New "Shed to Sim" Conversion! Looking for inspirition!

[smw0720]

Newbie here. Have been lurking for a bit, gathering much valuable information. I waited to post about my journey until it officially started.

My permit was finally approved for a 16x22 shed, with custom 9’4 high walls, total clearance of 11’6 to the top of the collar-ties in the raptors, total height roughly 13’2. Should be plenty of ceiling space for me as a 5’5 individual.

My hope is the 16ft of width will translate to 15ft inside, allowing for a center strike set up. Currently using a Garmin R10, with plans to upgrade to the Uneekor EYE XO (2?) in one year.

Attached some contractor provided outlines for the shed, and some (hopeful) concept designs that I can make happen.

For anyone that has ever embarked on the “Shed-to-Simulator” journey, I would love to hear your feedback. I want to hear the “do's and don’ts” that you have experienced, hoping to gain from prior knowledge, as I have the ability to start from scratch with things like space, electrical set up, even insulation and surround sound set up! Would love to hear it all!

Hopefully my next post will be inside the shed with the electric installed in preparation for projectors, lighting, and whatever else may come my way.

Overly intimidated, abundantly excited! But confident with all the knowledge on this forum.

Big ups to Brettster for the shed inspiration!!

[wbond]

The width for center hitting is totally dependent upon swing type. If you have a very flat swing, you need more room.

[smw0720]

Hmmmm. I wouldn't say its very flat, certainly not "laid off", and feel like I have a rather compact swing. I have swung plenty of clubs in the basement (to my wife's horror), and have never hit the adjacent walls (within a 12 ft wide room) from the center.

Im hoping once I get in the actual shed I can make some real determinations. Really hoping to promote a "center" swing environment.

[wbond]

I also play in a simulator league and a couple of their bays are in a skinnier room and I'm the only one in the league who hits the wall behind me. I unfortunately have a very very flat swing. I took out their white board the first week. haha. I would say the vast majority would be fine

[smw0720]

wbond definitely something I want to avoid LOL

[GolfSimulcast]

14x24 shed. 12.5×23.75 interior. Gambrel roof (12 feet high ceilings).

Finished it about two months ago...smoothing rough edges since then. Everything is finally working well.

Bushnell Launch Pro
Carl's enclosure
CC Elite Mat
Birdieball putting greens
Dolby 7.1 Atmos

Built it in my backyard because my wife evicted my first generation, low-ceiling, garage sim when she got her new car.

I'll post more details in a few days...on the road until Monday.

[smw0720]

Yes! This is what im talkin about!!! Looks good! My original thought was a gambrel style roof to promote room at the top, but then opted for the A-Frame with custom 9'4 high walls.

So it looks like you are offset to the right, 12 ft was not enough width for center strike? Im hopeful that the 16ft width will translate to 15 ft internally.

Assuming you started from scratch (fresh build) - Only thing I am being very cautious about is 1)insulation 2)getting the electric run the way I need. Would love to hear some do's and don'ts from your experience!

Thanks for the inspiration!! Love it!

I have also been evicted from my previous set up by the boss lady... but Ill be glad to be exiled to the shed!

[GolfSimulcast]

I opted for closed cell foam (spray in) insulation as 1) I had limited insulation space in the ceiling and 2) I live in a cold climate and did not want cold keeping me from playing.

I rented a ditch-witch to dig the trench to the house for electricity. Wiring everything into the walls in advance was key (HDMI, speakers, cat6, etc.)

[smw0720]

Yup... That's where my mind is at the pre-wiring. Planning to have plenty of conduit from ceiling for projector/monitor, as well as a conduit in the walls for tvs, computer monitors. Trying to be prepared for anything that I may want to hook up down the line.

I live in PA, so the winters aren't too bad, but still suck. Thus - Insulation is mandatory. Spray foam worth the hassle/cost? And how does that work with conduit/wiring in the walls?

[GolfSimulcast]

Spray in foam goes right over/around the wiring; leave yourself plenty of wire slack so that you have enough wire for connections (speaker wire comes immediately to mind).

I also saved some space by mounting all of my speakers in the walls (I went with Polk).

Label/mark all your wires too...can become a confusing spaghetti mess.

The closed cell foam insulation works so well, I end up opening the door because it gets TOO warm in there with all of the electronics running and the heaters on.

[smw0720]

Good deal. I think I have the right idea with the conduit, and with the spray foam should be easy. This way I can run whatever wires I want in the future and know the insulation can be undisturbed.

[Brettster]

Stephen,. smw0720 - Congrats on getting started - that's the biggest hurdle! You will likely get wrapped up in each step along the way and won't be able to stop yourself from working on it - until it's done.

Big ups to Brettster for the shed inspiration!!

No problem, you have my Shed Build thread to work through, hope it helps, it's at: https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum...-build-finally

Assuming you started from scratch (fresh build) - Only thing I am being very cautious about is 1)insulation 2)getting the electric run the way I need. Would love to hear some do's and don'ts from your experience!

This post shows some insulation and wiring:
https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum...228#post354228

and this one also:
https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum...985#post354985
(look for the books at the end of the post - they were helpful with wiring)

That was real early in the process... the insulation is this stuff from Home Depot:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/R-Tech-1...0821/202532854
(the 1" - for roof, and 1.5" for walls). It's basically polystyrene foam board with foil on one side (face inside).

The wiring was very expensive from what I remember, pickup some 14/2 with Ground, like this (I used over 100 feet):

https://tinyurl.com/Romex-14-2-withGround

Wiring is the one job that scared me the most. Wire the whole thing (with gfci (ground fault circuit interrupter) outlets). It's the only way to keep it safe inside. And you design your circuits and chain them together in parallel, not in series. That way if one outlet goes out on one circuit, the rest stay on. If you wire as series the whole circuit goes out. I did all my own wiring, but then I had a licensed Electrician check it for me when I was done. To make sure it was done correctly. It's a lot of work, and at times can be confusing and difficult - you have to read up on proper wire colors to make the connections so they are correct. I recommend a good electrical book that will show you how.

I can tell you more - if you want, but just get started with a basic electrical wiring book.

Good luck,
-Brett

[smw0720]

The shed has arrived... and now I can begin to build!

The Shed itself is 16'x22', with side walls that are 9'4, giving me 10 feet to the raptors, total height going almost to 13ft.

Now that the actual building has been approved post-build, I am eagerly building a plan for the rough-in for the electric work. As of right now, my first decision is just making sure there are plenty of outlets, and that the outlets in the ceiling (for the projector and launch monitor) are sufficiently placed.

Open to all suggestions and ideas. I will keep you guys updated as I progress!

I would love to post some pictures, but I am having issues that the file size is too big!! Any suggestions?

[smw0720]

Was able to get a few pics on here for size (the pictures don't do it justice).

Got a shopping list going for the rough out. Hopefully will have some progress pictures next week.

[smw0720]

Just updating some progress pictures. It has been a TON of work, but I am glad I am taking it slow and doing things the right way! I don't have detailed pics of the entire process, but the insulation was very thorough (Foamular board covered by RockWool, then drywall). In the ceiling above the OSB is fiberglass blow-in insulation (you can see the hatch door in some of the pics). The floor is also insulated as well.

I also placed electrical outlets about every 4 ft. all the way around the shed. While the outlets on the back wall will primarily be unused, for the price I would rather have them than not have them. Placed another outlet higher on the wall for the tv towards the back of the shed, and of course an outlet in the ceiling for the camera system and projector.

The end game is to have drop ceiling. This way I can run the wires through the ceiling, future proofing as much as can. If technology changes, I can just run a new wire through the drop ceiling. We actually just mounted a separate panel in the basement, and are ready to dig the trench from the house to the shed.

I did buy (and partially install) a mini split unit (12,000 BTU Heat pump/AC), but my MacBook makes posting pictures a nightmare, so I will try and get some here soon.

So many other things, but figured I would give the high level updates for now. Hope to have more content posted soon.