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...