question for you guys with pool rooms in your home

["Q" Protectors]

Not big enough. I had a "true" bar box. (smaller then 7x3.5) and a 13.5' room and still felt crowded if coming off the side rails. I blew out a load bearing wall...well still in the process of finishing it. It's not that big of a deal with a beam and some engineering. Check it out!
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=297323&highlight=starting+basement

 

[m79a]

Why Bar box table, i highly recommend full size table, not much $$ difference.

Well I live close to and will be moving to Clarksville, Tn. The bar box is king in this area. I mean every tourney is on a bar box from here to Nashville. There is a place in Bowling Green,Ky that has 9 footers but I don't go that way very often. So in the interest of getting more practice on what I'm playing on, a bar box it is.

 

[grindz]

Just remember....

chairs, table, stereo, tv (not so much anymore, but even on a wall...balls do fly!), maybe a dry bar and/or some bar stools. A few feet here and there can mean the difference between workable and "OMG... I don't want to leave here" ;-) I would get the space for plenty of 9' and then plop your BB in there... at a minumum. JMHO Good luck!!

td

 

[Sloppy Pockets]

I researched this quite a lot before I got my 9' table. For me it was either a 9' commercial table or nothing. I checked all of the suggestions on different websites about room sizes (using a 58" cue) and found that everyone had different size suggestions.
I knew that my room (lengthwise) might be a little close to be able to shoot without worrying about breaking windows or bumping walls on rail shots.
So I plum-bob'd the exact center of my room and then measured out 50" from center in both directions... placing a marker at each point on the floor. The distance was 62" from the inside "cushion" edge <--(the only point that really matters) to the wall (not the baseboard). This told me that the tightest stroke that I would ever have would be 5" if the cue-ball was on the rail and I was hitting across the top of the ball, (most shots of this type you will hit down on... thereby lifting the butt of your cue stick and adding a few more inches to your stroke). You also aren't likely to use a long stroke on a rail shot (but some do). I even tested this with my cue by setting up a 30" height sofa-table with a marker placed at 62" from the wall. I had decided it would work well, but if the room had been 3" shorter I wasn't going to own a table (without buying another house).
Using my 62" rule of "cushion to wall" I found play to be comfortable with a 58" cue. I'll bump a wall (on very rare occasions) before I set into a rail shot, but it's because I get used to the extra swing room at the pool halls and sometimes get too loose before a shot.
Basically the 62" distance is perfect and not ever a thought or concern as I'm taking my shots.

Go and measure the inside "cushion edge" dimensions on the type of table that you are going to get and add 124" to that. Anything less I would advise against. Also plum-bob for the center of the table (AND MAKE SURE THE INSTALLERS GET IT EXACT!!!)

PS... Every suggested size chart that I have seen online is smaller than my room. But they are usually from places that want to sell you a table!!!

Interesting way to be assured of things.

When I had my table put in, I finished one wall and had the guys install the table so that the inside edge of the cushion was exactly 60" from the wall. This was to get as far away from the pole in the middle of the room on the other side of the table. Well, I found out that 60" was a doable distance, but not comfortable to play at. You are always bumping into the wall while sighting the shot and getting down on it. Also, you really can't take the stroke you'd like to in many instances, especially when you are trying to keep a somewhat level cue on shots where the CB is frozen to that rail.

Eventually, I couldn't stand the pesky pole in the middle. It seemed to interfere with half the shots I needed to make instead of the rare few that the seller told me it would (the seller is not a player). I decided to build my shop wall 14' 2" away from the other wall and put in a 15' steel beam to get rid of the damn pole. The table, however, was still sitting 60" from the original wall.

Last week I noticed a ball taking a very weird roll, and I discovered that the slates had shifted. I called the seller to come fix it (great experience as I offered to help with the whole operation and learned a bunch). Before we put the cloth back on I asked if we could move the table over 2" so that the clearance would be the same on both sides. I cut a bunch of 1/2" dowels for him, and we jacked it up under the frame edges. Then we put two dowels under each foot and rolled the table over 2" onto the other dowels, kinda like how the blocks for the pyramids were supposedly moved. It worked great, sliding over like it was on greased marbles.

What a difference a mere 2" can make in your comfort level when shooting! Still, the table below recommends an extra 2" on either side than I now have. Bottom line, it's not if can you physically make the shot, but rather, are you comfortable playing all around the table. I've done the best I can for my large 8 footer (46" x 92" playing surface) given the original space constraints.


from RSB_FAQ:

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:


8'
44" x 88"
14'4" x 18' 4


8+'
46" x 92"
14'6" x 18'4"

9'
50" x 100"
14'10" x19' 4

12' (snooker)
70" x 140.5"
16'6" x 22'5"

"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.

Between two tables you can do with about the length of a cue, the limit is caused not by the cue, but by the player being able to go into his stance between the tables. Deluxe rooms really need more room on all sides to let possible passers-by move without bumping into the players.

 

[JoeW]

Take the external dimensions of the table and add 11' to the length and the width, This allows for the cue stick plus some room to swing if you are shooting off the rail.

Simple formula but it should be adhered to if you want to be able to play comfortably.

 

[Cornerman]

Well if your table is 3 1/2 by 7 and you play with a standard length cue which is 58 inches add 5 feet on each side of the table

17 feet long by 13 1/2 feet wide should do it

I know I try to explain this and make sense and it's tough, but I'll try again.

Adding 5' to each side of the table doesn't really make much sense. The reason is that the table is not twice as long as it is wide. ONly the playing surface is twice as long as it is wide. So, if you're going to add anything, add to the playing surface dimensions.

In other words, if the playing surface is 38 x 76, then if you add 64" (58" cue plus 6" stroke), you'd come up with a space of 13.83" x 17 ft (as opposed to 13.5 x 17 ft).

I don't mean to be nitpicky, because adding 10' to the outside has been the going way. But, I'd hate for anyone to be surprised when they install the table and find they had 6" of stroking room in one direction, but only 4" of stroking room the wide way.

What I certainly wouldn't do considering we're talking about Diamond table installation is consider a goofy 48" as my standard for room size measurement.

Freddie <~~~ I know it's strangely not two by one

 

[Cornerman]

Take the external dimensions of the table and add 11' to the length and the width, This allows for the cue stick plus some room to swing if you are shooting off the rail.

Simple formula but it should be adhered to if you want to be able to play comfortably.

Never. And I mean never base it on the external dimensions per my other post.

Freddie <~~~ it's all about the rails

 

[Schon9ball'r]

I have a 22x12 room that is the only spot I can put a table. I just had a little girl and I want to get a table so when she's old enough she can start playing. Would it be possible to put a barbox in there if I could caddy-corner it?