Do you want to add another game to the mix in your entertainment space? Double the fun in your game room with a high quality Conversion top!
Conversion Table Tennis tops come in many different sizes and thicknesses. Our preferred conversion tops are the Brunswick Billiards and Olhausen Billiards conversion options. Partly, we like these tops for the quality, but the other part of the equation is shipping. When you ship any large object to Montana, you're going to pay a premium for it and, typically, if it is at all breakable, the shippers will find a way to damage it. In our 28 years of experience, we've found that Conversion Tops are best shipped in large quantities, preferably with a load of pool tables.
The Brunswick Conversion top is available in both 7' and 8' sizes and the Olhausen is available in 8' only. Both tops are black with white lettering and they are similar thicknesses with a foam backing.
The important part of purchasing a Conversion Table Tennis Top is to purchase the right size. For instance, do not purchase a CT-8 to sit on a 9' pool table. In order to clamp on the net, you will be either damaging the rail or the pocket of a 9' table, and you will need a very different style of net for the 9' pool table. There are suppliers that make a bracket for the net that fits the 9' table, but the brackets are surface-mounted vertical posts, so the net will droop a little. Because the bracket mounts to the surface of the CT-8, be ready to have holes drilled in the top of the Conversion Tennis table top. But, if you have an 8' pool table, you're good to go.
The other option is putting a Conversion Tennis Top on an Air Hockey Table. The Air Hockey Tables we sell from Brunswick are 7' models, so they make a CT-7 that fits the table well. The CT-8 will be too large for the Air Hockey table making the table top move more easily when it's bumped. The smaller top is more stable and, therefore, recommended.
When you purchase a Conversion Table Tennis Top with a pool table, we sell them for $395, though I anticipate that price increasing this year. We can sell them for that price because we ship a bunch together. When we have to purchase these separately, the price goes up significantly. You can risk ordering from an online company, but since they are shipping one at a time, there is a significant chance that it will be damaged. Make sure you are dealing with a reputable company who is willing to refund your money for the product.
Think about what you will do with the two large pieces when you are not using them to play table tennis. Where will you store them? Will you lean them against your drywall, or do you have a utility room where you can lean them up against the framing? If you're not sure, we highly recommend the Conversion Top Caddy. They are called caddies or valets and they are useful for storing the large, unruly pieces when not in use, as well as storing the many paddles, balls, nets, etc. The Brunswick Branded Caddy is $259 and the non-branded valet's are $229. They are probably built in the same factory in China, but we offer a discount when you purchase them with your table, so we usually charge $239 for the Brunswick branded caddy and $209 for the non-branded valet when you are purchasing a pool table from us.
The Conversion Tennis Tops come with 2 paddles and 3 balls. That's a beginning set-up, so if you know you'll need better equipment (they are usually an entry-level paddle), please have us add some nicer paddles and a case of 40 balls to the order. I have a PDF of the paddles and balls we normally stock.
With these things in mind, you can successfully add another game to your game room and keep the kids (or the adults) busy for many years!