The Situation
This private home in London, Ontario has a full indoor basketball court attached to the house. The court features hardwood flooring, a regulation basketball hoop, a scoreboard, industrial lighting, and a large French door opening that leads out to the patio and pool. Five windows are set high on the walls around the court to bring in natural light.
Once the family started using the court, the concern became clear. Basketballs were going to hit the windows. It was not a question of if but when. The owner wanted a way to protect every window and the large patio door opening during play without permanently covering the glass, blocking the natural light, or changing how the space looks and feels when the court is not in use.
The typical solutions for gymnasium window protection are wire mesh guards, welded steel screens, or protective netting. All of those are permanent fixtures. They stay on the window whether the court is in use or not. They block light, they look industrial, and they change the feel of the room from a custom sport court into something that looks more like a cage. For a private home with this level of finish, that was not an option.
What Sunrise Installed
Sunrise installed motorized roll shutters on all six openings: five windows and one large French door opening approximately 16 feet wide. The shutters use foam-filled aluminum slats in a custom colour called Orange Nectar, selected to match the court's design, the lighting fixtures, and the basketball court graphics on the hardwood floor.
When the court is in use, the shutters come down and every window and the patio door are fully covered. The aluminum slats absorb the impact from basketballs without damage to the glass behind them. When play is over, the shutters retract into the box housings above each opening and the room returns to its original state with full natural light, clear views to the patio and pool, and no permanent fixtures cluttering the walls.
Each shutter is motorized and can be operated individually or together. The owner can lower all six at once before a game or bring down specific shutters based on which side of the court is in active play.
Motorized Operation With Light Control
In this clip, the shutter closes from the top down with each slat interlocking as it rolls into position. The shutters can be stopped at any point during travel. Lowered halfway, the upper portion of the window is covered while the light slats at the bottom still allow daylight through. This gives the owner the option to protect the glass from ball impact in the active zone while keeping some natural light in the space. Fully closed, the window is completely covered and the aluminum slats form a solid barrier.
Custom orange roll shutter closing on an indoor basketball court window, showing slat interlocking and partial stop position for light control.
Covering a 16-Foot Patio Door Opening
The largest opening in the court is the French door wall that leads to the patio and pool. At approximately 16 feet wide, this is not a standard window. It required a shutter system sized and engineered for a wide-span opening, with guide rails and a box housing that could handle the weight of a curtain that size while still retracting cleanly.
When the shutter is down, the entire patio wall is covered and the glass is protected from ball impact. When it retracts, the full view to the pool and outdoor area opens up and the indoor court feels connected to the rest of the home.
Why Roll Shutters Instead of Wire Mesh or Netting
Wire mesh guards, welded steel screens, and protective netting are the standard answers for gymnasium window protection. They work. But they come with trade-offs that matter in spaces where appearance, natural light, and flexibility are priorities.
Wire mesh and steel screens are bolted to the wall permanently. They sit over the window at all times, whether the space is being used for sport or not. They reduce natural light, create a visual barrier, and give the room an industrial look. In a school gymnasium where aesthetics are secondary to function, that can be acceptable. In a private home, a commercial training facility, or a multipurpose recreation space, it changes the character of the room.
Protective netting is lighter and less visually intrusive, but it still hangs in front of the window permanently. It catches balls but does not protect the glass from a hard direct impact. It also needs to be replaced periodically as it stretches and wears.
Roll shutters solve the problem differently. They come down when the space is in active use and retract completely when it is not. The windows are fully protected during play and fully open the rest of the time. The glass never gets hit. The room never looks like a cage. And because the shutters are aluminum, they can be custom colour matched to the room's design rather than defaulting to institutional grey or black mesh.
Custom Colour to Match the Space
The shutters in this project are finished in a custom powder coat colour called Orange Nectar. The colour was selected to match the industrial pendant lights, the court line graphics on the hardwood floor, and the overall design theme of the space. When the shutters are closed, they become part of the room's visual identity rather than looking like an afterthought bolted onto the walls.
Sunrise offers custom colour matching on all roll shutter systems. Standard colours cover most residential and commercial applications, but for projects where the shutter is a visible design element, custom powder coating ensures the system integrates with the space.
Project Details
Location: London, Ontario
Building type: Private indoor basketball court attached to residential property
Number of openings: 6 (5 windows + 1 large French door opening)
Largest opening: Approximately 16 feet wide (French door to patio and pool)
Slat type: Foam-filled aluminum (Safe profile)
Colour: Custom powder coat, Orange Nectar
Operator: Motorized, individually controlled
Purpose: Window and glass door protection from ball impact during play
Building a Sport Court, Gym, or Recreation Space?
If your facility has windows that need protection during active use, roll shutters give you impact protection when you need it and a clean, open space when you don't. Whether it is a home sport court, a school gymnasium, a commercial training facility, or a recreation centre, Sunrise reviews the openings and recommends the right system for the space. Start with photos and measurements.
Installation from a different angle showing the scale of the space and the height of the window openings relative to the court floor.
Wide view across the court with all shutters closed. The custom orange colour ties together the shutters, pendant lights, and court markings.
All six shutters lowered, view from the opposite corner of the court.
Installation from a different angle showing the scale of the space and the height of the window openings relative to the court floor.