Batting Cage Installation

Batting cages are used by both baseball and softball players to practice their hitting skills between games and in the off-season. There are numerous places where you can order batting cage kits, but a basic do-it-yourself batting cage can be constructed with some lumber and a net. A 40-foot-long, 12-foot-high and 12-foot-wide batting cage made from lumber starts with a good frame to hold the net.

Things You'll Need

  • Measuring tape
  • Marking paint
  • Post hole digger
  • Shovel
  • Pre-mixed quick-setting concrete
  • 12 treated lumber four-by-four posts, 16 feet long
  • 6 one-by-two lumber, 12 feet long
  • 10 one-by-two lumber, 8 feet long
  • Batting net
  • Large plastic cable ties
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Instructions

    • 1

      Measure and mark out the locations of your 12 main framing posts, using marking paint on the ground. There will be six posts on each side.The two beginning posts will be 12 feet apart at the front of the cage and five more on each side will run in perpendicular lines from the front of the cage, with a four-by-four treated lumber post set in concrete every 8 feet. Dig holes for each post with the shovel and post hole digger at least 3 feet deep and 12 inches in diameter.

    • 2

      Place the bottom of each of the 12 four-by-four treated lumber posts into the middle of the holes and pour the concrete into the holes around the posts, all the way to the top. Keep the frames pointing straight into the air as the concrete sets. Use additional lumber as braces wherever necessary to support the posts as they set into place. These braces should have one end braced against the ground and the other end against the middle or top of the post. Allow these 12 main framing posts to set completely before attaching the cross members of the frame.

    • 3

      Attach the cross braces to the tops of these posts along the top of the frame. Use the ladder to stand on as you screw six pieces of 12-foot-long one-by-twos to the post tops across the middle of the frame. Attach the 10 pieces of 8-foot-long one-by-twos to the tops of the posts along each side, five to a side. These cross members stabilize and secure the frame along with helping hold the net in place.

    • 4

      Drape the netting over the assembled frame. This may take two or more people, depending on the size of the batting cage framing and the net itself. Stand on ladders if necessary to be able to drape and center the net over the frame.

    • 5

      Attach the net to the frame with the plastic cable ties. Secure them in place wherever necessary to keep the net in place along the frame. The net should be loose enough to slow down balls but high enough from the ground to see how the balls are being hit. Use ladders from both the inside and outside of the net to secure it in place.

    • 6

      Anchor the bottom of the net to the ground wherever necessary. Tent pole stakes may be used at the corners and along the sides of the net to anchor it to the ground. Rocks, bricks or lumber may also be laid over the top of the base of the net so that balls cannot escape the interior of the cage.