There are a ton of different options for in-home bowling lanes. If you’ve decided to bring the fun and excitement of bowling into the comfort of your home, it’s now time to consider those options and make your plan.
Each of these options will have an impact on the cost of building your in-home bowling lanes, so it’s important to consider your budget when making choices and work with a professional who can help you find the right options.
The options for in-home bowling lanes range from the type of bowing lane (5 pin, 10 pin, or duckpin), the lane length (standard or short) and type, the kind of furniture you want, how will you care for the lanes, and more. Let’s look at some of these in-home bowling lane options in a bit more detail.
Length of Bowling Lane
A standard bowling lane requires a minimum of 87 feet to install. You might not want to take up that kind of real estate in your home. Solutions like Brunswick’s DuckPin Social lanes are only 31 feet in length and a set can be installed in only 400 square feet. We can help you consider the pros and cons of different length options.
The Type of Bowling Lane
Do you want 5 pin, 10 pin, or duckpin lanes? This simply refers to the number of pins used, but impacts the type of lanes and availability of options. Five pin was the dominant game in parts of Canada for much of the late 20th century, but is largely being eclipsed by ten pin and has always been the primary game in the US.
Do you want subway returns where the balls come back under the lane, or do you want surface returns? The height of the bowling foundation is lessened so surface returns are a good option is there are ceiling constraints to consider.
Most of the dominant manufacturers specialize in 10 pin, providing consumers with many more options from lane materials, to scoring, to pinsetters.
With Brunswick synthetic lanes you can choose a variety of finishes and distinctive colours. You can even choose lanes with designs that change and glow when you expose them to black light.
Scoring and Monitors
Brunswick Sync is the industry-leading scoring system and allows you to really elevate your bowling experience with custom games like Angry Birds bowling, and integrate your smartphone with the scoring. There are number different service options with Sync. Sync Kiosk Scoring is the best option for residential homes as it has a simplified design and easy-to-use intuitive interface.
Pinsetter Type
The pinsetter is the machine at the end of your in-home bowling alley that picks up and resets the pins when you knock them over. You have a couple of options when choosing a pinsetter.
A traditional pinsetter like the Brunswick GSX is what’s called a free fall pinsetter. Meaning the pins fall and are swept into the pinsetter to be cycled through and reset. A String pinsetter, by contrast, has strings attached to each pin that are used to lift and reset the pins.
String pinsetters are more economical, require less maintenance and are easier to operate. We strongly recommend string pinsetters for any in-house bowling lane installation.
Furniture
What kind of environment do you want to create for your in-home bowling alley? With Brunswick’s Center Stage furniture, you can do everything from standard tables and chairs to high-end couches and wired coffee tables. Center Stage furniture is commercial grade so it will stand the test of time. You can also get custom furniture made for your space if that’s your preference. Choose the atmosphere you want to create and then choose the furniture that helps bring it to life.
Lane Accessories
There are a number of accessories to consider. The main ones being a ball return system, bumper rails if you have younger kids and want to help them keep balls out of the gutter, and lighting.
Bowling Pins
You can go with classic white pins or spice things up with different colours. You can even customize your pins with a logo or graphic image.
Bowling Balls
Your bowling ball choices are limitless. Balls of different colours, balls that flash, balls that look like billiard balls. You can also create your own custom bowling balls for an added expense.
Care of Your Lanes
Bowling lanes need to be cleaned and conditioned to remain in good shape. You can buy equipment and supplies to do this manually or you can purchase a lane machine to do it for you.
Whatever options you’re considering for your home bowling alley, we can walk you through it and equip you to make the right decision.
