You will require
1 extra J-Brace for every inch of water above 3"
on rinks up to 48' long. eg: 12"
of water on a 48' side or rink end would mean you need
9 extra J-Braces for that side.
Your kit comes with 3 for that 48' side making a total
of 12 braces. Approx. 1 J-Brace for every
3 1/2 feet. If you have 8" of water/ice or more on
a side then we recommend switching to the series 3
J-Brace which when used with a 2" x 2" support
on a 45 degree angle considerably strengthens your support
structure. One more example. (I always found in
school there was never enough examples) You have a 36'
end with 8" of water/ice. Every inch above 3"
would mean you would need 5 extra J-Braces and you receive
2 in the kit. Seven J-Braces would be available for the
36' end giving you 1 J-Brace every 4'.
Last point......if your rink water/ice is deeper
than 12" you will need to switch to a series 3 J-Brace,
an 8"x8" plywood patch and a 2"x 2"
45 degree support for every 2' 6 " of
framing material.
Question # 12. How do I find out my slope or level?
ANSWER #12 Picture your rink area in front of you. Hammer in a stake at least 8"into the ground. Do this twice...once at each end of your proposed rink area. Take a piece of solid twine (not cheap chinese string)and tie it at one end to your stake and draw it across to your other stake. Tie it, but tightly....no sag after placement of your line level as you will not have an accurate reading. If your line level does not cause the string to sag check to see where the bubble sits. If it is not in the middle between the two lines of the level then you will need to ajust one end or the other where your string ties to the stake until this happens. Once your bubble reads in the middle then the difference between string height at one end vs. the other is your grade /slope. If your string at one end is 1" from the grass and the other end is 9" from the grass then you have an 8" drop and your board height needs to be at least 10" approx or more.
We
are very proud of the information compiled on our site
after 18 years and believe it to be unparalleled in the
industry. Hope you like it and happy rink building.
SINCE 1992
TOLL FREE:
1-800-448-6648
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