Help with Duct Work Plan

[ss32000]

So I'm starting my simulator build out and attached is a photo of the space. As I look at how I want to do walls and sides, I'm struggling with how to handle the duct work that would be on the sides of the simulator due to the ducts for my HVAC. The ceiling here is 10 ft 6 inches, so the ducts would only take away 9 inches or so. My thought would be to box them in with plywood and then do drapes down the side walls. Given the height the of ceiling should I think about doing plywood across the top in case of an errant wedge?

My other consideration is on the screen. My gut says to just go inside the ducts with the screen, but I haven't see anyone really hanging the screens from the floor joists when I google around. Most people are building out metal frames for the entire area, which I don't know. I thought a fresh set of eyes might be helpful before I get too far down a path.

[Snaphook]

Have you considered flattening you ducts? Flatter and wider so you still have the same volume on them. Or if possible relocate them a bit. It's an easy enough job to do.
Also plan for ventilation in your simulator area as it get's real hot with all the electronics. Maybe get an hvac guy to look at it.
This is my area of expertise, but as i live in Sweden i can't help you too much :-)

[BWJones]

I had a similar issue in my space, but not quite as high of ceilings. I had an HVAC company re-route the duct work. Are you only hitting right hand? If so, maybe they could re-route to the opposite side of your hitting area.

[ss32000]

We just completed the build of the house, so I'm not sure my wife would like me moving the duct work, but that's an interesting idea. I only know of one lefty friend right now, but ideally I'd like to not make that a thing with the setup.

[Dan McWhirter]

Is that concrete walls? I think you could also put in a pistol range...some metal deflector plates bolted to the joists above (if that's where people are).

[aja]

Guesstimating the dimensions of the space from your picture, my first concern would be width of the space you have. Doesn't look to be even 12 feet.

And in any case, the ductwork seems to be right in the wheelhouse of a right handed golfer.

[ss32000]

It's 12 feet wide with 10 ft 6 " ceilings. I've swung a driver down there a couple times with no issue. I'm just more thinking about how to protect them, but I guess it might make sense to have me video myself swinging in there to see if this is an issue. My hope is that being over 10 feet, this shouldn't be an issue but you brought up something I didn't consider, so thank you.

[ss32000]

I just wanted to circle back here to give you some updates on what we actually did in the simulator worry about the ducts. Attached are some pictures from the journey, but with the duct work, I actually ended up spraying them black with the paint, along with the ceiling inside the simulator.

As we looked at it though, the sides just didn't feel finished enough, so we found this cheap fabric at Menards that was black and had a nice soft feel to it. We actually hung this as "finishing drapes" over the duct. Overall it actually looks pretty nice now that it is finished. The ducts are not in the way at all and do not impact the swing. They haven't been hit yet.