Shuffleboard Table Space Requirement
How much room is required behind table to play shuffleboard?
One of the most common shuffleboard table questions we get is how much space is required for the shuffleboard table. How much room do you need behind the table to stand and how close to the wall can you put the table. Shuffleboard Tables are not like Pool tables they really do not require any backward stroke or motion area. The boards that you play on are always 1 foot 4 inch's shorter than the shuffleboard table size. When we talk about shuffleboard table size say a 14 foot. This means that the cabinet or cradle that holds the shuffleboard play surface is 14 foot long. The board you play on would be 12 foot 8 inch's long. You do not extend any beyond the edge of the board when pushing pucks, and all motion is done inside of the shuffleboard table cabinet or cradle. For this reason you really do not need much room at all on each side of the table. If you have an electronic score unit on your shuffleboard table you will need to leave it a little further away from the wall for the space for the electronic score unit mounting pole.
When it comes to the space behind the back of the table. You need to allow just enough room to get between the table cabinet and your wall. See the picture above for a shuffleboard table in one of our customers home. Think about some older homes a doorway maybe 28" and that is across the width you walk though a door. Imagine if you had to turn side ways and walk through the door. Then after you would be side ways behind the shuffleboard you would be bent over the cradle to make your shots. This is why we generally recommend that you allow 2 foot behind your table and a wall. If you have an open hallway or door that opens into the shuffleboard area, you may want to consider this as area that could be used to stand behind the table. The longer the table the more fun the game once you get beyond a 16 foot size it is hard to tell much difference. However a 16 foot table will require 20 feet of wall space if you follow our 2 foot rule. You may want to leave a little more room for your own personal taste but no more than 2.5 to 3 foot is needed. How much room is needed behind a shuffleboard table could be as little as 2 feet but this is a little tight but 28-30" more than enough space to enjoy shuffleboard.