It's finally summertime, and that means one thing: It's time to take your skateboard out of the closet! Even though a bunch of new skateparks are appearing in and around sides the city, a good old fashioned ledge is the best obstacle to practice and improve your tech skills. That’s perfect! Building your own DYI ledge is the easiest thing when you know how to do it.

Read the following tutorial, gather 5 of your friends and, for less than $ 10 each, you will be able to build your own DYI ledge in no time. No more busy skateparks or pot holed streets, now you have a perfect and private spot to practice any time you want!

Step 1 - Find a spot

In the whole process of building your own concrete ledge, finding the right spot is probably the most difficult part. Because if you build your obstacle in a public place where it is not really allowed, there’s a high risk of seeing your obstacle destroyed by the city in which you live.

Your house driveway is a good option, if your parents agree of course. Still, the best place to build your ledge in order to be able to skate it for a few years is what we call a “Ghetto Spot”. Basically, a ghetto spot is the smooth ground level of buildings that have been destroyed. Always stay on the lookout, because there are spots like that practically in every corner of the city and of the surroundings municipalities too.

Step 2 - Get the supplies 

Now that you have your site in mind, it's time to get the tools you need to build your ledge.

4 cinderblocks

Two 90 degrees iron angles (same length than 4 cinderblocks lined up)

A 3/4"Plywood sheet

 Liquid Nail Adhesive

Applicator for the glue

The materials and tools needed to build your ledge are virtually all available at your local hardware store. To date, not too complicated. It will not become it either!

Step 3- Assembling the blocks

Start by applying a generous amount of Liquid Nails or similar construction adhesive to the end of each cinder block... Dont hesitate to apply more than on the picture to make sure it stays in place. Once glued, they should look like the image below. Note that you want to place the blocks with the holes facing up. They have been designed to be the strongest when used in this configuration.

Étape 4- Placing the plywood

Now that the cinder blocks are in place, apply a generous amount of the adhesive to the top of each block.

Place a 3/4"  piece of plywood on the top of the cinder blocks while the adhesive is still soft. The size of the plywood may vary depending on your cinder blocks.

The plywood not only covers the holes in the cinder blocks but also strengthens the cinder block ledge as a whole. You'll want to put some weight on top of the plywood while the glue dries for a better bond.

Étape 5- Placing the iron angles

Take the angle iron and cut it to size. Once again, apply a decent amount of construction adhesive to both legs of the angle iron and place each angle iron firmly onto the covered cinder block ledge.

You'll want to put some weight on top of the angle iron while the glue dries for a better bond.

Depending on the construction adhesive you use, it should be strong enough to allow you to move the ledge. However a ledge like this will weigh about 130 pounds, which is good for keeping it in place while skating but kind of bad for moving it around.

Again, make sure your spot is safe, so you won't have to move your ledge.

Step 6 - Skate it!

Make sure you allow the glue to dry before you skate the cinder block ledge, but that's it! wax it up and have fun on your brand new and buttery DIY ledge!