So you have decided to invest in some synthetic ice flooring panels. Good choice. You will be ice skating in the comfort of your own home in no time. If you are wondering where to begin, and what to do next you have come to the right place. Before you get too far ahead of yourself, take a look at the information that we have to offer so that you can get going in the right direction and start skating as soon as possible.
Table of Contents
Make Sure Your Area is Good
The first thing that you need to do in order to successfully install synthetic ice flooring is to make sure that the area that you have chosen to install your flooring on is good enough to get the most out of your tiles. If you install your tiles on a surface that is not flat or is not solid, you could run into problems and have to pull the whole flooring out then reinstall it. This can b a waste of time and effort. Make sure that if you are installing your flooring over the carpet that you have added a layer of plywood over the top of it so that your ice skates don’t pop through the flooring. You need a flat, hard surface in order to accommodate the abuse of the ice skating blades.
Measure Out Your Area
Make sure that you have your area measured out and that you will have adequate room for your installation. Double-check to see if you have enough square footage of floor space to install your tiles and have enough room to maneuver around once the flooring is installed. You can find out the square footage of an area by measuring the width of the area by the length then multiplying the two numbers together. Make sure that you convert inches to feet or vice versa when necessary.
Start From the Center
When you begin to install your flooring panels make sure that you start from the center of the flooring area. If you try to build from the outside area inward, you will most likely end up with a huge gap in the center. The panels are built so that the tabs on the side of them join tightly together so that the end result of the flooring is seamless and without any bumps or dips. Lay your first panel down in the center, then join it with the next one. Work your way around from the inside until you cover the area with floor panels. With each panel that you install, double check that there is no raised edges or dips in the flooring.
Tamp Down the Edges
Synthetic ice panels are designed so that they go together right next to each other and create a smooth flooring to ice skate over. When you practice shots with your hockey shooting tarp you don’t want there to be any raised edges for the puck to bounce off of. The best way to ensure that your flooring is as smooth as possible is to go over the whole area and meticulously search for issues. If you see any raised edges, even slight ones, tamp them down with a rubber mallet to put them into place. Make sure that your surface is smooth and free of tripping hazards. You want to be able to ice skate over the flooring without having to worry about doing a face plant on the floor because you left some raised areas to trip over.
Conclusion
When you are certain that the flooring is installed as flush and even as possible go ahead and put your skates on. It is time to get out there and get some skating time in. It might take you few minutes to get used to the difference in resistance between real ice and fake ice, but it won’t take long. Have fun and continue to practice every day.
***Sniper’s Edge Hockey loves Canada! We proudly ship all of our products to Canada and offer the same return policies as we do for everybody else. We realize the exchange rates for the Canadian dollar are not the best right now, so we’re trying to help by giving you free shipping and no customs/duty.***