DIY cage builds don't usually fail dramatically — they fail slowly, through a handful of mistakes that all look minor on build day. These are the seven pitfalls that show up over and over in year-two regrets, and the build-day decisions that prevent each one. (If you haven't done the pre-purchase homework yet — measuring, codes, budget — start with the pre-build checklist; this guide picks up where it ends.)
1. Building on Ground You Didn't Prepare
The most common pitfall by a mile: assembling straight onto unleveled, uncompacted ground. Every downstream failure — leaning posts, rutted floors, puddles — starts here. Strip, level, and compact before anything vertical goes up. It's unglamorous, it doesn't photograph well, and it is the build.
2. Shallow Footings
Posts set in dirt or in shallow concrete plugs heave with frost and lean with wind. Below frost line, roughly a third of the post buried, cured 48–72 hours before loading — the specifics are in our frame guide, but the pitfall is impatience, not ignorance.
3. Netting That Doesn't Match the Hitters
A #21 net over a 14-year-old's exit velocity is a hole factory. Match twine gauge to the players the cage will see in three years, not today — netting is the wrong place to save $150 on a multi-thousand-dollar build (gauge decoder in Netting 101).
4. Tensioning From One Corner
Cranking one corner tight before the others warps the frame geometry and loads seams unevenly — the net never hangs right afterward. Square the net loose, then tension in passes: a quarter-turn per point, all the way around, repeat until crisp.
5. Ignoring Water Until It's a Problem
Drainage is cheap before the build and disruptive after. If the site holds water, fix that first — crown the base, trench the uphill side. The surface comparison covers how each floor system handles water.
6. Buying the Machine Before the Cage Works
A $2,000 machine in a cage with a rutted floor and saggy net is dessert before dinner. Sequence the spend: structure, surface, netting, screens — then velocity. The cage is useful from day one with a tee; the machine amplifies a good cage and merely decorates a bad one.
7. Building Alone on Raising Day
Frame raising and net hanging are two-person jobs, and solo attempts produce both the funniest and the most expensive build stories. Recruit help for the two heavy days; the rest is solo-friendly.
Calibrate Against Real Builds
Before and during your build, the best error-check available is standing inside cages that got it right. Book an hour in a couple of well-reviewed private cages nearby and study the details you're about to decide: how their net hangs at the corners, what their floor does at the batter's box, where their machine sits. Owners who've been through the build are usually happy to talk specifics — and if your finished cage turns out well, listing it puts your hard-won build quality to work. For the full construction sequence these pitfalls live inside, keep our DIY build guide open on build day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the most expensive mistake to fix later?
Footings. Re-setting leaning posts means demolition, new concrete, and re-tensioning everything — often half the original build effort.
Can I fix a poorly compacted base without rebuilding?
Partially: lift the turf, re-compact and re-level the worst zones, relay. It's a hard weekend but cheaper than living with ruts.
How long should a first-time DIY build take?
Two to three weekends for a kit on prepared ground; four or more for a steel build with concrete. Rushing the cure times is pitfall #2.
What should I do first if I've already made these mistakes?
Triage water first, then footings, then net tension. Surface cosmetics come last — they're symptoms of the first three.
