How can I build a simple, inexpensive, but usable single lane bowling alley in my basement?
Greg W asked:
Our basement is over 50′ long, just about 10′ short of a bowling alley. I would like to build something in the basement to replicate a real bowling alley, but obviously at a fraction of the cost. We already have 10 real bowling pins… I’m not concerned so much about a pin setter, we can do that manually, just the actual lane itself…Any ideas? Thanks.
Our basement is over 50′ long, just about 10′ short of a bowling alley. I would like to build something in the basement to replicate a real bowling alley, but obviously at a fraction of the cost. We already have 10 real bowling pins… I’m not concerned so much about a pin setter, we can do that manually, just the actual lane itself…Any ideas? Thanks.
April 6th, 2008 at 7:27 am
i have no idea what you wrote but ok ill agreee with you!
April 6th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Bowling alleys are typically made of tongue and groove maple flooring, 3/4″ thick or more, much like a gymnasium floor. On a concrete basement floor, you would have to install “sleepers”, which are 2″x2″ s laid crosswise to the alley every 16″ with a vapor barrier to prevent moisture coming from the concrete floor. You would attach the maple boards to the sleepers with cleat nails. Then the whole lane would need to be sanded flat and smooth, and finished with a hard polyurethane varnish. You probably could do something a little less with cheaper materials, but I think you might be disappointed when you tried to use it. I would guess that the project might cost in the neighborhood of $1000 depending on how much of the work you can do yourself.
April 9th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
You can set it up on old pallets and skids, then add shellac to your liking.
-Cappy Dick