Since the pandemic began several months ago, more and more people are finding new ways to do things at home in order to avoid public gatherings and such. For people that like to play hockey, floor tiles have become increasingly popular. Whether it is synthetic ice or dryland hockey floor tiles, both make a great way to practice and even play games right in the comfort of your own home. One of the greatest things about hockey tiles is that they are so easy to install. You don’t have to renovate the whole backyard and lay down tons of concrete to do it. All you have to do is have enough space with a hard, flat surface and you can create your own skating rink.
Synthetic Ice
Synthetic ice is a fantastic way to keep your ice skating skills sharp throughout all seasons of the year. Since it does not have to be frozen, you don’t have to worry about setting it up in a refrigerated area. Modern-day ice tiles are self-lubricating, so you don’t have to add any lubricants or additives to the flooring so it stays slick. It stays slick all by itself for many years. Sniper’s Edge synthetic ice panels are super easy to install. All you have to do is designate an area that is flat and has a hard enough surface to ice skate on. It can be your garage or back patio. If you want to put your ice flooring on a softer surface you can put down some heavy-duty plywood and use that as the base. The ice panels come in boxes of packs of panels that are equipped with interlocking edges so that all you have to do is put them flat on the surface and link them together.
Dryland Hockey Flooring
Dryland hockey flooring, also known as slick tiles, is much like synthetic ice. The major difference between the two is that synthetic ice is made for ice skating, and slick tiles are not. They both have a great slick platform that allows for pucks and sticks to slide across them without a problem, but you can’t ice skate on slick tiles, and you can’t rollerblade on synthetic ice. As for the quality of the floorings, it all comes down to personal preference. If you insist on skating with ice skates, you will need to go with the artificial ice. If you prefer rollerblades, the dryland tiles will work better for you. Both are very easy to install. Most times the dryland tiles will be about 12 inches by 12 inches squared. This makes them a lot easier to install in smaller places. Much like the ice panels, they are built with tabbed edges that allow for you to easily install them and lock them together for a seamless surface that the pucks will glide over without much more resistance than they would if they were on ice.
Tools Needed for Installation
The tools that you might need in order to install your hockey flooring will depend on how and where you install it. If you are installing your flooring in your garage on the concrete floor, you may need to use a rubber mallet on the seams of the flooring just to be sure that they go together flush on the edges. If you are installing them on the grass, or a softer area, it is a good idea to put down a subflooring surface as we mentioned above. Plywood works great. Make sure that the plywood that you lay down is level ane even so that it doesn’t rise where the edges meet. The flatter your surface, the better you are.
Easy as That
It is as easy as that. You find a flat, level surface that is hard enough to practice on, and you are good to go. Pull the panels out of the box and set them out according to the way you want to build your hockey area. It might be a good idea to start joining the panels from the center and work outwards if you are pressed for room. Either way, you can build our own flooring and be practicing those kill shots in no time.