Know anyone specifying reclaimed bowling lane flooring? If so, here's a hot lead: A Toronto developer has plenty of the stuff and,
according to Canada's Daily Commercial News, he went to great lengths to save it from the Dumpster. Mehran Nouri and his development partners are turning a north Toronto bowling alley into a parking facility, so the bowling lanes had to go. Each lane is 60 feet long and three feet wide, and the thickness ranges from 2ÂĽ to 2Âľ inches. To save the flooring, Nouri had to make his own number 18 Robertsons screwdrivers-he made a lot of them, actually, since the commercial ones are always heat-treated and nickel-plated. "We couldn't even find a Robertson screwdriver that large any more, so we had to make our own tools, grinding down metal shafts to size so we could remove the screws" Nouri told the Daily Commercial News. Nouri decided to save the flooring after learning the bowling lane wood is valued for making tables, kitchen counter tops, bar tops and entrance doors-and flooring. If you're interested, act fast: Nouri has been approached by furniture makers and restaurateurs hoping to capitalize on the kitsch afforded by old bowling alley equipment.
Read all about the struggles Nouri endured to save this flooring here.
Photo credit: blgrssby
