How to attach screen at bottom

[dloweman]

Hey all, just a quick question as to how you are mounting your screen on the bottom. I am looking at Carl's 5ft enclosure and wondering if I should build the frame maybe 4-6" shorter than the screen so that the bottom hangs on the ground and the ball will deflect back to me a bit and cover the bottom pole. Or should I just build to size and bungee it at the bottom and find a way to cover bottom pole so it doesnt come flying back on a worm burner. Thanks for the help.

[blitz12]

I have my screen loose at the bottom with a frame on the other 3 sides. There is a little excess so most of the time the ball will stop and collect there and not go bouncing all over my garage. I didn't want a pole at the bottom for the reason you mentioned. I think it works very well. Good luck!

[dloweman]

Thanks for the input. Might work for me too

[Wizard of Coz]

I have pipe insulation on the bottom pole and my screen excess goes under the bar and I have long bungies attaching that to the top bar fron behind the screen.

[dloweman]

Do you think you need the bungees or could you just fold it under the bar and use the side pieces to hold the tension

[Wizard of Coz]

Sure you could do that. I put some tension on it cause I don't like getting the wrinkles in the bottom corners of the screen and it keeps it just taunt enough to keep those out. If you look at some pics of people's screens you will see what i'm talking about. But sure it would work just fine.

[StuartG]

Hey all, just a quick question as to how you are mounting your screen on the bottom. I am looking at Carl's 5ft enclosure and wondering if I should build the frame maybe 4-6" shorter than the screen so that the bottom hangs on the ground and the ball will deflect back to me a bit and cover the bottom pole. Or should I just build to size and bungee it at the bottom and find a way to cover bottom pole so it doesnt come flying back on a worm burner. Thanks for the help.

Are you going to get the enclosure from Carl's or just try and duplicate theirs? The reason I ask is that their enclosures come with a velcro flap on the screen which (on the bottom) attaches to a weighted bag (really a tube). The purpose is to help prevent direct impact into the lower EMT frame cross piece so you don't really need to do anything extra or special to deal with those worm-burners. It also means that whether you use the bottom EMT or not, you likely will not need to make the frame any shorter.

Now if you are just duplicating it, then you wont have those flaps on the screen to work with so will have to address the issue of a possible impact with the lower cross-piece.

[dloweman]

I havent decided yet which I want to do. The package would be easiest but shipping and duties to canada cost quite a bit more. Might just buy the screen and try to replicate it.

[BGCurtis2nd]

I use a nylon tube filled with sand and sew a pocket into the bottom of the screen and put the sand filled tube in it.

[aja]

Nice solution. Sand is both heavy and also will absorb impacts.

[dloweman]

That is a good idea. Might have to use it if I DIY it. Thanks

[JV17]

BGCurtis2nd

Great idea! I did something similar with polyfyl, but it’s too light... Thought about water (bad idea) but never once thought about sand.

[wbond]

BGCurtis2nd Where did you get the nylon tubing from? Looking to add this to my setup.

I use a nylon tube filled with sand and sew a pocket into the bottom of the screen and put the sand filled tube in it.

[BGCurtis2nd]

Got it off eBay.

[BGCurtis2nd]

You can also use 1 1/2" fire hose.

[LeftyLeff52]

Bgcurtis2nd how wide is your screen and how much sand did u end up putting in there

[BGCurtis2nd]

Screen is 15' wide total, not sure on the sand wasn't much 1/4 bag or so.

[TheBigD]

I am wondering if putting the sand tube in the bottom will end up putting more stress on the screen in the end. Thoughts?

[jasonreg]

I too have excess screen which lies at the bottom without using bungies and tends to gather balls. I think that adding the extra tension may create too much bounce-back. This was accidental though - just received a screen ultimately a bit too large for my space. For those whose screen is not long enough to gather at the bottom - the best option I have seen are those gutter foam inserts which create a bit of a ramp up towards the screen. I think that is what I would do if I needed to.