Build Without Top or Side Enclosure?

[Brenzo]

I am considering a build where the screen effectively "disappears" into the wall - bungeed to EMTs mounted to the middle of the wall stud (see mockup drawings attached.) This would buy me a little more width and height in a 4:3 setup (instead of having to stop a certain distance from drywall for the edge of the enclosure and then losing some more screen real estate within the enclosure.

The walls of my room would be drywalled up until the edge of the stud, where an EMT pipe would be mounted to the center back of the stud with enough room to snake a bungee around. There would be a slight gap between the edge of the 2x4 stud and the screen to avoid the screen bouncing back and rubbing into the stud after impact, so I would need an angled cushion strip where the screen meets the stud to avoid hitting the edge or losing balls behind the screen.

My question is what would be the best material to use along the ceiling and side walls for protection?

I want something that can help with sound dampening but, more importantly (especially for the 4-5' coming off the impact screen) avoids damage to the walls and risk of injury via bounceback from a skyed or shanked shot.

I was planning on drywalling the rest of the room in front of the screen and adding some insulation to the ceiling before the drywall goes in to further help with sound absorption. One thought I had was focusing on sound absorption panels throughout the room and then for the sides (and maybe the ceiling?) adding some sort of netting that would have a little give to "catch" the ball before hitting the sound panels. Perhaps permanent on the ceiling and then on a little sliding track for the sides, so it's out of the way when the simulator is not in use as I'm planning on having the room double as a home theater.

I haven't seen any permanent setups like this, but I'm not sure if that's mostly because you typically wouldn't have a way to affix the impact screen/EMT directly to wall studs and need to create the 'C' shape of an enclosure to support everything. I've seen fold-down or retractable screens and the use of netting or curtains on the side, but those are typically in garages or room setups where a permanent setup isn't an option.

[tntfox]

I have seen rooms with acoustic panels on the walls set up just like yours. If you're a decent golfer, you wont have to worry too much about shanked shots. Its the other people you let in there that are the risk / problem. I've seen rooms like yours with nothing but a screen, no padding and no nets. If you use a photometric launch monitor (Skytrak / GC Quad) you can set up as close to the screen as you want. My Skytrak is about 8 ft from the screen so I would have to hit a MAJOR hoselrocket to even hit the side curtains. I have never hit a ball so bad that it missed the screen to the side. My wife's friends, however, hit my Skytrak but thankfully, I have the ballistic case so it was no big deal.

If you look at the GSA Golf Simulators web site, go to the "Enclosures" page and you can what your room would look like with accoustic panels on the wall. It looks great.

Good luck with your project.

[Brenzo]

Thanks for the feedback. I plan to use a camera-based system - overhead or at the ball. I know a solution like EyeXO requires a bit further distance from the screen (they say 10' minimum, but I think it works so long as there is at least 3.5' from the unit to the hitting area.) I don't think I'd want to be less than 8-8.5' from the screen, and 9-9.5' is probably the most I can go back without encroaching into the stairs and the seating area.

Most of my concerns about sound are as it travels upwards with my kitchen and part of the family room above. I planned to add insulation between rafters after all wiring was done. I was then going to add drywall and attach the acoustic panels with acoustic green glue throughout the entire 21' x 12.5' room. I've seen some people who have used a 1-2" rigid piece of hard foam board with acoustic panels attached to that for the ceiling. This might allow me to avoid cost/pain of installing drywall overhead, although I'd lose another 1-1.5" vs. 1/2" drywall.

My concern with acoustic panels on the ceiling or walls is that they are usually denser and might send a ball flying back into the seating or hitting area. I'm more concerned with hosel rockets than skied shots, especially as I might be hitting slightly offset toward the club-side wall.

I'm building this with three kids under 9 and while their ball speed won't be as big of an issue with them, I want to ensure it's a safe setup.

[tntfox]

I would think you could find some foam panels that will look good and will absorb some of the ball speed if you have an errant shot. There's always going to be some risk that a ball goes where you don't want it so make it safe while also giving it a good look. My scariest, loose ball issue has been when I topped a shot and the ball goes into the screen with over-spin which kicks it up in the air an back over my head. I froze and watched it bounce on the hard floor behind my hitting area heading for the flat panel TV on the wall. I was somehow able to knock it down to avoid injury to my TV.

As for sound insulation, I have used Green Glue before and that shtuff works! I put up a sculptured MDF wall covering in my family room (not golf related) and I applied Green Glue during installation. I decided to do this since the bathroom in my master bedroom was right up against the wall where the panels went up and you could clearly hear the toilet flush, and other stuff, from the family room. Since the panel and Green Glue went up, no more bathroom noise in the family room.

[smw0720]

Brenzo - Was hoping to see what solution you had to your original inquiry. I am highly against the enclosure, as I feel like it deters me from maximizing screen size within my dimentions. While progressing through, we decided to prepare the screen-mount by placing lateral studs within the wall to give us plenty of target space for mounting the frame.

Providing some pics so you can see the concept. You can also see that the drywall is covering the laterals, but I have measurements of where they are when it's time to mount the frame.

But ultimately I will be faced with a similar task of coverage for the sides and ceiling. Hoping to see some good solutions from the forum.