Help me with my 10x10x20 garage build.

[Aggie_Eric98]

I received a quote to build a 10x10x20 size garage using a Garmin R50. Based on my 10' of width, it will have to be off-center to swing freely. The quote came back at $30K and does not include moving the garage door opener or air conditioning. None of the $30K was itemized either.

Based on that, I think I am doing it on my own.

I have many questions, and I start with the easy ones as I begin to order my needed equipment.

I am thinking of doing a Carl's enclosure custom size. I have a 10' tall and 10' wide space,

Enclosure
1. If I leave 6" on both sides and the top, is that enough room? I'll leave 12-18" behind the impact screen.
I am currently looking at an Enclosure size of 110.7" (120" total ceiling in garage), 108.4" width (120" total width of garage), and 59" depth.
2. Should I add many padding for missed shots that go off to the right or left? Kids will be using it some
3. How deep of an enclosure should I get? It appears 58" is the default; is that too much? I plan on hitting 10' or so away from the screen.
4. Does the enclosure need to be secured to the wall or flooring?

Projector
4. Should I wait for the projector to see what the space ends up with? I am going to have a non-regular aspect ratio, being the size of my screen will be 99H x 97W
5. I prefer a projector behind me so high lofted shots do not hit it, is that doable at 12-13'?

Mats
6. I want mats on the whole floor. Again, should I wait until I build gets further along? I want to do a hitting mat, but this is more cosmetic.

Launch Monitor
7. I am leaning R50, as I do not have a lot of room for a computer. Do the wireless HDMI's work well for this application?

Anything else I need to consider before I begin ordering equipment?

[GullLakeMi]

I received a quote to build a 10x10x20 size garage using a Garmin R50. Based on my 10' of width, it will have to be off-center to swing freely. The quote came back at $30K and does not include moving the garage door opener or air conditioning. None of the $30K was itemized either.

Based on that, I think I am doing it on my own.

I have many questions, and I start with the easy ones as I begin to order my needed equipment.

I am thinking of doing a Carl's enclosure custom size. I have a 10' tall and 10' wide space,

Enclosure
1. If I leave 6" on both sides and the top, is that enough room? I'll leave 12-18" behind the impact screen. I made my 10'wx10'hx5'd cage out of 1" EMT, hung sports netting and then black out curtain. 6" on side is fine and 12-18" behind is fine.
I am currently looking at an Enclosure size of 110.7" (120" total ceiling in garage), 108.4" width (120" total width of garage), and 59" depth.
2. Should I add many padding for missed shots that go off to the right or left? Kids will be using it some I'm not familiar with Carl's cage, but you should absolutely soften and better yet deflect any balls that can hit a metal bar. It's only a matter of time. I wrapped mine in pipe insulation and then created wedge shaped padding for sides.
3. How deep of an enclosure should I get? It appears 58" is the default; is that too much? I plan on hitting 10' or so away from the screen. My cage is 10' wide. Hit offset. Right handed has missed first 5' of cage. I did a half wall from the end of 5' cage to 4' back to ensure car in adjacent spot wouldn't not get hit. It's saved several errant shots.
4. Does the enclosure need to be secured to the wall or flooring? Mine is heavy enough that is not a problem.

Projector
4. Should I wait for the projector to see what the space ends up with? I am going to have a non-regular aspect ratio, being the size of my screen will be 99H x 97W
5. I prefer a projector behind me so high lofted shots do not hit it, is that doable at 12-13'? Use projectorcentral to assess. 4:3 is easier than square.

Mats
6. I want mats on the whole floor. Again, should I wait until I build gets further along? I want to do a hitting mat, but this is more cosmetic. I did a stance mat. Then cut in hitting strip. Put gym mats around that and covered gym mat's with cheap indoor/outdoor grass carpet. Was able to align flush and level subject to natural slope of garage floor, which I shimmed a bit around stance mat.

Launch Monitor
7. I am leaning R50, as I do not have a lot of room for a computer. Do the wireless HDMI's work well for this application? I started with GC2 and upgraded to GCQuad. I use laptop, which offers a 2nd screen and USB wire. Can't answer your question.

Anything else I need to consider before I begin ordering equipment?

Enjoy the journey.

[Stonebattle]

It sounds like you have given this a lot of thought.
Below are some of my thoughts.
1. I have 11" behind my screen and it works fine even for guys with 160 mph + ball speeds. I have a screen and a net behind the screen with a loose but straight fit. I have 10" on the sides and that works fine with the same net flex as behind the screen. I would say 6" may be a bit tight having seen a few balls hit the netting.

2. I use pipe insulation on the EMT and it works ok but there is still quite a bit of speed for the balls coming back at the hitter and others.

3. Mine is 84" deep. I did see one shank hit about 72" from the screen (not me). My hitting location is 10' from the screen.

4. Mine is not and it works fine.

5. Mine is 14' from the screen and it works well with 3700LM output.

6. I made my own divot action mats and they work well. Youtube videos help.

7. I have not used an R50, so no help there. GC3 or Protee VX work great. The VX works better with lefty righty issues.

Best of luck

[wbond]

With only a 10' width, you may want to consider ditching the enclosure altogether. You eliminate the risk of hitting any piping and it won't make the space even smaller than it currently is. You could put up plywood covered in something on the sides for wall protection and then do the same or hang baffles from the ceiling for skied shots.

[Nugget]

I tend to agree with wbond. Don't spend $$ on an enclosure. Get the screen as a factory second...way cheaper. Par2pro sells them and usually bigger than you need. I have 2 of their screens and they are awesome. Pad the walls 4ft on each side and even ceiling 4ft. You could buy acoustic tiles off Amazon or make with vinyl cover over foam onto plywood to mount. Screen could be hung from ceiling. Lots of options. Will you be hitting towards garage door or towards wall? Lots of projectors that could be mounted 13ft back. I had mine like that until I got a short throw and is mounted 4 ft in front of my hitting area and haven't hit it yet ether.

[pepeborja]

I’d encourage you to view my videos on YouTube where I was in the same boat…. You could get some ideas from them. I wanted a retractable screen rather than an enclosure so the garage can be used all the time and I can park my Jeep when not in use. Initially I was removing the Matt’s but now I just park on the Matt’s and let the tire prints stay—no bother really and does not take anything away from the experience.

I got the idea for the screen from a member of this forum… the rest was doing things on my own. The videos also include one where I raised my garage doors (all 3 of them). Not hard to do if you have some mechanical skills. I just passed a year of my build and made some minor enhancements but overall I am pleased with the results, The cost is about $7K with most of it spent on the Projector (2K), Laptop ($800), and Bushnell Monitor ($2K). To keep things cool or warm I also installed a MIDEA windows AC/Heat pump and works great (also a video on my YouTube channel).

Anyway, first choice is retractable vs. enclosure. My choice was easy because I use the garage stall to keep my Jeep indoors when not in use. The rest is easy, save for the garage door rising but that is doable even for a retired boomer like me. Cheers

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3r87OyfxCsrMNXZRdl-k6ImFtLxEXnfn&si=4PMgncxhtnaHjLGf

https://youtu.be/n98S94IMxOU?si=sAZtSh_wRO2GWTXa

[ruderude]

Hello, I built a 24x24x12 and used half of it for my simulator. I am using a Bushnell Launch Pro. I find it works well for smaller spaces. I have a Garmon R10, but I wanted to utilize my space as efficiently as possible and it seems the metal exterior creates some interference as well to the R10. I am enjoying the camera based BLP system the most. My flooring is MyVoice mats from Amazon, and they look and feel great. I purchased a separate hitting mat and cut it into one of the MyVoice Mats. I also added 1 inch rubber exercise flooring under the mat to give that extra cushion for wedges. I put up 10' nets to the side and have an overhead net for high launches. I got a metal paint can shelf that goes on ladders and mounted it under my projector as a shield. The only other thing I did that I learned earlier is to allow room for your screen or bungees to stretch. If you build a frame on your own like I did, make sure you allow enough room. Behind the screen, I purchased a bed comforter and hung it behind the screen to absorb impact and keep the ball from trampolining back. Good luck. I think I had just as much fun building the sim as I did using it.