Best house model(s) for home Billiard Table
 

I’m starting the Renting/buying process. I want to have a 14’x18’ space for a quality 9’ at-home billiard table for practice and social playing. I’m willing to sacrifice some traditional dining or other space for this use- maybe sticking out into the main television watching area a bit. I’m looking for advice on which mid-sized model(s) might accommodate this desire. Thanks.

IMHO, I would contact a villages sales agent (maybe lyle grant on this site) to get a list of the larger homes. You can then determine if these are in your budget, and concentrate on the ones that appear to be the better fit. The villages website (I think) will let you search for types of homes, and then Zillow and other sources (MLS, etc) should get you resale info. I am not familiar with all the really large homes, but I was in a Washington(?) model, and it was quite large and may fit your needs.

To accomodate a regulation 9 foot by 4.5 foot pool table, you need a larger space than 14 by 18. You really need a minimum of 16 by 19 feet, and preferably, 17 by 20. In most houses, the 19 foot dimension is easy to find, but many houses do not have a room that is 16 feet wide. Pool cues are about 58 inches long, and you need about 8 inches of additional space on each side of the table to make a shot. I think the Iris and Lantana, and possibly the Gardenia models will accomodate the pool table. If you settle for a 14 foot width, you will need to use shorter pool cues.

OK, then look for a house with a large lanai, ours is 13 by 31 on a Gardenia, which might work, but 8 ft ceiling... Also, you might (need to check with ARC) look into expanding a lanai to get a suitable size, if you can get away with 8 ft ceiling.

Check our About Our Homes | The Villages . It has basic floor plans for all home models in The Villages. Some of these plans are stretched when they are built so actual houses could be bigger or if you build a house you can stretch it. A quick check shows there are some Designer and Premiere models that meet your spec's.

The amount of space you are looking for is about right. The playing surface of a 4.5x9 pool table is less than 4.5x9.

Just to clarify. If your room is 14 feet wide, that is 168 inches. The playing surface is 50 inches wide and a standard pool cue is 58 inches long. 50 + 58 + 58 = 166 inches. So, that means, to make a shot from the side rails, you will only have one inch of space on each side of the table to move the cue back and forth. That is not enough. Yes, you can put a regulation table in a 14 foot wide room, and companies that make and sell tables will cite the minimum room width as 14 feet. But, there will be compromises. There is a Seinfeld episode where Cramer buys a pool table and puts it in a room that is way too small.

Patents111, I forgot to mention many of the rec centers have multiple pool tables, the reason we have 2 pool cues, and no table at our house.

Yes -- hysterical:

We live in an Ivy with same lanai dimensions (13x31)
But have a lanai ceiling of 10’8”.
You can always build a house with a wider lanai. ?

You need 5 1/2 foot clearance around the table to be able to shoot cue ball off the rails. 6 foot at the ends for breaking would be better.

Why 9 foot? Plenty of quality 8 foot and 7 foot tables out there for residential use. Quality 9 foot table like diamond or Brunswick gold crown run around 10 grand.

For learning how to play 8 foot or 7 foot fine. You can learn just as good how to drawn, stun, follow, and spin the cue ball. The only thing 9 foot table get you is long shots. Which if you’re aiming is correct don’t matter if it’s 6 foot or 12 foot table.

Whoa! Find a house with the right size room, buy a 9 foot Diamond pool table, preferably with one-piece slate and "Tournament Blue" Simonis cloth. You will have more Villages pool player friends than you ever wanted. Yes, you will need to spend about 10 grand or so.

Just a cautionary point , once you tailor a house for you're personal needs, be prepared to bite the bullet in resale down the road--