basement dig out- new sim build

[azbball11]

New sim build - lower level basement dig

Good Afternoon All!.

What a great place for info and ideas. I am in the process of finishing up a home build golf sim. I just finished the basement dig out - what a project, but it will be well worth it. I have been very attracted to the Uneekor system and talked with Doug @ Uneekor, which only furthered my attraction to this company.

The dimensions of the lowered part is 13 w x 16 d. Room is 15 wide x 18 deep, however there is a soffit on the right hand side of the room. Ceiling from lowered part is 10'

I am having some issues on the screen size. If I want the image to go all the way to the floor, the space I have available for a screen is 144" wide x 101" high with 4:3 ratio. This would give me an image size of 135 x 101.

If I go with the wider option - 176" x 93" (image size 166 x 93)16:9, then my image would need to be 6" from the floor due to the dig out.

I plan to add padding (edge of room) and figured the screen would then cover this area, but the image would start 6" up.

I attached a photo which hopefully explains where the 6" rise would occur.

Also, would appreciate any feedback, thoughts, ideas on this build.

Thank you ALL in advance for your help,
Jon

[Mikemac227]

Wow, a dig out! That's dedication, love it! I would go with the 16x9 option with the bottom of the screen 6 inches off the floor. Carl's enclosure is basically perfect size for this, there is some wiggle https://www.carlofet.com/shop/golf-s..._for_golf=177% 22+%287.7x13%29

I use this enclosure and it works great. The bottom of the screen has a velcro section that is weighted and would actually cover some of your 6 inch elevation. The rest of that gap you will want to pad with memory foam and black vinyl to protect you from bounce back skull shots.

I have a similar Right soffit, see attached pics for what Carls enclosure looks like in my set up.

Mike

[azbball11]

That looks great...I love seeing the photos of DIY simulators. Thanks for the advice. I have been working with Carl's and they have been great to work with so far. I am thinking of a DIY screen setup as I am a metal fabricator and can create a very custom frame for next to nothing. I planned to add some baffles above the screen which would fill the void created by the soffit.

1: Has anyone ever built their own baffles? Would one or 2 be enough? I plan to hit from about 9 feet from screen.

[awisnia]

I fabbed my frame pretty simply with two lengths of unistrut for the sides and one cross bar of 1x2x16ga tube with tabs - lets me adjust up and down if needed. The strut sides have flanges top and bottom for screwing into floor/ceiling. I did baffles and don't like them for two reasons..1) they work in the golf stores because the flight if at a much shallower angle (longer tunnel) Second-I use regular sofa cushion foam and the ball come off like a rocket. If you do use baffles - get a cheap mattress topper of memory foam so the balls die on impact. I'm currently designing a matress topper sized plywood pane with memory foam covered in fabric and plan on hanging it from the ceiling at an angle fro top of screen to ceiling to replace the baffles..

[azbball11]

Thanks for the input. I hit a few wedges and i think I will keep "most" shots on the screen, but like the idea of some protection above. The baffle will flow right to my soffit giving the room a cleaner look as well. I ordered my screen today and hopefully will have time to make the Uneekor purchase this weekend. Drywall comes next week so I need to get things moving.

[JKCapeCod]

I created ~ 6 inch ramp 2x4x14 flat and one toe nailed with 18 inch wide plywood sloped to the screen. Then covered with turf.
It works phenomenal, every ball rolls back to the hitting area.

[Marshbank7]

Couple of questions for you, JK. I also made a ramp under my turf that comes out 12" from the screen and is 4" high. Does a great job of running the turf right into the screen, but when I top one really bad the ball it bounces off the ramp, up the screen, and into the ceiling. That happen with yours? Which brings me to my next question - what did you use for your ceiling/wall padding? I love it.

[azbball11]

That is a great idea and gives it a seamless look. Do you ever hit the ramp where the ball would ricochet up at the screen? No issues with this?
1: How high is your screen

[SkeetShooter]

Just curious, but how much was it to dig down like that?

[JKCapeCod]

Images below, best of luck.

[azbball11]

I am still waiting on total costs. Concrete work will be the biggest. Demo and dig was done by myself and some friends. My guess will be around $5000 which includes drainage system with new sump. I will keep all posted.

[Patator100]

JKCapeCod, hi !

i m planning to change my 4:3 impact screen and 1024x768 svga Beamer.
could you let me know what is the final image dimension projected on your screen ?
what is your projector and brand and how far is it from the screen ?

thanks for your help

[azbball11]

As far as the total cost (Not including my time to haul dirt and stone)
Concrete (labor and material) $2000
Labor to cut concrete and haul out $1,000 (this includes some other labor as well from my contractor)
Sump Basin (extra large basin $250)
Sump Pump and supplies ($150)
Excavate drain tile to daylight ($1,000)

Total cost: $4,400

[SkeetShooter]

What?! That's incredibly budget conscious! I could totally stomach that kind of investment. I am not sure I'm staying in the house I'm in for more than another 5 years, but if I am I'm weighing either a dig down for my theater room to make it a theater/sim room, or building a detached 16x30 garage which will house my sim and I'll move my car lift into. Both have advantages and disadvantages. The detached garage is my go-to, but it would increase my tax burden and I would be over-building the lot and neighborhood where I'm in. A dig-down would not increase my taxes and it might positively impact resale value in the future.

[azbball11]

The way I kept cost down was that I only needed to go down about 10". The costs add up if I had to underpin the foundation. I was able to do a "bench" design so it wasn't terribly expensive. Finding the right crew to do the job was key. First concrete/basement guy I called said I was nuts and should just buy 10,000 golf balls and hit them into the woods - he didn't get the work!

Now it is time to start the fun and buy the components.

1: Impact Screen from Carls - purchased!
2: Projector: Done!
3: Sim: Leaning 95% towards Uneekor
4: Software: Thoughts on E6 or TGC 2019?
5: Hitting mat: ?

[SkeetShooter]

Nice job man. Sim... Uneekor seems like its been a really great system for most people. I'd go there. Software... TGC2019 is better than E6 in many ways, also a bit cheaper and if you want the online competitions, its hard to compete with.

Mat: I love my fiberbuilt... Had a CCE and it gave me some serious tennis/golfers elbow... Havnt had a problem since i switched

[azbball11]

Things are now getting real...Sim room and rest of lower level have been painted. I am going to build my frame for my Impact Screen. I am a custom fabricator so I am making the hitting cage. How much bigger does the cage need to be for the screen? I will connect with ball bungee's and was thinking of making the cage adjustable so I would be able to adjust the tension on the screen by adjusting the cage. I have a 8 x 14 screen from Carls which measures 96 x 166 outside. Any suggestions for a "base" frame dimensions, knowing that I will have some wiggle room?

I was thinking if I build the cage 1-2" larger on each side and top. Then make it adjustable to expand by 2 more inches each way.

[dudley286]

That build looks great!!!!! Most are making the frame 6" wider and taller than the screen, so you would have 3" around the whole screen when it is hung and centered. If that make sense?