Installing a horizontal net in 4 step

The supporting frame

The first and most important step in preparing installation of your net is to ensure you have a suitable supporting frame where you can install the fasteners used to hold your net in place. A home net will support the weight of one or more persons, which means the structure that supports the net will also need to be extremely robust.

We recommend attaching the home net’s anchors in a plain material. Your net can be installed indoors in a wooden, concrete or steel frame, either using load-bearing walls or your own pre-built frame.

In our example, Thomas has chosen to add a wooden frame to attach the fasteners (see the following step). This means he does not need to drill directly into the concrete wall, which would have been more difficult. This system will be just as robust when the net is installed. Thomas created his own wooden frame to attach the eye plates to.

Fasteners

Fasteners should be chosen based on the supporting structure and its thickness. Our team can help you choose the right fasteners for your project. Once these have been chosen, attach one every 12 cm around the entire frame. This gap between each fastener is recommended by LOFTNETS for an optimum distribution of tension and loads. Extremely robust, our fasteners offer an additional element of security, creating the link between your net and its supporting structure.
You can also choose the shape and color of your fastener to add to your net’s overall aesthetic. Depending on whether these will suit your interior or exterior design, you can also opt for black fasteners.

Thomas has made sure to position the fasteners every 12 cm. He has screwed these in directly using a drill (eye screws require pre-drilling).

Pre-tensioning the net

This short step is used to quickly position the net using plastic zip ties. Take the corners of the net and join them to the eye plates using the zip ties.
To do this, pull the net close to the edges, pass the zip tie through a fastener and then thread the net through the zip tie, before tightening just enough to keep everything at a good distance.
This will enable you to position the net in the corners first, followed by the middle of the edges. This will make the next step easier, when you will lace the net using tension rope.

Thomas has pulled the corners of the net close to the corners of the frame. He has used a zip tie to attach the corners of the net to the corner fasteners, and then repeat this process in every corner, before moving on to the middle of each side.

Lacing

This technique involves threading the tension rope through the edges of the net and the fasteners. LOFTNETS recommends two types of lacing for a horizontal home net:

-   Point-by-point lacing: it involves using a 5 mm diameter rope, which will connect the net to each fastener individually.
To do this, start from one corner and make a starting knot at every point, followed by an end knot.
Repeat the process with the other points in the middle of each gap until all the fasteners have been connected between each point.

-   Criss cross lacing: the idea is to add two 10 mm diameter ropes that will both go around the edge of the net.
To do this, start with the first fastener after the corner and make a starting knot. Next, attach the net to one end and begin lacing the rope behind the net’s bolt rope and through every second fastener. At the other end, make an end knot.
Finally, repeat the process on the opposite corner, with a starting and end knot at each end of the rope.

Thomas has used two ropes, each one attached to every second eye plate.

Result

Installing a net has allowed the family to gain an extra 20 m² in space and to create a new room in the house: a play area for the kids and a place for their parents to relax.