Climbing Tower - The Next Level

Well, it certainly took a while, but a couple of weeks ago, I added a new surface - much steeper and of different material. After seeing the gaps that opened up on the first wall when I used 5/4 x 6 decking, I opted to try some treated plywood.  This wall is installed at a much steeper angle. After securing the wood, I let it sit for a couple of weeks.  As it dried out or aged or whatever, I noticed that it became rather rough and splintery. I certainly didn't want the girls to be brushing up against that. So, a trip out with the power sander and we're all good.  The girls helped me to select and connect the holds and now they have a much more advanced wall to scale.

Up next, the cargo net!

Building A Climbing Wall - Day 5

Okay, the "Day" numbering in the titles are probably a little confusing.  Basically, they indicate any actual day I was able to make some headway on the tower (not necessarily sequential days).

Last Thursday the climbing holds arrived via UPS.  I went with the Metolius Mega Pack (40 pieces) since it offered a lot of flexibility, a pretty good price-per-hold, and has decent ratings. Here's one of their stock photos - I believe this one is the 30-pack since we have some holds that I don't see in the photo.

I took an hour today to start attaching holds.  The one wall that is in place now will be the easiest of the eventual four.  I wasn't too creative in placement of the holds, but really wanted to get something installed.  The girls had a blast!

  

I installed about a dozen of the 40 I ordered. There is room on the right side of the wall for a few more holds.  I'm hoping to make it a little more difficult to climb over there. I suppose all that is left is to save a couple of bucks up so I can buy the lumber to make another wall :-)

Building A Climbing Wall - Day 4

I realized that I hadn't posted an update.  A couple of weeks ago, I finished installation of the wood for the first wall. Here's a photo as it appears today.  As you can see, some "chalk vandals" have been at it.  ;-)

The only thing left to do on this first wall is to install the climbing holds.  However, I need a couple more paychecks to come in before this will be possible.  I have a couple of sets in mind, but haven't settle on the "perfect one" yet.  When I find it, I'll post here.

Building A Climbing Wall - Day 3

Well, it took a while to get some more materials and some time to work on the tower, but today was the day. A quick run to the lumber yard and I had almost everything I needed to really get some work done.  With the help of my friend Kris, we were able to finish off the second platform, the third platform and the supports for what may or may not be the fourth platform.  We also placed the angled beams that will be the first wall.  This one is intended to be the "easy" wall with each subsequent wall being a little steeper.  I need a couple more 5/4 deck boards and then to actually order the climbing holds.

The general concensus is that the space under each wall will be as much fun as the wall itself.  My girls, Piper and Lily, and Kris' and Charity's daughter, Willow, had a blast climbing on it today even as we were building.

Stay tuned...

Building A Climbing Wall - Day 2

After making such strides yesterday, it almost seemed a little anti-climactic to only get a few more supports in place today.  But, I suppose that's to be expected when you only have so much building material on hand.

You can see here that two more cross beams have been installed.  I still have enough to finish level two and get half of level three done, but I need hardware.  Looks like a trip to my local hardware store is in my future.

The girls are excited and have made use of what exists to climb already.  When it is all done, there will be four levels - each two feet above the one below it.  That will leave about two feet of 4x4 sticking up at the top onto which I will attach a safety railing.  Then, one-by-one each side can be constructed and connected.  They will vary in length so their angles will be different, thus their difficulty to climb.  I'm shopping for hand holds and finding they can be quite pricey.  Their quality varies, as well.  My initial research shows an amazing number of people who dedicate a basement or garage wall (and sometimes ceiling!) to climbing.  Fun times ahead!

Building A Climbing Wall - Day 1

Over the recent holiday break, we decided to build a climbing wall for the girls. Brainstorming lead me to the idea of a free-standing 4'x4' tower with platforms inside (to act as a ladder). We could then build up to four "walls" at any angle we wished and just connect them to the tower. This posting serves to show the first steps taken. I decided to sink one post into the ground to stabilize the entire structure. So, what you see here is a 12' 4x4 sunk into the ground just over two feet and the hole filled in with concrete. Just about 10 feet is standing above ground.

About 90 minutes later, the remaining three 4x4s are standing and connected with one level of support beam. These three posts are just standing on top of the ground. Everything has been bolted into place but I'm keeping the kids away until I can get the next tier of supports in place. However, at this point, it feels pretty stable. In this photo, the horizinal pieces are just laying up off of the ground and will be the next support layer. I plan to space these 2 feet apart.

More to come...