Garrow Home Gym

The Garrow home gym is probably one of the largest backyard gym’s in San Antonio. Indeed, we haven’t seen a bigger home gym anywhere. It started as a typical tennis court with an acrylic surface. But, as the Garrow’s passion for volleyball grew, they decided to convert the outdoor court to an indoor space.

Construction began in early 2015 with removal of the fence and lights from around the tennis court. Wrapping an outdoor court in a large metal building required additional concrete. This would expand the size and provide structural support for the gym. The new concrete was poured in early 2015. Building materials were delivered in March and construction was set to start on April 1st.

Garrow Home Gym Court Layout

The gym was designed with a basketball court and 2 volleyball courts. The basketball court would be shortened to about 65’ and would fit sideways across one end of the building. One of the volleyball courts would be centered on the basketball court. The other volleyball court would sit at the other end. This would be the main volleyball court and it was critical that there would be room for running serves.

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Side Fold Basketball Goals

The Garrow’s chose wall mounted LXP4200 glass backboards from Gared Sports. These are the strongest backboards in the world and are often seen in NBA and college arenas. The backboards were paired with Snap Back rims designed for the NBA. These rims are factory set to flex or “Break Away” with 180 to 200 pounds of dynamic energy load. By comparison, collegiate rims flex at 140 pounds. Wall attachment was made with a side fold backstop. This system allows the backboard to swing sideways and rest against the wall when not in use.

Installation of the basketball goals was done as building construction was nearly complete. We opted to work on the weekend when the job site was empty. This also gave us use of the builder’s boom lift, thus eliminating additional equipment rental costs.

Sport Court® Gym Flooring

The Garrow family play competitive volleyball. Both sand and hard court. So, this home gym had to have the best surface. For over 25 years, Sport Court® Response has been the choice of tournament organizers like NCAA and USA Volleyball. This made Sport Court® a logical contender for the Garrow home gym. But, these affiliations were not the deciding factor. Increased safety, lower install cost, lower life cycle costs, and greater longevity also factor into these buying decisions.

Sport Court® surfaces are recognized as the safest in the world. This is largely due to the lateral energy shock absorption characteristic of Sport Court® gym flooring. Unlike other flooring systems, the Sport Court® floors provide micro lateral movement as players move. This is unique to Sport Court®. And, this patented feature has been shown to reduce lower extremity injuries by up to about 50% when compared to other athletic floors.

Competition Volleyball Systems

The Gared Sports Libero 7300 volleyball system was chosen for this backyard gym. This system meets all NCAA guidelines for competitive play. The Libero 7300 has 4” aluminum telescopic posts that are anodized to a light champagne color. Net height adjustment is quick and easy with a simple cam lock lever. And, the winch slides up and down on a rail that moves with the telescopic upper part of the post. It’s a very friendly design.

We installed the floor sleeves while laying down the gym floor. This helps guarantee perfect alignment so that the sleeves are in the correct position. We’ve been in plenty of gyms where the floor sleeves are an inch or two off.

Project Photos