Room Size: How Playable will this table be?

S

sandgnat

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Hi all! I posted this in another forum a week or two ago, but would reallt appreciate some additional feedback if anyone has experience with a similar situation, as I have to decide in the next 3 or 4 days where the table is going to be set up with respect to offsets from the walls:

238033138.jpg


I am about to install an 8 foot table in a room that is slightly smaller than the customary minimums with respect to room width. I was curious to hear from the experience of others as to how much of an issue this is going to be. The minimum for width 13'2" to 13' 8" or even more depending on the source. My room is 12'11" wide. I am not considering a smaller table because I already have a very nice 8 foot American Heirlloms table that I have no complaints about. It was previously in a 20 x 20 room so playability was not an issue then.

13'2" allows for just the standard cue length on each side plus the playing surface width (44") and no stoke room. I know that there will be some short cue shots required, but I was trying to get a feel for roughly how often this would happen. I was using my "engineering minded" brain to try and calculate the percentage of shots this will affect. I do have a pair of sliding glass doors that I can open that will eliminate some of these. I plan on offseting the table by 3.5 inches toward the sliding glass doors to make at least one side relatively free of issues. This of course worsens the problem on the other side. I am still considering centering it on the room. I have calculated that roughly 1 in 25 shots will require the use of a shorter cue. (The link to an image snapshot from a CADD drawing I have of the room)

Any thoughts or experience with this type of situation?

Thanks!
 
sandgnat said:
Hi all! I posted this in another forum a week or two ago, but would reallt appreciate some additional feedback if anyone has experience with a similar situation, as I have to decide in the next 3 or 4 days where the table is going to be set up with respect to offsets from the walls:

238033138.jpg


I am about to install an 8 foot table in a room that is slightly smaller than the customary minimums with respect to room width. I was curious to hear from the experience of others as to how much of an issue this is going to be. The minimum for width 13'2" to 13' 8" or even more depending on the source. My room is 12'11" wide. I am not considering a smaller table because I already have a very nice 8 foot American Heirlloms table that I have no complaints about. It was previously in a 20 x 20 room so playability was not an issue then.

13'2" allows for just the standard cue length on each side plus the playing surface width (44") and no stoke room. I know that there will be some short cue shots required, but I was trying to get a feel for roughly how often this would happen. I was using my "engineering minded" brain to try and calculate the percentage of shots this will affect. I do have a pair of sliding glass doors that I can open that will eliminate some of these. I plan on offseting the table by 3.5 inches toward the sliding glass doors to make at least one side relatively free of issues. This of course worsens the problem on the other side. I am still considering centering it on the room. I have calculated that roughly 1 in 25 shots will require the use of a shorter cue. (The link to an image snapshot from a CADD drawing I have of the room)

Any thoughts or experience with this type of situation?

Thanks!
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I'd fudge a couple or three inches to give you 4'6" on the bottom side. That leaves you 4'9" on top. Or even one more inch that way, so it's 4'7" on the bottom and 4'8" on top. And keep a 54" house cue on hand for those really tight shots. You can cut one down from 58" and it is still very playable.
 
sandgnat said:
Hi all! I posted this in another forum a week or two ago, but would reallt appreciate some additional feedback if anyone has experience with a similar situation, as I have to decide in the next 3 or 4 days where the table is going to be set up with respect to offsets from the walls:

238033138.jpg


I am about to install an 8 foot table in a room that is slightly smaller than the customary minimums with respect to room width. I was curious to hear from the experience of others as to how much of an issue this is going to be. The minimum for width 13'2" to 13' 8" or even more depending on the source. My room is 12'11" wide. I am not considering a smaller table because I already have a very nice 8 foot American Heirlloms table that I have no complaints about. It was previously in a 20 x 20 room so playability was not an issue then.

13'2" allows for just the standard cue length on each side plus the playing surface width (44") and no stoke room. I know that there will be some short cue shots required, but I was trying to get a feel for roughly how often this would happen. I was using my "engineering minded" brain to try and calculate the percentage of shots this will affect. I do have a pair of sliding glass doors that I can open that will eliminate some of these. I plan on offseting the table by 3.5 inches toward the sliding glass doors to make at least one side relatively free of issues. This of course worsens the problem on the other side. I am still considering centering it on the room. I have calculated that roughly 1 in 25 shots will require the use of a shorter cue. (The link to an image snapshot from a CADD drawing I have of the room)

Any thoughts or experience with this type of situation?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


Well, I'm assuming you're committed to having a table. As far as I can see, you're doing it right. Put the darn thing in the middle and be prepared for occasional short-cue use. It looks as though the only real obstruction is the wall between glass-doors (please correct me if I'm wrong). If that's the case, try to ascertain exactly how short the short-cue will need to be. There's a reasonable chance you can minimize the discomfort of playing shots from there if the short-cue is around 50".
 
At my older house, I had a very similar problem as you described. I had a 9' table and although my room was plenty long enough,the width was about 1 foot short of the reccommended size. On one side of the table I had 3 windows running along the wall to the backyard. I shifted the table over about 8" off center towards the wall with the windows. Whenever the cueball was on the rail, I could often times open the window and shoot with my normal cue no problem. There were occassions where the short stick was needed, however, this small inconvienence was overlooked by the joy of having my own table in my home. I would say setup the table as depicted in your CAD drawing, shifted towards the slider. I think you too will find that using a short stick 5% of the time is a small price to pay for all the hours of fun and practice you will have!

-Phillip
 
I've already prepared myself by purchasing a couple of short players cues (a 48" and a 52") to use when it gets tight! I am getting a lot of feedback saying that I just just center the table and live with occasional short cue shots on both sides. Ugh! I just don't know! I am thinking that I can throw the sliding glass door out of the way to avoid some short shots on the south side, live with the others on that side, and have a pretty much clear table around all other three sides.

And "yes" the table is going into that room one way or another! Propbably on Friday afternoon.
 
Awesome report Phillip! That is exactly the post that I have been waiting for! Somebody who had the same (or very similar situation) and decided to put it in offset toward the window/door. That gives me confidence that I am doing the right thing!

Was it about 5% in your experience with this? I pretty much thought that my calculations were reasonable but the real world often works differently than my math! LOL!

-Kirk
 
I had a similar situation. I just had a 8' Golden West installed in my house. The room is 25' L x 13' 1" W (it would be 13' 8" W if there wasn't a ledge on the one wall).
I had the installers center it on one end of the room and that left me with 4' 7" on each side of the table. It isn't that bad, it only gets a little tight when the cue ball is tight on the rail. And when that happens I just tilt my cue up a bit and I am alright.
 
Kevin Lindstrom said:
Just remember once the table is set up, no jump shots towards the glass doors.
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That's definately going on the list of house rules!

along with:

don't sit on the table, no food, no drink
and nobody goes into the bar w/o permission!
LOL!
 
I too would set it up as you have it pictured , why have to short cue 2 sides when you can have only 1 side short? and only occassionally because you do have the sliders there to open.
 
Y'all are making me feel better about this alrady!

willow said:
I had a similar situation. I just had a 8' Golden West installed in my house. The room is 25' L x 13' 1" W (it would be 13' 8" W if there wasn't a ledge on the one wall).
I had the installers center it on one end of the room and that left me with 4' 7" on each side of the table. It isn't that bad, it only gets a little tight when the cue ball is tight on the rail. And when that happens I just tilt my cue up a bit and I am alright.
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Cool! It seems like being 1 foot short of adequate in width is rather common! I think I am going to go ahead with my offset plan. And I am going to install the ligh on Thursday if possible.

The six-month drought without a table in my house is at long last almost over!

Thanks for all of the super-quick feedback!

-Kirk
 
sandgnat said:
Awesome report Phillip! That is exactly the post that I have been waiting for! Somebody who had the same (or very similar situation) and decided to put it in offset toward the window/door. That gives me confidence that I am doing the right thing!

Was it about 5% in your experience with this? I pretty much thought that my calculations were reasonable but the real world often works differently than my math! LOL!

-Kirk
Click to expand...

Hi Kirk,

I would say 5% was on the high side. Really, like another poster mentioned, you will only have problems when the cue-ball is frozen to the rail and the object is straight in line with the cueball. Even in this case, its possible to jack up a bit and still execute the shot. I only opened one of the windows like 1 out of 100 shots.

One funny thing is I was having a party one evening and the were a bunch of people sitting out on the back patio table. The windows were open, but the blinds were still down. A buddy of mine smacked a friend in the back of the head with the butt of the cue during his backstroke. He had a big knot on his head the rest of the night but funny nonetheless.

Seriously, set it up the way you described and you'll be happy.

-Phillip
 
sandgnat said:
Awesome report Phillip! That is exactly the post that I have been waiting for! Somebody who had the same (or very similar situation) and decided to put it in offset toward the window/door. That gives me confidence that I am doing the right thing!
...
Click to expand...
The thing I'd worry about is players with random-length backswings going into the glass windows. Make sure the glass is strong and all the cues have rubber bumpers.
 
Room size

I'm just getting ready to lay out my foundation for my new play room.Going to make it 20 x 20 so I believe that will give me a nice room.I'm still looking for a table here in my area.Hopefully will find a decent one for a decent price.
 
RENE NIETO said:
I'm just getting ready to lay out my foundation for my new play room.Going to make it 20 x 20 so I believe that will give me a nice room.I'm still looking for a table here in my area.Hopefully will find a decent one for a decent price.
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Make it as large as you can afford. 20x20 gives you some room on the sides for furniture, but the focus is 100% on the table in the middle when you do that. 20x24 or larger would be better. I know I am squeezing mine in where I can, but I used to have my table in a 20x20 room... and even with an 8 footer, it was still ALL about the table! (Not that there is anything wrong with that... LOL!

(Bob... I'll take note of that and remind all players to watch out for the dad gum windows!)
 
I agree that you should even out the side distance a little more. You can count on using that short cue about twice a game.
 
The table is in!

We installed the pool table on Saturday. Based largely on recommendations and comments from this forum, I decided to move the table back towards the center by another inch. The final offsets are 4'5" between the southern edge of the playing surface and the wall with the sliding glass doors, leaving 4'10" on the north side of the table.

Played for several hours on it last night. Opened one of the sliding glass doors to make a shot about once every three games or so. Forced to use either the 52" or 48" cue on average about 1.5 times per game. The short cues are well balanced and hit pretty well, so I have no real complaints. It can hurt one's rythym to have to stop during a run to change cues, but overall... it was certainly worth squeezing it in. The table and room look great, too... so the wife is also very pleased.

I will upate if my opinion changes, but right now I would certainly put myself in the "better to have a table in a not quite big enough room than no table at all" camp.

Being able to play pool at home is a beautiful thing!

:D
 
One more note regarding the glass.

My friend with the sledgehammer break had it leave the table on him once but it didn't make it to the glass. In another game, he had a jump shot to make. He encouraged me to stand in front of the glass just in case. I told him to go ahead and shoot it. The object ball did indeed jump the table (the ony one he missed all night), but here again, it did not manage to make it to the glass. We will see how it develops and if there are any close calls down the road.
 
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