Anyone DIY retractable screen & enclosure?

[sjc1989]

Has anyone built their own retractable screen & enclosure along the lines of par2pro's Stealth? Specifically the device that retracts the screen and other enclosure elements. Retractable will be a must for my space if my simulator is going to happen. Also, in my case it will have to hang from the ceiling.

Thanks,

Steve

[Fhacker]

Do a search here for Sportscreen. There is lots of info out there. Sportscreen is what Par2pro starts with and modifies

[Cruisin1966]

https://thesportscreen.com/

[Brent628]

Here was my last build. Didn't cost too much. Just some sweat and tears. Took about a minute to take up or down using a winch mounted to the wall. When collapsed it was about 12 inches wide.

[Cruisin1966]

Ingenious!

[aubertk2]

I have not set mine up yet with the new screen yet, but I got these and PVC from Lowes which will allow me to roll up my screen.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B727F5C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I currently have a mesh tarp from Harbor Freight that hangs underneath my Overhead storage with zip ties and have been hitting into a couple layers of moving blankets.

[Franksgolf]

Sounds like a winner to roll up the screen. What size pipe did you use on your top bar?

[aubertk2]

I think its either 1.5in or 2in I don't remember. But the roller pieces have a recommended size. I also just took it too the store with me to test and make sure I got the right size.

[Dispatches]

Hi, looking at this as a way to go, couple of questions if you don't mind:
how's it holding up?
Did you just use the wall brackets that came with it?
Did you attach the bottom to the floor

I'm a little worried the strain of shots will be too much for it and the brackets

[timsiegle]

If my sim ends up in a garage, this likely the route I'll go, with a sawdust mesh screen over top of the sportscreen.
My thought is that if the sim is in the garage, it won't double as a home theatre, and therefore won't need as high quality of an image.

What type of space are you working with?

[khalespace]

I am just in the planning process but I plan to have a movable curtain so I can park one car when I am not using my simulator. The cage is on the right side of the garage. One corner of the cage will be braced on the ceiling joist.

[pcgolfer]

I made an attempt at a DIY retractable enclosure in December for my first ever build. I meant to make a post about it but I haven’t been too happy with it / I’m not quite finished yet. It’s functional so I’ve been spending my free time playing instead of tinkering

The screen is hanging from an insulated 1” emt conduit that is held up by 2 heavy duty shelf brackets with a pillow block bearing on each bracket. The curtains have a sleeve at the top and they hang from thin vinyl coated wire rope (string light hanging kit). The curtain wires are fixed to the top conduit at each corner of the impact screen. The other end of each wire clips onto a lag screw that I screwed into a ceiling joist. The wires and curtains are the same length, so when I’m finished playing, I unclip each side and fold the curtains across the screen, and the left curtain wire clips onto the right curtain wire bracket on the conduit, and right curtain wire clips to the left bracket on the conduit. I’ve got some netting that is fixed to the curtains using tarp clips for now. That alone works for now, I can fold in the curtains and park the car in the garage after rolling up the landing mat and sliding away the hitting mat.

I attached heavy duty Velcro to the sides of the screen and curtains using heavy duty fabric glue and it made for a strong and clean transition from screen to curtain.

The final piece to the puzzle is a direct drive manual garage door hoist with chain to roll the screen up so it’s out of sight. The one I originally purchased had a gear with a 1” diameter bore, but the 1” emt conduit is like 1.2” outer diameter so it didn’t fit. I returned it and have been too busy playing and haven’t found another one to try.

Word of caution: I underestimated how important it is to have the screen as close to the ground as possible. To fill a 6” gap below my screen I placed a few cinder blocks beneath the screen and laid horse stall mats (heavy gym flooring mats) partially on the cinder blocks to create a small ramp up to the screen. Not ideal and I would lower it, but again, too busy playing!!

Brent628’s design looks awesome! Having a plan to move the landing mat and hitting mat is very important if you need the space. I used to own a cheaper hitting mat that could be hung on the wall when not in use, but after reading about quality mats and THE injury prevention aspects of nice mats, I purchased a fiber built and it is HEAVY. I slide the fiberbuilt mat as little as possible to get the car in the garage.

One issue I’ve noticed is that the insulated 1” emt is a snug fit in the sleeved supertex screen I bought. This makes the top 18” pretty tight. High wedge shots to the top of the screen have more bounce back than I’d like because of how taut the screen is at the top. This might be corrected if I use a thinner conduit insulation so the sleeve is a little more loose on the conduit.

Let me know if you have any questions! Good luck with your build!

[Franksgolf]

I like your setup idea. How do you roll up the screen? Pulleys? Pull rope wrapped around the pipe?

[ChiGolf22]

Mind sharing the shelf brackets and pillow block bearings you used? 1" pillow block bearings? Thanks!

[sjc1989]

Thanks for the replies and pic's. Love all the ideas on this forum.

Steve