Bare minimum space around a table. What should I do?

Bishop

Bishop

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Ok the house I'm looking at has a 26' by 14'6' room. I'm giving my home 8' table to my father in law and I'm going to get something new. I know I can fit a 9' in the room but on the sides it will be just the bare minimum for space required.

Lately I've been tossing around the idea of getting a pro 8 and having a couple of extra inches to spare.

How do you guys feel about this? What would you prefer? Having the 9' and have just the very bare minimum on the sides or a more comfortable oversize 8'?

Keep in mind this table will get tons of playing time. A good 20 or more hours a week, and a house tournament once a week.
 
Bishop said:
Ok the house I'm looking at has a 26' by 14'6' room. I'm giving my home 8' table to my father in law and I'm going to get something new. I know I can fit a 9' in the room but on the sides it will be just the bare minimum for space required.

Lately I've been tossing around the idea of getting a pro 8 and having a couple of extra inches to spare.

How do you guys feel about this? What would you prefer? Having the 9' and have just the very bare minimum on the sides or a more comfortable oversize 8'?

Keep in mind this table will get tons of playing time. A good 20 or more hours a week, and a house tournament once a week.
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Get the 9 footer and deal with the space issue. if the 14'6" is to finished walls it will be pretty decent. If you have to finish the walls make sure you turn the studs sideways in turn saving you as much space as possible. My friend has a finished room with 14'-2" drywall to drywall and it is still good for the 9' table.
 
The room is finished out I was using this figure for a 9'

18'10" x 14'8" minimum which is 2 inches tight with a 57'' cue. Now I know you aren't always on the rail but I was also thinking about simple walking room around the table. Believe me I want the 9' I'm just not sure how much this would annoy me.

14'2'' is pretty tight so if thats not killing you I feel better.
 
With 14.6" that gives you 60" on each side. There won't be many (if any) shots that the wall comes into play. Johnnyt
 
I have an 8' table in a room that is, um, 'tight' at 13'6" across. I don't have any shorter cues, instead it's jack-up time when I leave myself on the long rail. When I practice this is not an issue as I just roll the cue ball away from the rail (and hope I don't carry this bad practice habit to a match :eek: ). The biggest problem I have is when there are several people in the room, it gets a bit crowded. If you have a few stools that can be located well away from the table you can avoid having everyone walk around the table together to stay away from the shooter.

I play regularly on 9' tables at the pool hall, and wish I had an extra foot or so for a 9' table. Go with the 9'er I say.

Dave
 
I agree with Mr. Lindstrom. The bare minimum for completely unobstructed play on a 9' table with a standard 58" cue is 19' x 14'10", assuming a 6" backswing. So you're only two inches short on two sides of the table. This will only be an issue when the cueball is very close to the long rail and you're shooting nearly perpendicular to the rail. I'd say that's a very small percentage of shots that would be affected.

In those rare cases, you could use a shorter backswing, or a slightly shorter cue (maybe hack 2" off a spare house cue if that's an option), etc. For me personally, it would definitely be worth that small sacrifice in order to have the rest of the benefits of a full-sized table. Just be really careful that you have it centered how you like it when its installed. Hehe. :)
 
I'm kinda surprised at how some charts give one measurement and some another. I guess I'll just have to lay out a perfect playing surface and grab my cue to see for myself. I do hate obstructions and I'd like to have at least a 2-3 inch backstroke if I'm dead on the rail and need to hit a cross or reverse bank from the opposite side rail.
 
You'll be fine with the 9'. Your playing surface will be 50" and you can really discount the rail width (since the cue ball won't be closer than the tip of the rail), so you'll end up with ~62" on both sides of the table. Plenty of room. I find the only time I really get screwed up is when I can't back stroke at all and have to just power through the cue ball from a dead stop. In those instances I put down my 60" cue and use a 57" house cue. Never even come close to hitting the wall and I have less room than you are talking about.
 
Bishop said:
I'm kinda surprised at how some charts give one measurement and some another. I guess I'll just have to lay out a perfect playing surface and grab my cue to see for myself. I do hate obstructions and I'd like to have at least a 2-3 inch backstroke if I'm dead on the rail and need to hit a cross or reverse bank from the opposite side rail.
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Some of the people who make charts are in the business of selling the largest possible tables to people who don't know any better. Or at least that's my cynical opinion. I don't like to be crowded on the backswing. Here is what the RSB FAQ has to say:

11. ** How much room do I need for a table?

The minimum space for a table is the playing area plus the length of a
cue (58") plus about 6 inches for the back swing, more for comfort, on
each side. This gives the table:

table --- playing area --- room size --- in --- meters
8' --- 44" x 88" -- 14'4" x 18' --- 4.37m x 5.49m
8+' --- 46" x 92" --- 14'6" x 18'4" --- 4.42m x 5.59m
9' --- 50" x 100" --- 14'10" x19' --- 4.5m x 5.8m
12' (snooker) --- 70" x 140.5" --- 16'6" x 22'5" --- 5.0m x 6.8m

"Seven foot" tables vary in size. Work down from the 8' dimensions.
"8+" is an "oversized" 8-foot table.

If your room does not meet these minimum size requirements, many
billiard retailers will suggest that you can still put a table in, and
use short cues (52", or 48"). Many people have found they are unhappy
having to resort to shorter cues, and should have either gotten a
smaller table, or no table at all. Others, of course, take the
opposite view -- they are delighted to have any table.

In the end, only you will know whether you are happy with the room
dimensions and need for short cues. Before you spend $2000 for a table
that will cause you to smash the walls in frustration, try this:
(1) Find an indulgent pool hall when it's not busy. (2) Measure your
space (at home) carefully, including the distance from the table to all
walls that require a special cue (3) Go to the pool hall with a piece
or pieces of plywood or some such, and a short cue, and set up the
"walls" to replicate where the walls would be in your house. Play for
several hours, using the short cue when needed.
 
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Bare minimum space around a table. What should I do?

Buy tapes of Allen Hopkins games?
 
bsmutz said:
You'll be fine with the 9'. Your playing surface will be 50" and you can really discount the rail width (since the cue ball won't be closer than the tip of the rail), so you'll end up with ~62" on both sides of the table. Plenty of room. I find the only time I really get screwed up is when I can't back stroke at all and have to just power through the cue ball from a dead stop. In those instances I put down my 60" cue and use a 57" house cue. Never even come close to hitting the wall and I have less room than you are talking about.
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This is the correct information. You'll be fine if you put no furniture on the sides or hang stuff (like shelves) on the side walls. Put all seating at the ends, and hang the cue rack and whatever else on the end walls and you'll be fine.

With your measurements, you can shoot all shoots with a 57" or 58" cue. It can be a little tight with the 58", but keep a house cue available. You just have to shorten up your backswing a hair, on very few shots.
 
Go with the 9ft. It might even help you make sure you don't leave the CB on the rail. Assuming it's your shot of course!:rolleyes:
 
I have an olhausan oversize 8' with lots of room but every saturday I play at a friends house. His table is 9' but on dead straight shots perpandicular to the long rail you have to use a 56" cue. The shot is no problem but even he finds it distacting and has commented that he prefers to play on my table. It's a tough choice. Good Luck !:)
 
Bishop said:
How do you guys feel about this? What would you prefer? Having the 9' and have just the very bare minimum on the sides
Click to expand...

howdy,
Shower your wife with gifts and then genuflex and beg her to give permission to tear down the wall. once approved yore problem will be solved and u will be a happy man.
 
lol the wall is staying.

I do figure if I'm frozen on the rail I wouldn't need a full six inches for a backswing. I fingure 3'' if I'm dead on a rail and need to go cross rail.
 
Yes, bumping walls definitely suckus. So does using short cues, though, not so much. Lots and lots of room is nice. In my experience, you don't hit frozen rail shots very hard anyway so you may not need a 6 inch back swing. However, you will still have to be very careful.

Maybe you could ask yourself how well you liked your 8 foot table. If it was ok with you, get an 8' pro and have a little extra room, If you really have to have the 9 footer, get it and deal with the tight spots. good luck.
 
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