I have a situaton, your thoughts please...

S

Snake Plisken

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If you have to choose (or have already), would you prefer to put a 7 footer in your basement with plenty of cue clearance on all sides, or would you put a 9 footer with plenty of clearance minus two trouble spots?

By trouble spots I mean two 6" poles. One two feet off one of the sides and the other three feet off a corner.

Assume you have a definite preference for a 9 foot table.
Assume both tables are Diamond Pro-Ams.

I am sure many here have been faced with this exact situaton.
If you have, what did you choose and do you think you made the right decision?

If you have a similar set up and went with the 9 footer, how frequently do the trouble spots come into play?

Thanks in advance to all that reply.

-Snake
 
Cool forum name :thumbup:

Personally, 9 footer.....I grew up using shorties.....whether is was a load bearing pole in a large room, or whatever.....I'd personally prefer to have the playability of a 9 footer, and 95% of the time, the pole isn't in the way......for the other percentage, get a shorty.....part of your strategy becomes managing the short area and keeping yourself out of that predicament....

Now, if you plan to have some high stakes gambling going on, 7 footer would be my choice....I'd hate to lose a stack of cash because I got the pole safety :(
 
I don't think you would like that situation with the 9'. A friend of mine had that situation and he had someone come in and put a steel support beam that allowed him to move the posts. No idea how much it cost him, but I don't think it was a lot.

I have an 8' and my room is 6" too small for the table. It drives me crazy. Everytime you get in the zone...you have to get the silly short stick.

Bob
 
It depends on what you want to get out of it. If you just want a table to have fun hitting balls on then the 7 footer would be fine. But if you're looking to seriously practice to improve your game then only the 9 footer will do.

My father had a similar situation, he put in a 9 footer in his home with just one small trouble spot, it was at one of the head corner pockets, so if you were shooting and the cueball was in or close to the jaws of that pocket you had to use a short cue, but it didn't come up that often, and the table was great for doing drills, practicing one shot over and over, because the trouble spot would never come up.
 
Check the steel beam mentioned earlier I have had this done before an it can work. Be sure of the people you use. If that is a problem I would go with the 7 footer. Its all up to you. But in life you must settle, but I could not handle the two support poles. I have enough to handle pocketing balls. ;)
 
Snake Plisken said:
If you have to choose (or have already), would you prefer to put a 7 footer in your basement with plenty of cue clearance on all sides, or would you put a 9 footer with plenty of clearance minus two trouble spots?

By trouble spots I mean two 6" poles. One two feet off one of the sides and the other three feet off a corner.

Assume you have a definite preference for a 9 foot table.
Assume both tables are Diamond Pro-Ams.

I am sure many here have been faced with this exact situaton.
If you have, what did you choose and do you think you made the right decision?

If you have a similar set up and went with the 9 footer, how frequently do the trouble spots come into play?

Thanks in advance to all that reply.

-Snake
Click to expand...

First, I would suggest that you just reflect and decide which you would prefer without the spacial constraints and just go ahead and buy that one. Having said that, I have your EXACT PROBLEM in my basement and I currently have a 4.5 X 9 foot Diamond Professional set up down there, with great results. Like you, I have three poles in the way on one side of the table, about 2' from the side pocket, and two situated similar to yours on each of the right corner pockets. First, let me just say that the trouble spots come up MUCH LESS often than you would think. I played a three hour session on the table last night and it only came into play once for me and once for my opponent. In fact, most of my pool buddies now joke about it when it comes up, and then we just reach for the "Trouble Shooter" (a forward weighted short cue - just google it and you'll find plenty about them). I can't say how satisfied I have been with my choice of the 9 foot table. Do not be scared to fit the big table in your space. If you wish, I will be more than happy to take some pics of my basement along with some measurements so that you can see what I mean.
 
Big Perm said:
Cool forum name :thumbup:

Personally, 9 footer.....I grew up using shorties.....whether is was a load bearing pole in a large room, or whatever.....I'd personally prefer to have the playability of a 9 footer, and 95% of the time, the pole isn't in the way......for the other percentage, get a shorty.....part of your strategy becomes managing the short area and keeping yourself out of that predicament....

Now, if you plan to have some high stakes gambling going on, 7 footer would be my choice....I'd hate to lose a stack of cash because I got the pole safety :(
Click to expand...

But this only adds to the home court advantage. You will be used to the pole and the short stick, your mark will not...
 
doitforthegame said:
I don't think you would like that situation with the 9'. A friend of mine had that situation and he had someone come in and put a steel support beam that allowed him to move the posts. No idea how much it cost him, but I don't think it was a lot.

I have an 8' and my room is 6" too small for the table. It drives me crazy. Everytime you get in the zone...you have to get the silly short stick.

Bob
Click to expand...

If your situation is indeed like mine, I would certainly not waste my money on the beam. I talked about it with some engineers and metal workers that I know and talked cost as well. Due to the infrequency of the impact of the trouble spots on the game, I just don't worry about it.

Hell, if you really can't make up your mind, just let me know if your in the Lexington area sometime and you can play on mine and see for yourself...
 
I do have one final thought on this subject. Either way you decide to go, I would consider wrapping the poles with rope. I used some crazy, multi-colored climbing rope. This prevents you from dinging up your expensive cue sticks on the pole and looks pretty cool too. Trust me, once you crack the finish on your Szamboti, you'll wish you had done this...
 
Just my opinion

You will be cussing every time that pole gets in the way. It's like having an injury on any part of the body. It is just inconvenient, and will always be like a sore thumb.
Best to do some construction or opt for the 7 footer is the way I see it. Good luck.
 
Why not do like I did the last two homes I bought - if I can't fit a 9' table in it, I'm not buying the house. Period. Drove my last real estate agent nuts.
 
ChatTownBanger said:
Why not do like I did the last two homes I bought - if I can't fit a 9' table in it, I'm not buying the house. Period. Drove my last real estate agent nuts.
Click to expand...

lmfao.....my boy my boy.......gotta love it!

i was the same way with my appartment.


Honestly in my experience the people that I know that have tables that have any kind of problem shooting around on it.....THEY DON'T EVER SHOOT ON THE TABLE....

it becomes a PIA and just aggravates you....get the posts removed or install the 7 foot
 
Snake Plisken said:
If you have to choose (or have already), would you prefer to put a 7 footer in your basement with plenty of cue clearance on all sides, or would you put a 9 footer with plenty of clearance minus two trouble spots?

By trouble spots I mean two 6" poles. One two feet off one of the sides and the other three feet off a corner.

Assume you have a definite preference for a 9 foot table.
Assume both tables are Diamond Pro-Ams.

I am sure many here have been faced with this exact situaton.
If you have, what did you choose and do you think you made the right decision?

If you have a similar set up and went with the 9 footer, how frequently do the trouble spots come into play?

Thanks in advance to all that reply.

-Snake
Click to expand...

PM sent. Cheers...
 
I went with the steel clad floor joists, in order to move support columns AND still had some clearance issues elsewhere--all to get a 9 ft table. If your main interest is practice, it's DEFINITELY better to go with a 9 ft table!
 
ChatTownBanger said:
Why not do like I did the last two homes I bought - if I can't fit a 9' table in it, I'm not buying the house. Period. Drove my last real estate agent nuts.
Click to expand...

LMAO !!! I'm 6'7" and it was hard enough to find a house that could accomodate my height. We'd still be looking if I made 'fitting a pool table' one of the criteria !!!

BTW, I have an 8 footer, and the poles never come into play.
 
Based on the interference measurements you gave, the poles are going to come into play with either table.
 
You may very well have a third option available to you. You should have a structural engineer look at those poles. The odds are very likely that you can truss your ceiling joist supporting beam with steel plates and remove or move the poles down some out of the way.

Steel gussets don't move especially if you can sandwich them on both sides of the supporting beam and place large bolts in a "W" pattern across the span. This bolt pattern forces the stresses sideways.
 
Snake Plisken said:
If you have to choose (or have already), would you prefer to put a 7 footer in your basement with plenty of cue clearance on all sides, or would you put a 9 footer with plenty of clearance minus two trouble spots?

By trouble spots I mean two 6" poles. One two feet off one of the sides and the other three feet off a corner.

Assume you have a definite preference for a 9 foot table.
Assume both tables are Diamond Pro-Ams.

I am sure many here have been faced with this exact situaton.
If you have, what did you choose and do you think you made the right decision?

If you have a similar set up and went with the 9 footer, how frequently do the trouble spots come into play?

Thanks in advance to all that reply.

-Snake
Click to expand...

First let me start off by saying, "Snake Plisken? I thought your were dead?"

Now that that's out of the way. I wouldn't dream of putting a table in a room too small for it. No obstructions or no table. I grew up with a cheap table in a basement with large concrete block support columns that were in the way. My friend's house had a table that was in a room about 12" too narrow and 6" too short. After all this, I would never do it. It'll just piss you off in the end.

I'd go with the best barbox I could get/afford (preferrably a Diamond) and be happy I don't have to ever wield a short cue.

Welcome aboard the short bus, Snake. Sift through the BS and there's a lot of good info to be had here at the AZB.
 
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