Good morning/the art of finding a silver lining

[Tavernor]

Hi all, I've loved pool/snooker since as long as I can remember, the grail has always been having my own table.

I'm not gifted by any means, I'm delighted if I can sneak into the 30's on a break, and I've not quite cracked 50 yet (46 is the highest). I seem to have improved quite a lot recently though, so I'm hoping my own meagre and underwhelming records will start tumbling soon....

Anyway - it looks like I've just torn my ACL which is a bit of a downer, sport is quite useful for me not going insane.

In a wonderful twist of fate however, the wife has signed off on my getting a table so that I don't lose the plot while I recover! I've never been more delighted with a more painful knee.

As I've never bought a table before, I was hoping for a bit of advice along the journey from you kind lot.

FCSnooker look pretty good but won't pick up the phone. The website looks kinda old though, does anyone know if they are still in business? I've also chatted to 'Snooker and Pool Table Company Ltd' in Essex. They seem helpful but again, I'm a newbie at this.

Are these good companies to be using? If not, who should I speak with?

The table itself will be going into a double garage. I could maaaybe fit a 9 footer in (but would need short cues in places), but in order to still be able to park comfortably and also have a bit of gym space I'll probably go with a 7 x 3.5 foot . I figure it could more easily be used - kind of - for pool with those dimensions too.

I'm aware that I'll need to insulate the garage by winter so I'll be asking more, but for now it's more of an introduction and a 'What else may I not have considered?' style question/post.

So... What else might I not be considering, that I should?

I'm so Bl**dy excited about haviny my own table...!!!! Nice to be involved.

Dave

[akofb]

Hi Dave,

Sorry to hear about your ACL, that sounds like it's quite painful. Glad to hear though that you have a Silver Lining with the new table - that part I am jealous about

I work for Hamilton Billiards, we are based in Hertfordshire and we have a couple of secondhand 7ft tables in stock, one of which is very close to being "ready to go" and is here on our website - https://www.hamiltonbilliards.com/m1...ool-table.html. Delivery is an additional cost and depends on where you are in the world, we can offer an accessory pack to add on to the table too so you're ready to get up and running as soon as it's installed. If you have the budget for a brand new table we make them on site and have 20+ different styles to pick from. I'm sure we can come up with something that works for you.

If this or anything else is of interest then please drop me an email (address is on the website) and we'll see what we can work out.

Cheers
Graham

[Tavernor]

Hi Graham, that does look nice (and thanks for the reply ).

On the link it has the option to specify cloth colour, does that mean you'd pop a new one on?

Also, and please forgive my naivety - I alluded to it in my first post - could you explain a little about the quality element?

For example, FCSnooker have new tables at about 2300 for the same size. I always prefer to 'buy right, buy once' so I don't mind splashing cash on this, but I like to understand where the extra money is going. Compared to, for example, the 2300 options from FCsnooker, what are the improvements with the one you've linked too?

If its better, then I'd rather pay more, I just need to understand.

I'd also like to think I'm fairly switched on, but for he sake of your reply, please treat me like an absolute moron

Oh, I'm in Norwich by the way and would need the installation service too.

Thanks again/look forward to hearing from you!

Dave

[akofb]

Thanks for your time on the phone Dave, I have emailed you back with some information. Decisions, decisions

[Tavernor]

Pleasure speaking Graham. I've had the measuring tape out and my dilemma now is the 'easy' 7 foot, or trickier 8 foot!

As a wildcard, I could always just park the car outside, go big, and have space left over to create a proper mancave....

If anyone could chip in with the real world differences/benefits/experiences of 8/9 foot tables instead of 7 I'd be super grateful.

[Mark187187]

I play english pool on a 7ft table and US pool on a 9ft table. Even with the bucket pockets, I find a 9ft table to be more or a challenge. I have played on 9ft and 10ft snooker tables and you still need to cue well to make a break, and you can just about play a full 15 reds game without the table becoming impossibly crowded. At 7ft you'd be looking at playing 6 reds unless you're using dinky balls. At the end of the day you can only go as big as the space you have. I'd go for the biggest you can fit without needing a short cue.

[itsnoteasy]

Just to throw a curve ball, have you thought about a cut down full sized table? They seem to be getting more popular with folk who have limited space.
Sounds like you could get a three slate possibly four slate cut down table in.

[akofb]

Pleasure speaking Graham. I've had the measuring tape out and my dilemma now is the 'easy' 7 foot, or trickier 8 foot!

As a wildcard, I could always just park the car outside, go big, and have space left over to create a proper mancave....

If anyone could chip in with the real world differences/benefits/experiences of 8/9 foot tables instead of 7 I'd be super grateful.

You could always go for the 8ft, leave the car inside and open the windows . I know we're not very close to you but if you did want to see some physical tables we have a 7ft, 8ft and 9ft fully assembled in the showroom so you can see them all at the same time.