Minimum room size for table?

M

MisspentYouth

Banned
I will be buying a home in the Spring. My question is: In a game room, how much space do I need on each side of a 4.5 X 9 table? What should the total dimensions of the room be? Also, what sort of structural supports do I need? Do they need to be concrete floors, like in a basement? Or could it go on a second floor? Would that floor need extra support?
 
Minimum of 5 feet on each side but it's better to have 6 feet. 20 x 15 minimum. I have mine in my living room on the 2nd floor of a split level rambler without any additional support, it's a GC 3.
 
As an absolute minimum id want at least enough room for my cue when frozen to a rail. So personally I wouldn't want anything less than 21x17. A cramped room can really hinder the enjoyment.

I have mine on a second floor. I've had no problems. It hasn't been there long though. It was in my cellar to start but the mrs insisted it gets turned into a gym so I had to settle for a spare room. We have a solid mahogany bed, which weighs a lot. My table is probably around the weight of that bed plus like 6 people. Most homes can support an upstairs stable but I would seriously consider either a ground floor room or cellar room. Use an upstairs room as a last resort.
 
MisspentYouth said:
I will be buying a home in the Spring. My question is: In a game room, how much space do I need on each side of a 4.5 X 9 table? What should the total dimensions of the room be? Also, what sort of structural supports do I need? Do they need to be concrete floors, like in a basement? Or could it go on a second floor? Would that floor need extra support?
Click to expand...

I'm going to be very detailed here...

While Brunswick (and most other billiard table manufactures and dealers) will suggest that 14' x 18' is adequate space for a 4.5' x 9' table (using a 58" cue stick)... that is total B_S. They are giving you undersized dimensions because they want you to buy a table from them.
I own a GC-IV that is sitting in a room that has an open playing area of 14'_5" x 18'_7". I can tell you now that if my room had been 3" shorter in either direction I would not have gotten the table... and I would not have been as happy if my room had been any smaller than what it is now in length. My room is actually much wider than 14'_5", but after allowing for furniture on one side of the room... that is my open area.
So to equate what (I would suggest) is the best size for a room. You are only concerned with the measurements from the edge of the inner rail to the wall. The (inner) table length on a 9' x 4.5' will actually be right at 100" x 50" (not truely 9' x 4.5'). In my case that allows 61.5" from the rail for a standard 58" cue stick... a 3.5" clearance for rail shots. Most any rail shot is going cause you to jack-up the butt of your cue to keep from miscuing so that will actually give you a few extra inches on rail shots. If you are hitting level on a rail shot (highly unlikely that you would) you won't need all of the 3.5" as anything with more force than that will likely miscue.

My experience with my own table says anything less that 61" from the cushion to the wall is too little and 62" or more would be preferred. If you are placing in very tight (or exact) parameters as I did, then measure the room carefully before the table gets installed... then hang the light first at dead center. In my case when the table mechanic arrived he found a plumb bob hanging from the center of the light to mark the exact center of where the table was to be placed. [Also the tip of the bob was exactly 30" off of the floor to indicate the exact height of the table bed. Make sure your mechanic knows the height that you want the bed before he sets the slate!!!]
If you have a window on either end of the table then you might want to add an extra inch or two on that end to avoid the butt of a cue stick from ever striking it (when someone is setting into a rail shot) and also never break toward a window... so set the table (ball holder or ball return) at the opposite end of the window (my suggestion anyway). Also another thought for close placements... make sure that any wall mount cue rack that you use is high enough (or out of the way) from game play. Room corners are best for tight spaces as there are extra inches in corners that don't effect play.
I set my room up with just a light and a table to begin with. After about a month I knew from plenty of game play what went where... and why. Get to know your room with the table in it 1st... then decorate.

As for the supports. My GC-IV is approximately 1200 pounds in weight distributed over the 4 base pads. So think of each support (1 of 4) at 300 pounds each at that weight (or whatever your own table weight will be) concentrated into the size of the foot pad. My table is on a concrete pad in my den so it was not a factor for me (and so I'm probably not the best expert to answer that one). However, at 300 pounds per support, I would probably be fitting my table (comfortably) closer to toward a corner of the room (in a large room) as opposed to dead center, as the floor joist should add extra support the closer you get toward a wall. If the room is not much larger than the allowable space for the table, I would expect standard floor joist to support it just fine. If you are looking at a basement or crawl space directly below the table then (if it were me) I would add 2 support post (centered) directly under the head and foot supports, just to control any slight settling that might cause leveling adjustments down the road. You'd probably have to have a pretty large room with the table centered in the middle before you would ever have to really worry about using structural supports though. Concrete is always the best foundation to keep a table perfectly level... (and thick carpet will take some time to settle to the table weight... berber carpeting settles much faster). Expect to have your table re-leveled about a month after setup... better yet... buy yourself a Starrett 98-12 machinist level off of eBay for less than $100 and do it yourself.

Sorry to be so wordy... but when you're installing something the size of an SUV in your house... you really don't want to learn from your mistakes.

Enjoy your room and your table when you get there.
 
Take the outside measurements of the top rails, add ten feet to the length and add ten feet to the width and you have your needed space. If you can add more with no extra cost, why not?

15x20 works fine for most all 9' tables. I had a room 16x 26m gave me a play area for my girls during my practice.
 
my pool room is 22ft by 22ft with a 9ft GC2. There's no less than 6ft clearance on any side of the table. There is also room for a sofa, 2 pub tables with stools, shelving, cue rack, and of course a TV....and nothing obstructs the table at all.
 
Minimum of 5' from the playing surface on all sides, but that's the bare minimum and should take into account anything on the walls like pictures or a cue rack. A better minimum is 5' from the outside edge of the table since when the cue ball is against the cushion some people bridge with just their fingertips on the outer edge of the table with the bridge essentially suspended in mid-air over the floor. With a 58" inch cue (5'= 60") this gives you barely enough room when the cue is drawn all the way back to the bridge hand on the final back stroke.

Anything less I'd go with a smaller table rather than put up with even the occasional obstructed shot. But if you are going to squeeze a 9 footer in there and the length is an issue then cheat towards the foot end leaving an extra couple of inches there. You don't need the room for break shots since very few people break with the CB on the head rail and generally since most of the balls are towards the foot end the CB is more likely to come to rest on the foot rail than the head rail.
 
Last edited:
Go big

You want a minimum of 5' from the out side edge of each rail. I'm 6' 3" and use a 61" cue and gave my self 5' 6" . If you want seating any where then you have to allow for that. A friend has a nice Gold Crown IV and has about 4' on his long rails, what a pain. My table sits on a heated concrete floor in my big garage.
 
Another consideration, often missed, is your back foot. My back foot is over a foot past the end of the cue in my typical stance. The taller you are, the more this comes into play.

You can make due with a bare minimum, but in general, the bigger the space the better, for many reasons.
 
With many people using longer cues, the standard dimension of adding appr 10' to size of the table may not be large enough anymore. But for the standard 58" cue it would work fine, but 15x20 is great in most cases.
 
12squared said:
With many people using longer cues, the standard dimension of adding appr 10' to size of the table may not be large enough anymore. But for the standard 58" cue it would work fine, but 15x20 is great in most cases.
Click to expand...
Yeah when EARL comes to my place he will have to use a HOUSE cue!!
 
9andout said:
Yeah when EARL comes to my place he will have to use a HOUSE cue!!
Click to expand...

Na... when Earl comes to my place... he'll have to use his big stick. Then I might have a chance against him... if he doesn't get too animated. Besides... I want to see him try it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top