Standalone Metal Garage for Simulator

[Stevew]

First of want to say what a great forum this is. Everybody does a great job giving advice and sharing thier experiences when building a home simulator. With that being said i have talked to some via PM but now have a broader question requiring more feedback.

All my celings in the house and garage are 8 feet. So the chances of me doing something there is kind of difficult. My wife is not against getting a concrete slab and metal garage put in the back yard for a dedicated man cave/simulator.

My question does anybody see a problem with that. I will have the garage fully insulated, power ran to it and possibly a 1/2 bath put in it so i don't have to run into the house to use the bathroom.

Doing this will be about $8k for the slab and building. Which honestly wish could be spend on the simulator. I thankfully already have a Projector and and Gaming PC that will be used. So i will save some costs there.

I do have a room in the house that is 13'6"x14'6" that I wanted to try and use but having the 8ft celings makes it difficult. Still not entirely out of the question to make that work but just doesnt seem feasible.

The metal garages i have been looking at range from 16x26x10 to 20x26x10.

One of my biggest problems as well is I am a lefty and all my friends are Righties. So any multiplayer with friends will need room for both.

So if yall have any input on experience with rasing celings, maybe having just enough ceiling room for my swing. To any other advice it would be appreciated.

Later on down the road will be talk of either GSA, Pro Tee, or Skytrak. I love the cost point for ST. Really like what PT does, but GSA is growing on me.

Sorry for the long post, but TIA for any replies.

Steve

[m3w]

How exactly is GSA growing on you? Are there a bunch of positive reviews out there that I'm not aware of?

[Stevew]

I like that it is somewhat similar to HD gold and simulators like that. It allows to hit from different surfaces, "rough/sand" i know that is stil somewhat simulated. Also the newee one has everything measured and not calculated. Again im nowhere close to making a decision on simulator.

How exactly is GSA growing on you? Are there a bunch of positive reviews out there that I'm not aware of?

[FaultyClubs]

Various comments:

You might find it cheaper to raise the ceiling or lower the floor in the house.

Why would your garage need a concrete slab? Other options might be cheaper.

Lefty playing with righties should be a big factor in your choice of sims. Switching a launch monitor back and forth for each golfer's turn gets old in a hurry.

You really like Protee but love the cost point for ST? By the time you've bought the sim software they are the same cost. In fact the Protee is probably cheaper since it doesn't have annual fees.

If you buy a GSA system just make sure you have multiple user reviews confirming your specific choice works well.

[Stevew]

Will take tour advice. I know Protee is more proven and from what I have read their support is great. I do like what I see from everybody's Protee setups.

[wbond]

Depending upon your garage construction, it may be cheaper to put it in there so you have more $$ available for sim stuff. I changed my garage doors to follow the roof pitch, now I have the full height of the garage to swing in. If you want left and right play, protee is probably going to be your best and most cost effective option. If you go with a metal garage, any radar unit may be out due to issues with interference that others have noted. From everything i've read, i wouldn't consider GSA, just sounds like a nightmare.

[TheCoupe]

Couldn't you just build a timber frame garage, putting multiple posts into the ground for stability under the floor? That way, you don't need the expense of the slab, plus you can insulate the floor as well as the walls.

This also has the added ability that you don't need to build any special sub floor as you build everything into the base including all your cabling prior to laying the top surface.

This is what I had done for a 22 x 12 office in my back yard and when I move house, is what I'll be doing for my sim room.

[Stevew]

TheCoupe,

Reason for wanting to go concrete slab was water issues. Last thing i wanted was to put something out there and run into problem. I live in Texas and we get some heavy rains. The area i want to put it seems to have good drainage though. I will look into the options you are talking about. If you have any pointers im all ears. Thanks for the input.

[TheCoupe]

I'm in Northern Ireland... sometimes we get a bit of sun lol with using the posts, you can raise the room up and add a step, rather than keeping at ground level

[TheCoupe]

[aja]

Just to chime in, from a builder's background... best to leave decisions like type of construction to the locals as each region has it's own types of buildings and building methods that are best suited to them. I have built wood frame buildings in Canada and now in Europe am renovating a stone cottage. Each area has it's own norms and traditions as well as climate considerations.