DejiTo enjoy the fascinating game of darts, the importance of setting up your dartboard correctly cannot be gainsaid.
The dartboard setup needs to be a section in your home or apartment that lets you throw darts comfortable in a safe and secure environment.
It should be located in a place you can practice and play the game for lots of hours with your pals.
Before you bungle this crucial task of setting up your dartboard at home, first learn the procedure to get it done right.
Fortunately, setting up a dartboard for your personal use and designing a conducive darting space isn’t such a onerous task.
Also, it’s neither expensive nor time-consuming. Here’s all you need to note about how to set up your dartboard at home.
Without further ado;
How to Set up Your Dartboard at Home
Equipment Required to Play Darts
- An excellent dartboard
- A safe place or space to play that is well lit
- A collection of 3 darts, either steel-tipped or soft-tipped
Tips to Note about Dartboard Measurements
The “clock” board is the standard international dartboard, which measures 18 inches in diameter and contains twenty (20) numbered, pie-shaped segments that are of equal size, along with the bull’s-eye.
In each numbered segment, there’s a double ring on the outside perimeter of the scoring area, in addition to an interior triple ring. These represent double and triple of that number accordingly.
As for the bull’s-eye, it’s an outerbull area — that’s also called the single bull scoring 25) — and an inner bull that’s also referred to as a double bull’s-eye scoring 50).
Before you start planning your custom dartboard surround or wall decorations, it’s important that you first know the proper dartboard hanging measurements.
Consider selecting an area that’s plenty of space, allowing for these measurements, in addition to some additional space for creating a safe and comfortable environment for darting with your buddies.
The height from the floor of the dartboard to its center (which is referred to as the bull’s eye) has to be 1.73m (or 5ft 8in).
This figure represents the internationally accepted official dartboard height not only for steel tip but also for soft-tipped darts.
It’s recommended that you mount the board at the proper height before you measure out to the throwing line. We’ll discuss mounting the dartboard extensively shortly.
Distance to the Throwing Line
2.37m (7ft 9 ¼in) from the board’s face is the official distance to the throwing line. And this distance isn’t measured from the wall.
A standard 18-inch dartboard measures roughly 1½inch thick.
Also, if you’ve the details about the thickness of your backing surface, you’ll find it easy to estimate where to start the measurement of the throwing line distance from.
However, it’s a lot easier to first mount the dartboard at the proper height.
As soon as it’s mounted at the recommended height, now drop a string or plumb line from the central part of the bull’s eye to the floor.
It’s from that point you’d measure 7ft 9 ¼inch to the front of the throwing line.
It’s worth noting that for soft-tipped darts (electronic dartboard), this measurement should be 8ft.
Measuring the Diagonal Distance to the Throwing Line
With a diagonal measurement, you’ve an alternative procedure for determining the throwing line distance from the face of the board.
However, you need to first find someone that can help.
That person will hold a tape measure at the center of the double bull’s eye and then measure out 2.37 meters (9ft 7 ⅜in) diagonally.
If nobody is available to help, you can make use of the horizontal approach with the proper measurements. This should produce the same results.
Mounting Your Dartboard
When you’re thinking about how to set up your dartboard at home, this is a key aspect to look at.
A dartboard has to be mounted flush against a backing surface.
While the backing surface is optional, we highly recommend it as opposed to mounting your dartboard directly on a wall.
What are the options you’ve for backing surfaces? Quite a few.
Let’s check them out:
If you’re mounting directly on your wall, ensure that you’re doing so into concrete or wood.
Some persons make use of heavy-duty anchor screws for mounting into drywall (though this isn’t the best).
Bear in mind that a high-quality bristle dartboard weighs a minimum of 10 pounds.
When this weight is considered in conjunction with the force of pulling darts from the board regularly, it becomes quite precarious using anchors in a dry wall.
If you utilize anchors, ensure that they’re heavy-duty metal hangers that have a significant weight capacity.
Using a U-Shaped Metal Bracket to Hang the Dartboard
Dartboards typically have a basic metal hanger kit, including a U-shaped hanging bracket, a center screw, and 3 spring clips.
These clips are used to level the dartboard against the backing surface or wall.
The center screw is directly screwed onto the back of the board at dead center.
Additionally, the spring clips have to be spaced out and attached to the dartboard’s back.
No exact location is provided for the spring clips. So, you’ll just ensure they’re spread out evenly on the dartboard’s back.
You can opt for a triangular formation. This works effectively.
After that, the U-bracket is screwed into the backing surface or wall.
The bracket needs to be measured out to make the bottom of the U-slot stay 5ft 8in high. And it’s at that point the screw on the back of the board sits.
Also, ensure that the board’s center is exactly at this height.
Then, use the screw to slide the board to fit into the U shaped slot. Make sure it fits snugly against the backing surface with minimal movement (if there’ll be any).
If you notice there’s more than a little movement, you can tighten the center screw on the dartboard, after which you’ll slide it back into the bracket.
By tightening the screw the suitable amount, you should be able to stop the board from spinning or moving.
Using Disc Mount Hanging Kits
This is another option for mounting your board.
In the kits, we’ve 2 thin yet sturdy mounting pieces. These include the disc screwed into the center back of the board and a wider U-shaped bracket screwed into the wall or backing surface.
When you make use of a disc-style mounting kit, you won’t need to worry about utilizing spring clips.
Due to the width of the disc and bracket, the board can stay flush, level as well as secure.
According to users of these brackets, centering the board can also be done effortlessly.
If you own an older dartboard setup that requires a replacement hanging kit, you may have to go for an upgrade to one of these.
In the U-shaped bracket, you’ll find a screw hole, which is meant to be measured to the proper height of 5ft 8in.
Backing Surfaces and Cabinets for Dartboard
Many darts players prefer to use a dartboard cabinet as an all-in-one solution. And cabinets can be designed using different materials.
However, conventional dartboard cabinets are typically crafted from high-quality wood, like solid oak or rosewood.
Also, the decorative pieces can be both beautiful and functional.
As for the dart holders and scoreboard, these are to be mounted on the side doors.
Apart from that, some cabinets also have inbuilt lighting. Some of the more recent dartboard cabinets even come with electronic or LCD displays for scorekeeping.
DIY or Custom Backing Surfaces
Backing surfaces that are often used, which are also called “surrounds”, are carpeting, plywood or cork that’s dark fabric covering.
You can creatively select a decorative and functional backing surface material for the dartboard setup for your home. These include pallets, wine corks, or reclaimed wood.
When choosing the backing surface, bear it in mind that the diameter of the board itself is around 18”.
Therefore, your backing surface has to a minimum of 3 square feet to give room for the board and scoreboard, in addition to additional room for wayward darts.
Also, you should ensure there’s enough thickness for hanging the mounting bracket.
If you opt for plywood and have some concerns about the thickness, consider securing some corkboard over the plywood to offer extra thickness and additional protection to your dart tips.
Also, you can make use of a thick piece of corrugated cardboard to do this. It’s worth noting that the scoreboard can either be a dry erase board or basic chalkboard.
In any case, dart-specific scoreboards will provide printed target numbers & scoring columns for Cricket and other columns for 01 games.
How to Mark the Throwing Line or Oche
When throwing his/her dart, the player has to stand behind a clearly marked line, which is also called the toe line or the oche (pronounced like “hockey”).
Already, we’ve marked the throwing line at the proper distance from the dartboard.
What we now need to do is to make this toe line official.
For the majority of players, a wide strip of tape is perfect.
You can utilize duct tape or a similar item, which can last long enough to withstand foot traffic and can stick to your floor surface.
Consider laying the strip, ensuring the front edge stays across the toe line mark.
This allows you to still stand on the strip when throwing a dart.
However, your front toe needs to stay behind the front edge of the strip, which is why the line is referred to as “toe line”.
Several bars and darts establishments prefer using a thin strip of wood as their oche. This wood is secured to the floor surface and raised roughly 1 ½” high.
The throwing player will stand behind the line, typically with his/her leading toe pressed slightly against the wood strip.
To set up your dartboard at home, if you opt for a vinyl or rubber mat, there’s a strong possibility that its lines will already be marked for both soft-tipped and steel-tipped throwing distances.
Frequently Asked Questions
In this section, we address some inquiries you may have about setting up your dartboard at home.
What Kind of Floor Surface Is Ideal for Darts?
Since the floor that’s between the throwing line and the dartboard is often at the receiving end of a series of beatings, you need to carefully select a floor surface for darts.
If you’ve good hardwoods, you should definitely try to use a mat that’s thick enough to withstand steel dart tips on the floor.
If you’ve concrete floors or another hard surface that could cause damage to your dart tips, it’s also a nice idea to lay down a protective surface.
A rubber or vinyl dart mat is your ideal option for your dartboard setup at home.
These mats are designed to offer protection to your dart tips as well as the floor beneath.
Why Is Lighting Important for Dartboard Setup?
When you’re considering how to set up your dartboard at home, adequate lighting is a key requirement to take care of.
(You won’t be needing an elaborate lighting setup, though.)
A lot of bars make use of a simple spotlight that’s mounted above the dartboard.
You can choose to mount the light(s) on the ceiling directly above the dartboard or a short distance away from the board. In any case, ensure that it’s angled back and shines on the face of the board directly.
If you prefer to mount away from the dartboard, ensure that you’ve plenty of space and clearance from the arc of the dart thrower.
Also, you’ve to see to it that the wattage for a single spotlight is high enough to cater to the whole board. If there’s insufficient lighting, it’ll bring about shadows on the board.
As earlier stated, a lot of dartboard cabinets have inbuilt lighting.
Apart from that, a simple overhead track light is also nice. The main thing is to have the lights angled to make sure no shadow is near the dartboard.
Equipped with the information in this post, we do hope you’ve now got under your belt the knowledge on how to set up your dartboard at home.
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Tips on How to Become Good at Darts