Swimming pool. Check.

Treehouse. Got it.

Volleyball net. Up and ready to spike. Grill. Bring on the cookouts.

Your backyard is set for plenty of family fun.

Want more toys at home? Try a putting green, an arcade, a bowling alley or even an indoor shooting range.

Tom Orihel, owner of Akron Hardware, and his family have a putting green in their backyard in Green.

Orihel said it is a popular party attraction.

“It’s a real good diversion for the dads when the kids are dominating the pool,” Orihel said.

Orihel got his putt-putt pad from Bob Pireu and Kevin Mikesell, who own Northeast Ohio Putting Greens. Pireu also owns Bob & Pete’s Flooring in Canton.

“I am not a huge golfer but love the product and beauty it brings to a home,” Pireu said.

Orihel, an avid golfer, said he finds the putting green is “closer to putt-putt than golf.”

“It’s just a fun diversion. My kids enjoy it. My wife enjoys it,” Orihel said.

The cost of a green can vary with range, from $12 to $18 a square foot. Pireu said he estimates the average cost of a green is from $3,000 to $7,000.



Want something

different?

Think about how these recreational features would work at your home:

-- Bowling alley

-- Bocce ball court

-- Rock-climbing wall

-- Firing range

-- Real basketball court

-- Shuffleboard court

-- Skateboard ramp

--Adult treehouse

--Putting green



Where do you start?

So you want to put a basketball court in your basement or build a bocce court out back. Where do you start?

Linda DeHoff, of Prudential DeHoff says there are steps to follow before starting projects like these.

“You need to contact your local zoning board,” Dehoff said. “Anytime you plan to change the footprint of your home, you need to be sure you’re following the legalities of the area.”

DeHoff said she knows people in Stark County with special recreational features — including a bowling alley, a half-pipe skateboarding ramp and a shuffleboard court. Dehoff had a bocce court put in at her home by a local nursery.

“There are people who specialize in this,” she said. “The nursery was excited about doing it.”

Finding the right contractor for the job is pretty specific to the type of feature you’d like to add, but DeHoff said most contractors would be willing to work with homeowners to develop a plan for putting in a specialty feature.