Folding Sim Floor?

[rob_remus]

My simulator setup is in my garage. Current setup:

• Projector mounted to the ceiling
• Impact screen permanently mounted about 1 foot away from the side wall so it doesn't need to be moved to park cars in the garage
• Side nets on sliding tracks so they can be pulled out to play and pushed back to the screen when parking cars
• Ceiling net permanently mounted
• 5' square Rawhide hitting matt
• Putting matt mounted on rigid foam to bring to same height as hitting matt and bridge to Mevo+
• Wood bridge to Mevo+ at same height as hitting and putting matts

To park cars in the garage, we have to pick up the matts and bridge and push back the side nets. This is working, but I'd like to improve it. Specifically, a full turf floor to catch balls coming off the impact screen and/or ceiling/side nets and a quicker conversion process from garage to simulator and vise versa. I (ok, my wife) would prefer that we put the sim away and pull the cars in at night, especially in the winter. As it stands today we leave the sim set up for days at a time with the cars in the driveway because it's a bit of a hassle to put it all away.

I've attached photos of the design I have in mind. I'm hoping that someone has attempted something like this before and can advise on how well it worked, things to watch out for, etc.

New floor design:

• 1/2" OSB plywood base in 3 sections, 8x12 front, 8x12 hitting area, and 4x4 area for Mevo+
• The 8x12 sections would be 3 full sheets of OSB with a 3" overlapping joints on the long sides glued and screwed to make it one 8x11'6" sheet
• 1" thick foam exercise matts on top of the plywood
• 1/2" putting turf on top of the exercise matts
• Hitting matt recessed in so that it's flush with putting surface
• Wood trim around perimeter to finish it off and give a surface for mounting wheels and cables
• Hinges at the front edge of the first section attached to base of screen
• Hinges joining the two large sections at the center seam
• Wheels on the far end of the hitting section so it can roll along the floor as it folds up
• Garage door torsion tube, springs, pulleys, and cables mounted on the wall behind the screen
• Cables attached to the far ends of the hitting section to assist with raising and lowering of the floor

This would work a bit like a murphy bed, folding up against the wall when not in use and folding out flat on the floor to play golf.

The challenging pieces in my mind are the plywood joints, the hinges, and sizing the torsion springs. I have also considered 3/4" OSB and 3/4" exercise matts - would increase the strength, but also the weight. With the torsion springs maybe that just means a bigger spring and would be better overall.

Thoughts? Has anyone done something like this before? Am I crazy to think this could work?

[brdgolf1]

Great idea. Can you post pics of the setup?

[Brettster]

That's nucking futs! Really cool...

[Drew.StLouis]

I will be building a similar setup. I have to cut to buy laws have to have a fully collapsing system.

I will have two folding floor pieces made like this. I am planning two have two separate pieces and I will screw in. The other end I'll put a latch to prevent them from separating when stored.

I also will have to figure a way to fold the sides into the screen. Overall the plan is to have it take 10 minutes to set up and tear down.

[preludesam]

Already started! https://imgur.com/gallery/Mpkjfef Ask questions if you guys want. The only problem so far is the weight and stiffness. Believe me when I say only one sheet of OSB thickness-wise will not work. I used two but If I had to do it again I would go three or four. It's just too flimsy with one. Then comes the weight. I think mine is somewhere around 600lbs... so think about another 6-12 sheets of flooring.