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Building a base ?

Hello,

Been doing lots of reading, always looking for ways to improve the previous years' rink. This will be my 3rd rink, 24x40. Used a basic white tarp the first year (8x8 woven seams) which worked great. last year I payed twice as much for a silage tarp (black on one side, white the other) b/c it was supposed to last several years. Not so. it has tons of tiny pinholes in it which I know will be an issue later. What do most of you use for tarp/liner ???

Secondly, I wonder about my base building. I have my low end that needs about 15 inches of water before it will eventually level out with my high end. Certainly not ideal, but the cost to bring equipment in to level is too much for my budget. The first two years I simply filled the rink and waited for it to freeze. Might I be better to fill the low corner and wait for it to freeze, then continue to add a few inches each night ? My concern is that it will take weeks to finally get it to where i need it to be ... thoughts anyone ?

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Comment by Paul on March 6, 2012 at 4:27pm: I made a temporary deck out of old pallets and 10 sheets of plywood (OSB) to raise my corner up 12 inches. I screwed a 2x4 to the boards. Layed the OSB on the 2x4 and supported it with the pallets and screws. The plywood (OSB) tapered to the high ground. That worked great. I saved a lot of water and it held up the entire year.

Comment by Paul on March 6, 2012 at 4:21pm: For your pin holes - use clear silicone caulk. Then tape over the caulk with waterproof tape (duct tape might work). I did it. It worked great!

Comment by Scott "Moose" Mattson on December 5, 2011 at 12:11pm: I will be using a silage tarp this year but not next.

There is a place in Minneapolis (and I suppose many large cities may have something similar) That recycles vinyl billboards (advertisments) you can get them with a base color of black or White (we obviously need white) and just about any size. You just need to turn the advertisment side down and you'll have a perfectly white base to work with. They're suppose to weather resisted and hole/cut free, perfect for a ice rink (I spoke with the owner of the company). They are a little more spendy but I think they're 15-17 mils thick. I'll include the link for you to check out all the details yourself. http://www.billboardtarps.com/pages/shipping