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Help Designing Enclosure
In my planning to build a garage simulator I have gone through several iterations of ideas, and would appreciate any feedback and input on the enclosure and impact screen.
To keep the wife happy and the garage functional, I'm planning a collapsible set up. I have a Garmin R10 and will be ceiling mounting the projector between the garage door opener and track. I'm planning on a roll of artificial turf from the screen to the hitting mat to control bounce (and make it look nice) that I will roll back up when not in use.
The space: half of our* 2 car garage, screen will be going on the inside wall opposite the garage door, under the storage rack. The wall is about 13' wide, and since I lifted up the storage rack I have 8'6" underneath the main frame. I will be removing those bars underneath, but some genius decided they should be welded in place instead of bolted together like everything else. To keep it functional, I'd like to limit the screen to 10' wide so we can still exit the stairs towards the sim/cans/stuff (you can see how my tire tracks cover most of the stairs already)
By putting my head directly under the garage door rail I can swing a full driver without hitting anything. I'm 6'3 and will be the tallest regular user of the sim, so if my 6'8 neighbor can't swing a driver I guess he'll just have to club down for the round, and I don't know of any lefties in my typical playing partners.
This positioning puts me about 11 feet from the screen and about 10 feet from the garage door, so plenty of room for ball flight and the R10.
I was originally looking at a full Carl's Place enclosure, but that would stick out too far into the garage and cut us off from the strollers (and garbage cans) when the car is parked inside. Ideally I'd like the enclosure to collapse to 12-16" off the back wall. I've also shelved some of the fancier screen options like HomeCourse or SportScreen - I just don't want to spend that much money on the screen itself for a first build. So I'm still kicking around a few ideas:
Cheapskate option
Hang an 8'x8' impact screen (with a weighted bar at the bottom) from the storage rack, install two EMT curtain rods along the top outside edge with hefty black curtains as shank shields, and one curtain over top to protect the ceiling. Also thinking that top curtain could drop down when not in use to protect the impact screen from garage dust/crud.
Pros: cheapest route; probably good enough for a first sim build
Cons: not as awesome as it could be
"Reverse" Carl's
Build a 1' deep EMT frame with a Carl's impact screen on the front, same two EMT curtain rods for shank shields and ceiling protection.
Pros: solid upgrade in screen, could also go with the 7.7x10 for 4:3 aspect ratio; sturdier since I could anchor it to the wall/studs
Cons: more expensive, chance someone pulls too far in and damages the less mobile frame/screen.
I had looked at some metech motorized rollers to upgrade the shank screens, but $300+ per roller vs the $20 EMT tube is a tough sell for me.
I am open to any other suggestions or ideas, and thanks in advance for any advice!
To keep the wife happy and the garage functional, I'm planning a collapsible set up. I have a Garmin R10 and will be ceiling mounting the projector between the garage door opener and track. I'm planning on a roll of artificial turf from the screen to the hitting mat to control bounce (and make it look nice) that I will roll back up when not in use.
The space: half of our* 2 car garage, screen will be going on the inside wall opposite the garage door, under the storage rack. The wall is about 13' wide, and since I lifted up the storage rack I have 8'6" underneath the main frame. I will be removing those bars underneath, but some genius decided they should be welded in place instead of bolted together like everything else. To keep it functional, I'd like to limit the screen to 10' wide so we can still exit the stairs towards the sim/cans/stuff (you can see how my tire tracks cover most of the stairs already)
By putting my head directly under the garage door rail I can swing a full driver without hitting anything. I'm 6'3 and will be the tallest regular user of the sim, so if my 6'8 neighbor can't swing a driver I guess he'll just have to club down for the round, and I don't know of any lefties in my typical playing partners.
This positioning puts me about 11 feet from the screen and about 10 feet from the garage door, so plenty of room for ball flight and the R10.
I was originally looking at a full Carl's Place enclosure, but that would stick out too far into the garage and cut us off from the strollers (and garbage cans) when the car is parked inside. Ideally I'd like the enclosure to collapse to 12-16" off the back wall. I've also shelved some of the fancier screen options like HomeCourse or SportScreen - I just don't want to spend that much money on the screen itself for a first build. So I'm still kicking around a few ideas:
Cheapskate option
Hang an 8'x8' impact screen (with a weighted bar at the bottom) from the storage rack, install two EMT curtain rods along the top outside edge with hefty black curtains as shank shields, and one curtain over top to protect the ceiling. Also thinking that top curtain could drop down when not in use to protect the impact screen from garage dust/crud.
Pros: cheapest route; probably good enough for a first sim build
Cons: not as awesome as it could be
"Reverse" Carl's
Build a 1' deep EMT frame with a Carl's impact screen on the front, same two EMT curtain rods for shank shields and ceiling protection.
Pros: solid upgrade in screen, could also go with the 7.7x10 for 4:3 aspect ratio; sturdier since I could anchor it to the wall/studs
Cons: more expensive, chance someone pulls too far in and damages the less mobile frame/screen.
I had looked at some metech motorized rollers to upgrade the shank screens, but $300+ per roller vs the $20 EMT tube is a tough sell for me.
I am open to any other suggestions or ideas, and thanks in advance for any advice!
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