My UK Double Garage Simulator Build

[KevFlamingo]

POST 1

Hi

Some friends persuaded me to post about my simulator build.
I have posted it all on Twit-X under KevFlamingo, but will try and provide a bit more detail here.
Hoping to add daily to the story.

Story started when we decided to move house.duning the 2020 Pando.
Complicated procedure which involved finding a new house next to my Golf Club, finding a buyer for our house, losing our buyer, getting another buyer, losing our seller, finding another house not near my Golf Club with a big garage that can't be used as a garage, selling our old house, moving into a rental for 3 months and then eventually moving in.

You are probably wondering about the description of the garage.
The previous owner built a 25sqm double garage at the end of the garden, there is a track running behind the house but it's narrow, loose surfaced and overgrown to tropical rainforest levels.
He built the garage thinking that the town planners would allow access through to the next road along... they said no!

My wife agreed to the simulator plan provided it could also be used as a work from home office and also for entertaining.
I spent a year putting together a plan and researching all of the components and fittings, then it was time to get to work.

Worth mentioning at this point that I'm a career office worker, which means I have no useful skills at all.
I am fortunate in that my group of Golfing friends have some very useful skills and contacts which I shamelessly tapped into.

So the canvas started out like this.
5m x 5m.
The 2.4m ceiling is obviously far too low, so that was the first thing to address.

[KevFlamingo]

Post 2

Obviously I had to make a small hole in the ceiling to see what was up there.

Turned out to be a mass of woodwork that looked like Kerplunk just before you start playing.

There appeared to be 3 options.
1. Replace the roof - Far too expensive
2. Create a raised / recessed section which would allow room for a Driver to be used - Anyone who watched Rick Shiels during the Pando will know this is the option he went with, eventually resulting in the destruction of his beloved Cobra F9 driver.
3, Find a cost and space effective alternative.

Time to chat to a friendly Structural Engineer, fortunately I happen to play a lot of Golf with one.
He came over, took some measurements, and went away to work out the loadings to see what he could come up with.

[KevFlamingo]

POST 3

His solution was to take away the trusses and support the roof with a couple of Glulam Perlins.
He came up with the specifications for the Perlins and for the supporting brackets and fixings and where to locate them.
Glulam is reasonably lightweight compared to steel, can be easily made to the right specs and reasonably cost effective at £2000 delivered for the pair.

I can't over-emphasise the importance of getting an expert to do the engineering calculations, for your own safety and for your insurance.
I was just very lucky to have a close friend with the skills and qualifications, and despite his protestations I did pay him with several dozen golf balls with his company logo on.

A month later, the Perlins arrived.

[KevFlamingo]

POST 4

The heavyweight brackets were fabricated and nicely powedercoated in a local metalwork shop, and were not a major cost outlay.
They were put in place with large bolts and chemical anchoring - see bottom left of the picture.
Props were hired to hold up the roof - very important, the roof is fully tiled and heavy.
A large electric saw was wielded by me to cut away the trusses and the wood was put aside to be re-used later in the build. And yes, the bits left pointing down from the apex of the roof were left there for a reason which will become clear later on.
A couple of lifts were hired to hoist the Perlins into position.
A working party of 4 mates were assembled to get the installation of the Perlins done over a weekend to ensure we only hired the props and lifts for as short a time as possible.

[KevFlamingo]

POST 5

Perlin 1 installed.
Large retaining brackets added on each side of the perlin to hold it in place.
The recycling of the wood from the removed trusses started, with wedges cut to size & inserted above the beams against each rafter.
Small brackets were used to tie the beam, wedges & rafters together to add stability.

Process was repeated for the other side of the roof, and the heavy engineering was done.

[KevFlamingo]

POST 6

I recycled more of the cut away wood to brace the joists at the apex of the roof.
This would also double as the structure for what would become the flat part of the ceiling, ready for the lighting and the projector mount.
At this point, the cabling was laid out for lighting and the projector by one of my gang of helpers and advisors, who just happens to be a retired electrical contractor.

[KevFlamingo]

POST 7

Final bit of tidying up.
More wood recycled to create framework to box off areas above the window and shutter door.
Wiring put in place to install lighting for a fold down desk that will be placed by the window.

[KevFlamingo]

Post 8

Moving into Autumn and improving the weather-proofing by the shutter door became a priority.
A very sturdy rubber strip was put down, but it very quickly became evident that this wasn't quite enough...



So I had to order another seal strip for the shutter and once this was put in place I was able to declare the shutter snail-proof, fully waterproof, and a lot cleaner.

[KevFlamingo]

POST 9

Roof insulation was next.

Going back to post 2, you may notice the large slabs of foam insulation starting to be piled up in the corner.
It was far too thick to use in the available space, so it got listed on eBay and was snapped up thanks to a Pando related shortage. The buyer drove 90+ miles each way to collect it.

I referred the insulation probelm to my wife who has decades of experience with this stuff and she recommended Actis Hybris Insulation which basically wedges itself in place between the rafters.
It was lightweight and easy for me to install without any help.
I also used more of the removed joists to create a framework on the bare blockwork in the apex to allow me to insulate that area as well.

Once all this was in place, I was able to box off the cut away joists above the window and shutter door with the first sheet of what came to feel like a endless amount of plywood.
Note the arrival of a scaffolding platform to allow me to complete the heavy ceiling work to come.

[KevFlamingo]

POST 10

Plywood put up at the high point of the ceiling where the lights and the projector will be mounted.
Note the wiring and the business end of a 20 Metre HDMi cable.

What you can't see here is another wire for a spotlight that will be put in to illuminate the hitting area.
I realised quite early on that the main lights would need to be turned off to get the best picture quality from the projector and therefore the hitting area would need to be lit.

Important to note at this point that both I and my 6ft plus Structural Engineer had swung drivers flat out to ensure that my plan for positioning the projector and the screen enclosure was going to work.
The plan was to place the enclosure in front of the shutter door thus both hiding it and providing a barrier for any draughts coming arond the edges, have one central hitting strip for both left and right handers with the projector and spotlight directly above the ball (think TXG / Club Champion studio) and therefore the concern was that the Perlins could be hit on the back-swing and follow-through.

This was the only real doubt that nagged at me throughout the build, forcing me to put in a back up projector power point in case I had to resort to Plan B which was playing down the line of the Perlins with separate hitting strips for left and right handers.



More plywood covered the exposed insulation on the walls, and the rest of the ceiling was covered with hardboard to reduce overall weight.
I then wired up and fitted the main lights - remote controlled LED panels, dimmable and the light can be changed from Cool to Warm White.

[KevFlamingo]

POST 11

A big concern with hitting shots indoors is the possibility of hearing damage due to sound echoing around off of hard surfaces.
I opted to cover the walls with sheets of plywood covered with rubber foam backed carpet.
These were mounted on battens to provide addtional air barrier insulation.

This phase involved a lot of Lots of plywood, battens, carpet glue and staples.
I used a lot of 4 inch screws and large Rawlplugs to mount the panels - these weren't going anywhere once they had been put up.

Important point to make here was that I used tools and fixings that were up to the job.
I had to replace my tired old large hammer drill, bought a Ryobi One Circular Saw (already have other Ryobi tools and spare batteries) as I realised that my trusty old Black & Decker Scorpion wasn't the right tool for this amount of cutting, bought an Impact Driver unit that I'd wanted an excuse to buy for a long time, and a solid pair of carpet shears. I already had a nail / staple gun.
I later sold the Circular Saw unit on e-Bay for £10 less than I paid new. Worked out to be a lot cheaper than hiring one.

I had to buy the larger brackets, bolts and chemical anchoring stuff used on the roof and ceiling work in bulk via a wholesaler, but was easily able to sell off all of the spares on eBay as well.

Lots of careful measuring was required to make sure electric points lined up and reinforcement added where heavy objects like a TV screen would eventually be mounted.
Also lifted the panels off the ground to allow for the edges of my planned floor coverings to be tucked underneath.

The first panel went up and for some reason provided a bit of a boost to morale.



Gradually worked my way around the walls, and with each panel I felt more encouraged, especially when all the plug socket and light switch holes lined up.
I opted to cover the screw heads with caps (placing a washer inside each cap body to make sure they didn't get crushed) rather than leave the heads exposed.

My inability to get these caps lined up in a perfectly uniform fashion was irritating, this was because I pre-drilled all of the holes on the panels (through the battens of course) before putting them up, then drilled through these holes into the wall.
Fortunately my ever supportive wife pointed out that to me I'm not a tradesman, didn't even do any basic woodwoking at school, and the fact that these were a little uneven is just a small pointer to the fact that I did all this myself and should be proud of what I'd done.

Did 2 panels every evening and all of a sudden, 2 of the 3 walls were done.
This period of the build was very much in the winter and I genuinely noticed just how much warmer it started to feel once the panels went up, although obviously the shutter door was still very much a weak point in terms of heat loss.

[KevFlamingo]

POST 12

Final wall to cover, lots of measuring and re-measuring required given the window, several plug sockets, fuse box and water pipes.
Especially happy with the fuse box panel.
I decided to box around the water pipes using even more of the old joist wood and ended up with a handy little shelf as a bonus.



Very happy with this wall, next job was to use some leftover carpet and hardboard to upholster the areas where I boxed in the cut away joists.
Also decided to get rid of the poorly fitted metal cowling around the shutter door and upholster this area instead.





Finally, a small panel either side of the shutter door.
Unfortunately the shutter door control was somehow only held together and against the wall by 1 screw.
The whole thing just fell apart and I had to find a decent used unit on eBay and a wiring / settings diagram on Google.
With that, all the major boarding and upholstering was completed.

[KevFlamingo]

POST 13

Final ceiling jobs.

Sanded down the Purlins and coated them with a Grey / Blue wax.



Covered the remaining exposed plywood and hardboard with Rockfon Artic ceiling tiles, glued & screwed (with screw caps) to ensure they stay put.
Dual purpose for the ceiling tiles, insulation and stopping the sound from shots echoing around.
The ceiling tiles were very easy to cut which was very useful given that this job turned into a giant jigsaw where you have to make the pieces.


Also, the last of the electrical work.
Power socket for the projector, spotlight pointing down at the hitting area and a mock-up of the projector height.
Ceiling tiles completed with the use of much acoustic sealant to fill in gaps and smooth over some (OK, lots of) gaps and uneveness.

[KevFlamingo]

POST 14

Several coats of paint later and the ceiling tiles looked really good.



There were a couple of small gaps to tidy up between the Purlins and the ceiling.
Plywood offcuts and left over carpet took care of that.

And finally, there was an overhang on two walls where horizontal ceiling timbers were mounted to support rafters at each side of the roof.
Even more plywood offcuts and carpet and a lot of angle brackets were used to create a neat solution.


Lots of cleaning, dusting and vacuum cleaning followed, and at this point I need to pay tribute to our 20 year old Dyson DC07 which finally gave up the ghost at this point after long and valiant service.
It may have had more replacement parts than Trigger's Broom over the years, but what a trooper it has been.
RIP and thank you.

[KevFlamingo]

POST 15 - FLOOR COVERINGS

I started from the point that I would use artificial putting turf instead of carpet, and there would be an insulating layer of something between this and the cold, hard, concrete floor.
I was also set on wanting a single replacable hitting mat that can be used by both left and right handers and that I would ideally sink this into the putting turf and insulating layer so that it sat level with no lip for smooth putting.

Hitting Mat

Therefore, main job was to choose a really good quality, robust hitting matt with some pile to remove the possibility of wrist damage from the repeated shock of hitting an unforgiving surface.
I opted for an Amtech Range Dual Turf Hitting Mat 120cm x 30cm x 30mm.
It is meant to be an element in a combination range mat system.
Ideal because as a commercial driving range product it should be hard wearing and I could position it so that only the first 60cm would get used and once this end had worn out I would turn it around and wear out the other half.

After 15 months of constant use, it has not gotten close to looking worn and it's a really comfortable surface to hit irons from.

https://www.amtechrange.co.uk/collections/combi-mat-systems/products/dual-turf-hitting-mat-120-x-30

Artificial Putting Turf

Unfortunately I could not find an affordable hardwearing option that could be obtained in the 5m x 5m size reguired to cover the floor without a join.
However I am happy with the choice I made.

Ryder Pro 15mm Artificial Grass

https://www.grass247.co.uk/products/ryder-pro-artificial-grass

It needed to be reasonably heavy and hardwearing as players would be standing on it to hit full shots, and as a commercial outdoor product I hoped it would do the job.
I was prepared for the possibility that it may wear out quickly and need to be replaced by a purpose made stance mat, but after 15 months it has stood up to the test very well.
When it looks a little packed down, a quich blast with a vacuum cleaner with the brush bars down works well to restore the pile - worth noting that I only allow trainers or spikeless golf shoes.
It also putts really well, 10 to 11 Stimp which turned out to be the standard speed setting for Foresight software.

Underlay / Insulating Layer

So, I had a 30mm deep hitting mat and artificial putting turf at 15mm deep.
If I was going to get the hitting mat sitting flush with the level of the turf, I had to find a solution that was 15mm thick, both solid, heavy and still forgiving, could be cut easily, and was affordable.
The answer was the rubber crumb matting used in Gyms.

ARKMAT 1m x 1m x 15mm Rubber Crumb Mats

15kg each so they would lay on the concrete, not move, not slip, not curl up be easy to fit together and easily cut to size with a sharp knife.
The ony issue for me is that they could not get dropped off near the garage, meaning that I had to undergo a Worlds Strongest Man type event of manhandling 25 large, heavy and unwieldy objects that kept deforming in different ways through a narrow alley and down several steps.

https://www.arkmat.co.uk/15mm-rubber-crumb-floor-tiles.html