Batting Cage Packages

How To Install Batting Cage Netting

4 Main Things to Consider Before Installing Your Batting Cage Cables:

1, What Should I Anchor My Cables To?

2. Where to Anchor My Cables?

3. How do I Mount the Cable to the Structure?

4. Pulling & Securing the Cable

Hanging the net itself is the easy part.   First, you will need to figure out how you will anchor the cables into a support structure, sturdy enough to pull the cables tight and tighten with a turnbuckle.   Since most of us are not structural engineers, you just need to be cognizant of how much force you are putting on a 2 x 4 stud or anchoring into a cylinder block wall.

1. What Should I Anchor My Cables To?

In a warehouse, this is often the steel beams, joists, studs or cylinder block walls.  In a basement, this is most commonly done through a stud behind the sheetrock.

If the support structure does not line up exactly with the width of your cage net, you can often get creative with items such as Unistrut, which you can anchor into the support, and THEN, anchor your cable into the appropriate place along the Unistrut. See example below.  Unistrut is typically available at Electrical Supply Stores in most towns and available in 8 ft sticks.

2. Where to Anchor My Cables?

Once you have figured out how to anchor the cables the appropriate width apart, you also need to consider the height at which the cables should be hung.  We have a dedicated blog for this  located here “What Height Batting Cage Nets Should I Order?”

3. How do I Mount the Cable to the Structure?

At minimum use 5/16″ diameter lag screws, larger & longer is better if you can. Preferably drill all the way through the wall and use a bolt or a long eyebolt with a big washer on the outside.

When inserting lag screws into wood, predrill your holes to the minor diameter of the thread, then grease or wax the screws. This will help prevent the wood from splitting and reducing the holding power. For example a 3/8 diameter lag screw, predrill a 5/16″ diameter hole; 5/16″ diameter lag screw, predrill a 1/4″ hole; 1/2″ diameter lag screw, predrill a 13/32″ hole.

4. Pulling & Securing the Cable

Once your eye bolt is secured into the structure, run your cable through and pull the excess as tightly as possible.  You can even use a tow strap with a ratchet or a Come-Along if available.  On the other end, you’ll install the turnbuckle, loop the cable through it, pull tightly as possible with the same method.   Then turn the turnbuckle to get the final tension.

At this point, you will use the cable clamps provided in the installation kit to secure the tag end, or excess cable, back to the main cable like this:

Remember, its best to install the 3 turnbuckles (one for each run of cable for one cage) on the opposite wall of where you will most often pull the nets against.

You can use bolt cutters or hack saw cut the roll of cable into your desired legnths and to clip off the excess cable when you are done.

Once your cables are securely hung with tensions, then it is just a matter of using the spring clips to clip the rope border of the net to the cables.   Refrain from clipping straight to the net itself, as there will be too much tension of the individual twine and you will be patching holes in a matter of weeks.  Always clip to the rope borders.

If you REALLY need to clip to some other place on the net besides the sewn in border, you can buy rope at the local hardware store, weave into the net and clip to it.

Visit Our Turf & Netting Blog for further instructions on How To Install Our Batting Cage Netting.