During the winter, your pool is vulnerable to many types of damage. Pipes and pups can freeze if they are not properly prepared for the cold weather, and ice can occasionally puncture the lining of both above ground and in-ground pools with vinyl liners. It is important to take the time and properly winterize your pool, but while you are at it, you should also consider turning your pool into a backyard ice rink.
Basic Pool Winterization
When turning your pool into an ice rink, it is imperative that you properly winterize your pool. Frozen water in any of your filters or skimmers will quickly damage your pool and lead to costly repairs. If you are installing an ice rink, you will want to drop the water level at least 8 inches below your skimmers.
Installing a Liner
Once you have winterized your pool, you should install a vinyl or canvas liner over the entire surface of your pool. This liner should rest on the top of the water and extend about three feet over the edge of your pool. If it is not touching the surface of the water evenly around the pool, your ice could end up tearing the liner, breaking through to your pool's liner and causing damage. You can hold it in place with sandbags or jugs of water. This liner will hold your ice and make sure it does not tilt and damage your pool while you are skating.
Once the top liner is in place, you should wait until you have consistently cool weather that is below freezing every night. Then, you can begin filling the liner with water. Start with about an inch of water, let it freeze, and then add another inch the next day. Continue adding water until you have 4-5 inches of frozen water in the liner.
Skating Safely and Protecting Your Pool
You should wait until you you have at least 4 inches of solid ice in your liner before you begin skating, and you should check the ice level every time you skate. If the ice begins to melt and falls below 4 inches, or is not frozen to the edges of the pool you should refrain from skating. Also, if the top liner lifts off from the water beneath it, you should disassemble your rink and reposition the liner to avoid putting stress on your pool.
You will also want to protect the edges of your pool from sharp skates. Try not to skate around the edges, and if you have snow you may want to build a snow barrier about a foot onto the ice, 6 inches tall, to protect the edge of your pool in the case of a fall.
Removing the Rink and Preparing for Summer
Removing the rink is easy, once the weather becomes warm. You simply wait until the ice melts, remove the weights around the edge of the pool, and remove the canvas or vinyl liner that you topped the pool with. If you try to remove the liner before the ice has melted, you can damage your pool.
Once the liner has been removed, you can reinstall your pumps and filters, fill your pool to the proper level, and enjoy your pool throughout the summer.
Repairing Any Winter Damage
If you have properly winterized your pool, an ice rink should not cause any damage. However, if you accidentally tear the lining of your pool with a skate or ice, you can repair it yourself with a vinyl patch kit. If the ice tilts, causing a bigger tear in the vinyl, you will need to go to sites and call in a professional repair service to look at the damage and possibly replace your entire liner.
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