Connecting to studs?

[TuesdayDuffer]

Hey guys,

New to the forum and was wondering if anyone connected directly to their wall studs for their screen?

I currently have a cage / screen / net setup and I’m not a big fan of the look. I want to stretch the screen from side to side and attach at the ceiling, then cover the top / bottom and sides with something (help here would be greatly appreciated)
I will need to cover the beam ( open to suggestions here also), and then get a floor projector setup to make sure the image gets up to the top.

Thanks guys for any ideas.

[jasonreg]

I did just that - well I actually had to build out the wall studs but same idea. No issues whatsoever. You will want some sort of baffling on the ceiling and yes, definitely want to protect that beam. It is hard to tell how much room you have - maybe add some dimensions? I am assuming you do not want the screen in front of the Beam but underneath and behind. I this case you may need some kind of netting and baffle combo on the ceiling to ensure you cannot hit the beam. Ideally, I suppose you move the screen forward enough that the bean is behind the screen.

Par2Pro sells a screen and netting combo which attaches the netting to velcro around the outer edge of the screen. You can get the idea here:

[TuesdayDuffer]

Thanks Jason.
I really don’t want to give up the 4 foot of room behind the beam. I was thinking about it at lunch today and I’m working out if I can possible put an ultra short throw projector behind the beam. If I’m protecting balls from getting behind the screen, is there a standard minimum that the screen needs to be spaced out from the wall? I can pad the wall behind the screen if need be.

I have 31” between the beam and the studs. I’m looking at a ultra short throw projector with a 16:10 aspect ratio. That should give me a 150” width, with a 94” image height. Once I find the projector I can space the screen out from the wall.

You have a nice setup.

Thanks again,

[jasonreg]

Generally, folks leave 10-12 inches. Some go shallower but add either additional screen backing, netting or in some cases foam or mattress protection. Search around the site and you will see many different approaches - I am sure one will work for you. There are also a lot of different approached to protect the beam. Best one I have seen is some sort of wedge or angled foam do deflect the ball as well as prevent interaction with the beam.

Good Luck!

[Brettster]

TuesdayDuffer

I'm at 8" from screen to back wall and it works fine. Just make sure you have a good / heavy duty impact screen and not a cheap one. Mine is an 801 triple-layer.

As for protecting the beam, I've done that in my ceiling using draped Commando Cloth. You can see me doing that in this post of my build:

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-forum/simulator-builds/348365-golf-sim-shed-build-finally?p=365387#post365387

I also did place triangular Gutter Foam into the baffle (closest to and right next to screen) at the bottom to weight down the cloth and prevent balls from hitting the wire that my screen is hung on.

[tkvaughn999]

My build is in my garage. I want to maximize my space so I mounted screen using studs. Lag bolts into stud then used a steel cable and turn buckle to support top of screen, also dropped cable from ceiling to center of cable to eliminate any sagging. Side of screen is attached to wall using slotted angle iron mounted to studs. 12x9 (4:3) screen runs from wall to wall with very little wasted space. Ill see if I can upload a picture.

[tkvaughn999]

The space is 12'x12'x12'. Screen is simply zip tied to cable and small bungee cords to angle iron. I have since added a sub floor ramp in front of screen that protects bottom on bladed shots, loosely secures bottom of screen and allows balls to roll back to the hitting area. I have a sports net behind screen and just over a foot of space between wall and screen. Have seen 170 mph ball speed and doesn't hit wall. Not sure I'd do anything different in hindsight.

[Brettster]

tkvaughn999 - looking good! Could you post a pic of your ramp and let us know how you built that? I've thought of doing that myself, but really need the space there for a putting cup eventually. You've got over 12" behind to wall - you're golden!

[tkvaughn999]

I looked back and can't find any pictures. It was a pretty ghetto build using scrapes or wood I just happen to have. Basically its sheet of plywood raised to about 3" on one end using 2x4 scraps and slopes towards floor on other end(about 4' of ramp slope). Put some more scrap 1x2 in middle for support. Kept it really simple then covered with grizzly grass from Home Depot. Ball lands softly and slowly rolls back to hitting area. I was going to do a fancier build but the price of plywood put an end to that idea. I also use front edge to loosely attach bottom of screen so it doesn't flip up onto the ramp. Hope that helps