How high to build the EMT frame?

[Burtgolf]

I finally placed the order for the EMT fittings, net and archery baffle. Purchased 5 of the 10 foot 1 inch EMT pipes and had one cut into two 24 inch and four 18 inch lengths. My current plan is to do a single 12 x 9 EMT frame as my ceiling is 9'2" (110 inches) but now that I have the EMT I am wondering exactly how high I should go with this??

I will need to move the frame whenever I need access to my circuit breaker box or to my water sprinkler control system (which is often during the summer and not very often during winter). I am thinking the 2 inches I will have this from the ceiling will not leave much "wiggle" room to move this out enough for me to have access to them when needed but at the same time it will be 18 inches from the wall which probably leaves me enough room to "wiggle" behind it without moving it.

Also, I am not doing an impact screen yet, just the Dynamax Sports Golf Barrier Net with the Archery Netting Backstop in front of the netting for now. Later on I do plan on adding a projector and an impact screen but at this point those are secondary wants. Basically, I am wanting to create my indoor garage driving range that will allow me to hit whatever shot I have in the bag and later on have it ready to "Upgrade" to simulator. I currently have the Haack net and its ok but I cannot hit any wedge/flop as it goes right over the 7 foot height!

I am adding pictures of my current Haack set up that I tear down after each use and the drawings of the garage with each square equal 1 foot. The two shelves in the picture with the Haack net will be moved over to the water heater side on the right of the workbench so those will no longer be in that location and will leave me about 1 foot to "wiggle" in behind the EMT frame and the workbench to access the circuit break and water control panel as everything to the left of the circuit breaker is storage and space for the vehicles which have to be pulled out when this is being used.

Currently invested (not counting R-Motion nor F.B. Practice Station + $400 for these two items)

Current Purchased
A1 Tarp EMT fittings 4-3 way, 2 T + shipping	59.29
FLAGHOUSE Archery Netting Backstop 10' x 20'	149.99
Dynamax Sports High Impact Golf Barrier Net, White, 10X15-ft	59.74
KEWAY 12pcs Clamp Tarp Clips	9.99
100-pc. 6" Ball Bungee Cords - Black	17.25
1 in. x 10 ft. Electric Metallic Tube (EMT) Conduit - $10.40 each	50.9	10.18	5
net and frame by piece with baffle minus screen/ no sides		347.16

[Dax]

Sorry a little had for me to imagine what you are doing re your cage. I would go as high as you can (say 9 feet) so that you can lift your cage up a little and slide it when you need be. Suspect you will build everything on the ground first and then rais and this will be a tough set up, but don’t see why you could not do that. Think you may need to build it backwards and the bring it up and flip it around as your support pieces will catch the ceiling if you dont.

[Burtgolf]

Sorry it was late last night when I posted and I see I was rambling a bit. I am planning on doing just a single frame with 4 of the F3 corner fittings which will have the 18 inch EMT going back to the wall to keep the frame from moving around and/or falling forward. On the width I will use a 10 foot EMT pole and a 2 foot EMT pole coupled together to get my 12 foot width on top and bottom of the cage.

Eventually, I am trying to copy p3eps build where it is secured to the ceiling and can be folded up to the roof as seen here - https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum...e-simulator-uk

I finally found similar fittings to what he used here- https://www.globalindustrial.com/p/s...rail-support-2

So was looking for suggestions as to what height I should make the cage frame as eventually I would like to get 4 of those fittings and attach to the ceiling but for the mean time I will need to be able to slightly move it when I need access to the panels behind it. And I didn't even think about where I would start building it until you mentioned the support pieces creating the extra room needed when lifting into place.

Here are some of my rough sketches of what I am thinking will work??

Any and all recommendations/suggestions are most appreciated!

[Burtgolf]

Just an update for anyone else going through the measurements...

The F3 corner pieces will result in the following measurements if you slide the 1" EMT all the way in:

1/2 inch added to the first pole inserted into the slot that has an opening to the other slot.
1 1/2 inch added to the other 2 slots

With this information I chose to add my 18" supports going towards the wall as the first piece which made them all 18 1/2 " from frame to wall. So now the width and the height will be 1 1/2 inches more per fitting once the EMT is fully inserted in the remaining positions. Which meant for me to have 9 foot height I needed to cut the 10' EMT down to 8'9" or 3 inches less than the desired height.

I was actually surprised when I went to stand the frame up I had no issue with the ceiling even with the extra 18 ( and now 1/2 inch longer) wall supports touching the ceiling. It cleared by about a 1/2 inch which in a way was not what I was wanting as I was hoping these would act as a safety catch if it was to topple forward and catch the ceiling but they don't touch at all so now I have to order the foot pad or figure some other temp solution to keeping the frame in place. I have 2 1/2 inches clearance with it standing which should allow plenty of room when I need to move it to access the panels.

I did a rough dry fitting with the Dynamax netting to get a feel of what is going to take shape so now that I can see it in person and I think its time to clear out the junk that is in its spot and get the build going!!

[teearejay]

[QUOTE=Burtgolf;n184998]Just an update for anyone else going through the measurements...

The F3 corner pieces will result in the following measurements if you slide the 1" EMT all the way in:

1/2 inch added to the first pole inserted into the slot that has an opening to the other slot.
1 1/2 inch added to the other 2 slots

With this information I chose to add my 18" supports going towards the wall as the first piece which made them all 18 1/2 " from frame to wall. So now the width and the height will be 1 1/2 inches more per fitting once the EMT is fully inserted in the remaining positions. Which meant for me to have 9 foot height I needed to cut the 10' EMT down to 8'9" or 3 inches less than the desired height.

/QUOTE]

Great post. This helped me plan my EMT purchase. Thanks for sharing and posting pictures. I'm assembling my 9 x 16 Carl's screen and EMT frame today and this definitely helped me avoid any surprises.

[Burtgolf]

Glad it helped!

Which screen did you end up going with from Carls? I am just using the Dynamax net as the back layer with the Archery net over that. I plan on getting the standard screen from Carl unless they start doing the straight from the mill screens on here within the next few months. I am not using a projector yet so did not see a need to get one until I start putting an image on it.

[teearejay]

Carl's premium. I'm planning on using it to watch movies and didn't want to mess around with different layers behind it. I ended up getting the 9'6" x 17 with the edging and grommets. The edging uses 2.5" of the measured screen on every side, so only 9'1" x 16'7" is usable screen. Goal was 9x 16, so worked out, partially by surprise.

[Burtgolf]

So your just planning on having the impact screen only? After reading on here how many people have had their screen wearing out from the repeated impacts it seems those that use something behind the screen helps eliminate a bunch of the excess wear on the screen and also acts as a safety barrier in case your happens to fail and the ball penetrates through whatever is behind your screen.

Either way good luck with your build! Have fun and share some pics of your set up!

[Burtgolf]

I finally got all the stuff moved around from the area behind the hitting area and got a chance to test it out. I played 15 holes on TGC with R-Motion and got to say the enclosure might not look professionally installed but it is stopping the golf ball very quick with almost no bounce back except the shorter irons.. those are coming back about 3-4 feet but landing on the small turf piece I currently have. I also learned that I can hit a 56* wedge over a 9 foot tall obstacle from just 9 feet away (twice hit the ceiling right above the EMT) once with a full swing and then next with 3/4 swing. So I will need to install something to protect the ceiling!!

I do plan on either cutting the net and archery netting down to 12 foot width or at least wrapping the extra archery portion behind the first layer. I originally was planning on using the extra 8 foot of archery netting as a removable right side barrier but the bottom portion is not anywhere close to evenly cut to the top.

So any advice on what to do with the excess netting would be greatly appreciated!