How Much Clearance Is Needed for a Pool Table?

If you are considering placing a pool table in an existing room or converting space in your house into a pool room, you must think about some practical measurements. There is the pool table, the length of the pool cues and the space for other furniture to consider. There also are various sizes of pool tables. Creating a great pool room is as much about having enough clearance to fit the table as it is about having enough space to play comfortably. Does this Spark an idea?

Table Size

There are four standard sizes for pool tables, according to Billiards.com. They are: 3 feet 6 inches by 7 feet; 4 feet by 8 feet; 4 feet 4 inches by 8 feet 6 inches; and 4 feet 6 inches by 9 feet. A regulation-size table is the biggest of these.

However, the border that frames the interior playing surface of the table is included in those measurements. Those inches don't need to be used to determine room size as you will only need to make room for the cue length from the actual edge of the playing surface. After subtracting those from the various standards, you get four playing surfaces measuring: 3 feet 3.5 inches by 6 feet 7 inches; 3 feet 8 inches by 7 feet 4 inches; 3 feet 10 inches by 7 feet 8 inches; and 4 feet 2 inches by 8 feet 4 inches.

So if you want an official regulation-size table, use the last measurement as your base. If that's not important, just make sure the table is large enough to suit your needs. There also are a number of other table sizes, so measure the table at the store before buying. A chart of less common table sizes is available at EasyPoolTutor.com

Room Size

Apart from the table itself, you need to consider that a player with a pool cue can shoot from any angle on the table. A standard pool cue measures 58 inches. So you want to add this to the measurement of the playing surface.

The width of the room should be twice the length of the pool cue plus the width of the interior playing surface. The room's length should be twice the length of the pool cue plus the length of the playing surface. Then add two to three inches of playing room. Using this method, the minimum room sizes for the four standard tables are: 13 feet 6 inches by 16 feet 8 inches; 13 feet 11 inches by 17 feet 4 inches; 14 feet 1 inch by 17 feet 9 inches; and 14 feet 6 inches by 18 feet 4 inches.

Keep in mind, though, that these minimum measurements will only give you a few inches of room to move the cue. If you don't want to feel cramped, add three inches on all sides or enough room to comfortably stroke a cue back and forth. Just remember that for both minimum length and width, you add together the measurements of the playing surface, two times the cue length and two times the space length to stroke the cue.

If space is a major issue, you can place the table so a player can shoot comfortably on three sides but have to use a "shorty cue" on the fourth side. A shorty cue comes as short as 36 inches; doing this, you can subtract up to 22 inches from one side.

Also consider that you will probably want at least a couple of chairs in the room, or even something more substantial, such as a bar. At the very least, you'll probably want a cue rack on the wall. It's one thing to fit the table in a room; it's another to feel like you are not playing inside a closet. This is mostly a personal decision based on how important a room's aesthetics are to you.