Garage Build Help

[Austinl]

Hey everyone,

I am looking for some help / advice on the direction to go with the space I have available in the garage to build a hitting/simulator. My space is small and has an overhead storage area which sits 7ft off the floor ( i attached a small drawing and current setup )

My overall space is as follows

Ceiling height 11ft
Overall width is 10ft
Useable length is 12 ft measured from the garage door to where the overhead storage begins.

I can hit comfortable in the space using foam balls//almost golf balls using a cheap net just attached to the 2x8 ledger board of the overheard storage. The distance from where i stand to hit and the net i am using right now is about 6-7ft away


My initial thoughts so far are to use a TV screen mounted to the wall rather than a projector to display stats and or play a sim on and drape netting (Archey netting / Mesh Netting) from the ceiling down to the floor using some kind of track system to allow for me to move the netting out of the way should we need to use the garage for other things.

What i can't seem to figure out is how far in front would i need to mount the netting so that any shots that are at 7ft high don't hit the start of the overheard storage/ledger board ( I have not hit the board yet with foam/almost golf balls )

Also with a net hanging from the ceiling would i need to anchor the net to the side walls at all Or would a curved design almost a U shape be good enough to cover/protect the side walls which are block wall.


My other thought was to use the existing frame from the overhead storage using eye hooks screwed into the ledger board and 4x4 posts and mounting the netting like an impact screen using bungie cords and maybe even add an impact screen for a projector down the road. My concern here would be the 7ft height where the overhead storage begins. I would pad the beam and post with foam and finish it with a black fabric surround like most projector setups.


With both of those options and given the small space which would option would have the least amount of bounce back and pose the least amount of risk with the overhead storage board.


Look forward to your guys thoughts and input

Austin

[Pat S.]

This does not answer all of your questions or potential issues, but check out the SportScreen and it might get you thinking about other possibilities in your garage. It's a retractable net/screen basically that rolls down like a movie screen. There are manual roll down versions and motorized versions. Google it and see what you think. You could potentially mount a sportscreen from the ceiling about a foot in front of where your storage area begins. That would probably keep you from having to pad the ledger board and since you are hitting so close to the screen, you almost don't even need ceiling protection. Maybe that helps a little.

[Austinl]

Thanks Pat, I have looked at the sportscreen/stealth options and they are great but dont think thats the right fit for me starting out, which is why I was thinking about just netting.

[vinchenzo319]

How about mounting the screen in front of the garage door and hitting towards it? You need at least 1 ft of clearance behind the screen, which leaves 11 ft for hitting. Then maybe you can mount the screen using bungees to the door tracks and just take them off, fold it back up when you need to pull the car in. A pain in the arse to setup/tear down the screen every time but at least you would have the option. Then the storage shelf could be where the projector sits/mounts (if the shelf is too low for the projector and causes shadows from you standing in the way, you may have to mount it to the ceiling).

OR, if there is no garage door opener to deal with...instead of taking the screen off completely every time, leave the top of the screen attached permanently. When you're done, pull up the bottom corners up to the ceiling...then all you'd have to do is attach/detach the sides and bottom corners. You'd only be able to use it if the garage door is closed.

[Austinl]

Thanks Vinchenzo, i had thought about flipping the space around and hitting the other way and may have to consider it a bit more. My main objective is really ease of setup so having a track system that I or my wife can just slide out of the way is key for us,so leaving one side setup and only having to take bungies off one side or no sides would be ideal.