Advice Welcomed

[Frozen Rope]

Hi Folks, Long time reader, first time poster. We recently moved into a new home (to us) and am in the process of gathering info and in short order rebuilding the basement to put in a sim. The basement is now gutted, and I am at the point where I need to start to finalize the sim game plan. I thought it would make sense to get the forums advice before I try and reinvent the wheel. I just purchased a new Skytrak, so at least have that figured out. I have the following room size 15' wide x (up to) 25' deep. Unfortunately my ceiling height is 7'11". I am 5'10" and have a very compact, connected swing so this will pose no issue for me (I swung the driver 50 times without an issue). I plan to build the sim to look finished and first rate. My main question/concern is how to finish/protect the ceiling (and walls) to be able to take the odd hit from my friends long clubs as well as stray golf balls. I am not overly concerned with damage to clubs as I plan to have old woods for people to use. I have a few thoughts but would like your input. One idea is to do the ceiling in wood. It would either be a rustic stained oak, or plywood covered with shiplap paneling and pained white (this is my present choice). I figure I could repair/replace wood panels on any really bad ceiling hits. I also plan to do the walls in wood in case of sh**ks.
I toyed with the idea of purchasing rubber gym floor rolls and using that as my ceiling. It would be more affective but I don't think it would be as aesthetically pleasing.
I could also go with a hybrid of rubber in the swing area and wood beyond it.
I would really appreciate any input or out of the box ideas as I'm sure that some of you have had to address these issues as well.
Thanks so much.

[Frozen Rope]

We dug out a test hole today in the basement and were fortunate to find that we didn't strike any water at 3 feet deep so it appears that we can dig as far as we will need. My goal is to get to 10 feet. I really appreciate all of your input as it forced me to go further which is going to make for a first rate sim. Thanks

[aja]

Just because there is no water present at the moment does not guarantee that there won't be in the future. It could be dependent on the season, etc. Remember to allow for this possibility.
A local builder or renovation specialist could be useful for advice.

[keither5150]

Aja is right, you need to prepare for a time when there is water present. Static pressure will allow water to seep right through concrete. Consult with a professional before proceeding any further. Sump absolutely needs to be in place before excavation. Otherwise you may wake up to your excavation full of water one morning. Also you need to excavate at least 1.5 foot deeper than the planned height of the concrete pad as you need about 12 inches of 50-75mm rock to allow water to flow through.

[Frozen Rope]

Thanks. I agree with everything that the three of you have said. I might end up doing the digging and earth removal but I have a total home reno going on here so there are lots of legitimate experts involved in the process. I want to do it right the first time.

[wbond]

Make sure to take some pics through out the process and keep us posted.

[Frozen Rope]

I will do that. It. I figured this was a normal thing, but it appears to be anything but normal. I will hopefully be a sounding board for future excavations..

[mthunt]

Rope, I dug down 11 feet. It was dry as a bone. I put in a sump anyway. I forget but I thnk its code. My sump comes on a lot when there's a lot of rain. My buddy 5 miles away and close to a Lake Ontario dug down 8 feet. His sump comes on every 5 minutes 24/7/365. I like the security of a sump.

[Frozen Rope]

I agree. We live on the lake (Huron) so the water table will be more pronounced here.

[coz]

5ft 9 inches tall ceiling 7ft 11inches lose 1/2 to 3/4 inch from mat. I can swing up to 3 wood but hitting the ceiling is on my mind. I generally hit no more than hybrid. Ill get up to 142 ball speed with the hybrid and under the right conditions it will chase out to 240yds. I game with that for sims. Im mostly working on my iron game. I need to finish the ceiling but really cant give up any more height. I have thought about taking an inch or 2 off the concrete floor to drop that mat. Does anybody have any experience doing that? Equipment to do it?

[Golfallday1983]

[QUOTE=mthunt;n53286]Someone on the Ottawa forum did it and documented the whole thing.[/QUOTE
Where can I find this info thanks