Preventing a basketball from going over my fence.

June 29, 2007 3:33 PM

How can I prevent a basketball from going over my fence and into my neighbor's yard?

So I just got a basketball hoop for my backyard, and it's super cool, tons of fun, and all sorts of other good things.

Only problem is, despite having a pretty good sized area, the ball ends up going over one of my fences and into one of my neighbor's yards a couple of times per game. As you can imagine, this is ruining some of that "tons of fun" I mentioned earlier.

If the ball goes over the right side fence, it's no big deal. I can easily walk around and get it since I'm quite friendly with that specific neighbor, and it's easily accessible. But, if it goes over the left side or back side fence, I have no way of getting it other than waiting until that neighbor happens to stroll around their backyard and notice a basketball there, and then realize they should throw it over to my side.

This sucks.

So, I'm wondering if anyone has gone through this themselves, or prehaps just happens to have some kind of idea to prevent this from happening.

The fence, by the way, is a 6 foot high wooden fence. Every ball that has made it over so far is within 2 feet of the the top of the fence. Besides getting an 8 foot fence (this 6 foot one is brand new) or stockpiling 10,000 extra basketballs, what can I do?

posted by creative to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

You could add some black netting to the top of the fence, larger sporting goods stores should know what you're talking about - it doesn't stand out visually as much as a full fence. Most stadiums have a large 'industrial' version behind the goal/home plate/etc., but I've seen it used in smaller places (local Little League fields, etc). It's going to be some visible though, so if you have any sort of local codes on fencing or structures you might want to check those out. Here's an example.
posted by pupdog at 3:43 PM on June 29, 2007

As mentioned, you should consider sports netting. There are different weaves, strengths, etc. Consider constructing a net -- with three 3-ft. poles/rods (left end - center - right end) with 2.5-ft. of netting, and the remaining bottom .5-ft. slipping into "u-brace" fittings that are secured to your side of the fence. As TWF suggests, you could remove it after every game; rolling it up for storage.

Google "sports net." Here are some results: U.S. Netting, Incord.

A sporting supply or large home supply retailer might have some in stock.
posted by ericb at 4:04 PM on June 29, 2007

BTW -- sports netting comes in various weaves -- tight weave for batting and golf cages; larger for soccer goals, etc. And as TWF mentions, a volleyball net (or even a badminton net) might suffice.
posted by ericb at 4:07 PM on June 29, 2007

nthing: sports netting is your answer.
posted by The Esteemed Doctor Bunsen Honeydew at 4:17 PM on June 29, 2007

Volleyball netting is your number one choice, followed closely by a natural Bamboo screen, but this is several orders of magnitude more expensive and more work. It looks better though. It does spread like a fifteen foot tall weed if you put it in wrong though.
posted by caddis at 6:34 PM on June 29, 2007

Two trampolines: one on your side, the other on the neighbor's side.
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 7:05 PM on June 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

basketball on a tether
posted by mmascolino at 8:26 PM on June 29, 2007

A fish-net with a very long handle?
posted by MotorNeuron at 9:21 PM on June 29, 2007

The net's probably the best idea, but another possibility is to try to improve your relationship with neighbor #2.
posted by box at 8:12 AM on June 30, 2007