Architect recycles Ranch Bowl’s maple

An Omaha architect came up with a green, sustainable solution to flooring as he and his wife remodeled their home on North 89th Circle. They salvaged the maple bowling lanes of the Ranch Bowl, torn down when Walmart developed the site on South 72nd Street.

“I contacted them (Walmart) and asked if I could haul it (the flooring) out,” said Michael P. Hamilton.

Was it free?

“It cost about $4,000 in labor to get it out of there,” he said, detailing how he and his crew did it with crowbars, saws and a generator for lights.

Hamilton put the flooring down in his spare time. It turned into a yearlong project. The amount he salvaged provided flooring for two bedrooms, a bath and hallway, countertops and a bench in the home he shares with his wife, Candace.

Each board of the hard-rock maple flooring, which made up the actual alley, is about 1 inch from side to side but about 2.5 inches deep. And the best part is, the thickness of those planks means they can be sanded almost indefinitely. The worst part was the bodily damage Hamilton said he suffered: “My body got really beat up.”

His work, along with the talents of other Omaha-area architects, will be on display from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday when the American Institute of Architects-Omaha showcases five new and remodeled homes. Tickets, available at each of the homes, are $15 for adults and $10 for students.

The homes and the architects are:

>> 831 N. 89th Circle, Omaha, by Hamilton: built in 1960 by architect John Hyde Jr. as a lodge for horse riders on the estate of Peony Park’s founder.

>> 617 Fairacres Road, Omaha, by Suzan Karrer Rohrig: a complete renovation and addition to an architect-designed home. The client, Gregor Henricks, is an architectural interior designer.

>> 801 S. 80th St., Omaha, by Jeff Dolezal: Arts and Crafts and modern influences come together in this home built around an oak tree. The architect designed and fabricated the steel, grapevine-inspired staircase and light fixtures in the kitchen and master suite.

>> 11918 N. 176th Circle, Bennington, by Randy Brown Architects: The client, an eyewear designer, and architect collaborated on a 3,000-square-foot home that functions as a viewing device for the landscape.

>> 8304 S. 38th St., Bellevue, by Jeremy Carlson: The exterior siding resembles wood but isn’t; the Trex decking uses pre- and post-consumer recycled wood and plastic; the interior flooring is bamboo, a renewable material. Other features include a rain garden and a high-efficiency heat pump.

For more information, visit www.aiaomaha.org or call 402-312-8482.

Contact the writer:

444-1059, rhonda.stansberry@owh.com