I am in the process of laying out a new house which will hopefully have a usable trophy room. Standard houses in this area come with 9 foot ceilings but I can get it upgraded to 10 feet. The contractor says going to 11 feet really raises the price so I'm wondering if the 10 foot ceilings would be sufficient for animals like gemsbok and kudu? Also, what is the best thing I can do to prepare the walls for hanging the trophies, I've heard of using plywood on the walls but are there any other recommendations?

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Originally posted by River Jordan:
Also, what is the best thing I can do to prepare the walls for hanging the trophies, I've heard of using plywood on the walls but are there any other recommendations?

Because I'm not familiar with price and the different products that are commonly used in your place/country, I can't tell what would be the cheapest option. Here in Norway there are other cheep covering materials made from wood that is cheaper than plywood. However,using plywood is quick and easy to mount and will be an excellent back hold on your trophies. Especially if using sheetrock as a finishing layer you do need either plywood or similar products as a back layer to make sure your trophies won't fall down from the wall. Have a look at what "Anders" has done with his room. You will find pictures from the whole process here "New trophy room "soon"". This is a very good solution

Have you found out how much more expensive it is to go higher?
10 foot is a bit low for kudu and gemsbok, IMHO. It's enough if you go for pedestals, but regular shouldermounts needs a couple of foot more.

Good luck and please have a look at my thread, like Geir says.

I covered my studs with 3/4" plywood, floor to ceiling. It really makes a difference. Out of the first 40 heads I hung, I only hit two studs!

http://forums.accuratereloadin...1821043/m/4521027141

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Originally posted by safari-lawyer:
I covered my studs with 3/4" plywood, floor to ceiling. It really makes a difference. Out of the first 40 heads I hung, I only hit two studs!

http://forums.accuratereloadin...1821043/m/4521027141

What Will said! 3/4" plywood, and I think 10' ceilings is sufficient for most heads. Good luck, and post some pics.

Whatever size you are planning for your room, consider doubling the size if possible. It's amazing how fast big animals like Elk, Kudu, Buffalo, etc. eat up room on a wall. A mistake I made on my room as well is that it is long and narrow. This limits the available floor space for life-size and pedestal mounts as they must be placed against a wall (taking up wall space) in order to have clear walkways.

Thanks for all the input, I appreciate the great advice. They are still working up the price for the additional head room, not sure if that's a good thing that it's taking so long or a bad thing. Either way I'll try to post some pictures when it's finally done.