Screen size

[Bflem55]

I am setting up unistrut in my garage and I have 10 foot 3 ceilings. My impact screen is 12 feet wide and 10 feet tall. The max width I can get the unistrut is 10 feet 2 inches. Is this acceptable or not this would only get me a 1 inch gap on each side. Can I just use less bungees or does it absolutely have to be 3 inches of gap on each side?

thanks for your time

[MongoOnlyPawn]

You said your impact screen is 12' wide, but the unistrut is 10'2" wide, not sure how you'll make that work??

Your amount of bounceback is going to determine what you'll need for bungies. A 1' gap is fine if it doesn't hinder the screen from dampening the shot enough that it doesn't come back hard/fast from the screen. Multiple bungies holding a 1" gap as compared to fewer bungies holding a 3" gap isn't the issue, it's the amount of tension on the screen that you'll need to find a happy medium with.

"Stretchier" bungies holding a 1" gap can give less bounceback than "less stretchy" bungies at 3".

You'll need to experiment a bit to find the correct type & #.

Can you clarify the dimensions?

[Bflem55]

My screen is 12 feet wide 10 feet tall

strut is 10 feet tall

the span is 12 feet 3.5 inches

[MongoOnlyPawn]

Assuming you'll be permanently attaching the Unistrut to the ceiling and wall, assuming the screen edges are finished with grommet holes, assuming you've got 8" of clearance behind the screen to the back wall:

A) Using 3 Heavy Duty Zip Ties per grommet (1 or 2 will likely break at some point) (or 14 gauge electrical wire) snug the screen to the Ceiling Unistrut and firmly attach it, no gap.

B) Using 3 Heavy Duty Zip Ties per grommet (1 or 2 will likely break at some point) (or 14 gauge electrical wire) snug the screen to the the Right Hand Wall Unistrut and firmly attach it, no gap.

C) On the left hand wall, Attach bungies (link below) as follows, 1 each per grommet hole: Attach one end to the Unistrut slightly below the level of a grommet hole, pass the other end through the grommet hole, loop it around and pass it through again 2 more times, so you'll have 2 loops through the grommet hole, then attach the looped end to the unistrut slightly above the level of the grommet hole. Do that for all grommets. You can adjust the wrap or the number of bungies later on to control wrinkles & bounceback.

https://www.menards.com/main/tools/a...4447127312.htm

You'll need to just leave the bottom of the screen unattached to anything, put some foam in front of it to avoid having balls getting under the screen, hitting the hard wall and rebound back at you (yes, it happens)

You'll need to put some foam or padding in front of the pieces of unistrut so the balls don't rebound at you on a mishit (yes, it happens)

[Bflem55]

My ceilings are 10 feet 3 inches and my screen is 10 feet tall . I will have to have a very very small gap between unistrut and ceiling...... my plan is to run the unistrut across the top and connect it to each side.

[Bflem55]

I also have 14 inches between wall and screen.

[MongoOnlyPawn]

Unistrut will sag across 12', not much, but even the slightest deflection downward will make it difficult to control rippling on the screen, I'd recommend attaching the unistrut to the ceiling, still attaching the screen to the top unistrut with no gap, and them have a 3" gap at the bottom, but make sure you get some foam against the back wall. or someone will top one , it'll go under the screen, rebound off the wall and come back and smack them in the ankle. I speak from experience. Even if you put the gap at the top, and leave a minimal gap at the bottom, like 0.5", you'll still get an occasional rebound rocket at ankle level. Unless the screen is attached to the floor, even a very small gap will allow a thin/topped shot to get to the wall and rebound before the screen can settle back into place and stop it from coming back at you.

[Bflem55]

What am I suppose to do about the sides then ? They are 10 feet tall .... how can I make up that 3 inch gap ?

[MongoOnlyPawn]

Split the difference from side to side, leave a 1.5" gap on each side when you secure it.

[Bflem55]

So secure it to the ceiling and leave the gap in the corners ?

[MongoOnlyPawn]

Yes, that should work.