Anyone who has done a diy enclosure, what are you using on the rails to stop miss hit balls from flying back? Pipe foam and pool noodles do not work. Been messing with gutter foam but it’s not the cleanest look, been pulling my hair out trying to figure something out that looks clean, works and it’s crazy expensive.
by DullBerry57
7 Comments
Why doesn’t pipe foam work? You can get it in many sizes
For me, the easiest solution is fabric that hangs in front of the pipes. I made my setup wider to support rh/lh, and at each corner I have 10ft blackout curtains that go from the left side to the back while leaving 2-3 ft space between the curtain and the post:
https://preview.redd.it/4pdc8n0dl4fg1.png?width=707&format=png&auto=webp&s=aac3d446d0fdfcce2eebe140cd8a4ac025bf4122
At the top, I let the same types of curtains be suspended a bit lower so I do not have line of site to the posts.
When the balls hit the curtains, it essentially catches the ball and decelerate it to the point that it stops, and then it rolls down.
For your setup, all you’d need is another piece of conduit and four couplers, and then extend the width by 2.5 ft by cutting the 10ft conduit into 4 pieces. However, that may take up too much space for your liking.
You may also fashion curtains in other ways. But the 10 ft length probably aids in the ‘catching’ of those strays. If it is just 2 ft of fabric sewed over the posts or whatever, it may be too firm.
I bought a 3 inch thick memory foam gel mattress cover. Issue is, my wrap completly ecloses the frame so it can’t be seen. It wouldn’t look good in your case. I bought a twin size and cut it into strips. Then I zip tied the strips around the pipe and then put my enclosure cover on. I too have haerd people say the pipe foam doesn’t do much. I have never looked to see if they have any that is thicker for different R value…
Wrap the foam, loosely, in fabric. I used ripstop nylon. The gutter foam looks like swiss cheese after hitting a few worm burners without covering. I used a cheap grommet tool from amazon to “sew” the fabric around the foam and them used to grommet to attach it to the frame.
I too would love to hear more ideas and see pictures.
For the bottom I used a foam gutter wedge from Home Depot, looks clean and works very well. It’s like a foam gutter leaf guard
I’m going the gutter foam route, but using K-style foam. It’s triangular rather than square, which lets me bevel the corners at 45° and create a clean, framed look around the enclosure.
The part I’m most excited about is how it’ll stay in place. I’m gluing neodymium cup magnets with countersunk holes directly to the foam. That gives me a really strong hold, but I can still pull everything off easily to adjust screen tension with the bungees or get access when I need it.
Ping me in a couple weeks and I can send a photo once it’s all together.