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When Christy and I lived in Somerville, just outside of Boston, our house had this great big open area on the third floor over the stairs. I just couldn't stop imagining an indoor climbing wall in this space; considering that in Boston you can only climb outdoors half the year, once winter came, I just started building. It took a couple of years to actually finish because a number of things got in the way (learning to kitesurf, getting a Ph.D. etc..), but once done, I absolutely loved being able to climb for 20-30 minutes everyday with almost no setup time.
I obviously didn't take as many pictures as I should have, but you can get some sense of the project and how over-engineered it was. Before I attached the plywood panels, friends who came over would joke that if the house fell down, my climbing wall would be the last thing standing.
We framed it out with 2x4s and 2x6s lag-bolted into the studs, and made a floating arch to avoid actually tapping into the joists. The panels are 3/4" plywood, sanded and polyurethaned, with T-nuts embedded in a 4-inch grid across each face. The panels were screwed into the framework with 3-inch screws.
We bought lots of holds off eBay (much cheaper than buying them new) and had plans to make more of our own, but never got around to it.
When we moved out of that house, the new owners insisted that the climbing wall be removed. "Ridiculous!," I said, but it just wasn't a selling point for them. So, we removed the panels and stored them for later use, and ripped out the support frame, and set it out for reuse. Removing the entire climbing wall only took about three days, and I laughed that it was one day of removal per year of build. We still have the plywood panels and climbing holds, and are just waiting to find the perfect space to rebuild.
I obviously didn't take as many pictures as I should have, but you can get some sense of the project and how over-engineered it was. Before I attached the plywood panels, friends who came over would joke that if the house fell down, my climbing wall would be the last thing standing.
We framed it out with 2x4s and 2x6s lag-bolted into the studs, and made a floating arch to avoid actually tapping into the joists. The panels are 3/4" plywood, sanded and polyurethaned, with T-nuts embedded in a 4-inch grid across each face. The panels were screwed into the framework with 3-inch screws.
We bought lots of holds off eBay (much cheaper than buying them new) and had plans to make more of our own, but never got around to it.
When we moved out of that house, the new owners insisted that the climbing wall be removed. "Ridiculous!," I said, but it just wasn't a selling point for them. So, we removed the panels and stored them for later use, and ripped out the support frame, and set it out for reuse. Removing the entire climbing wall only took about three days, and I laughed that it was one day of removal per year of build. We still have the plywood panels and climbing holds, and are just waiting to find the perfect space to rebuild.
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70
Mar 1, 2012. 8:32 AM
freeza36
says:
freeza36
says:
this is awesome! Hopefully you arent going to eventually sell the house...
Reply
2
Feb 25, 2010. 12:27 AMchouf
says:
chouf
says:
The idea is fun, but is it really worth? I mean how tall is your wall? 4m? Isn't that a lot of work for not so much climbing? Why not building such wall outside on a wall of your house?
Reply
Jul 9, 2010. 12:27 PMCameronC
says:
"in Boston you can only climb outdoors half the year"
Reply
Dec 2, 2007. 10:21 PMdarkmuskrat
says:
Nice... When I get a house im putting a room with a trampoline as the floor and velcrow walls (Spider Man!)
Reply
10
Feb 25, 2010. 7:58 AMDrWilson
says:
DrWilson
says:
Nice idea i look forard to an instructable :) lol
Reply
Jun 3, 2008. 10:56 PMbrianw
says:
Ah - Eric, now I know what you were talking about. Pretty impressive work & setting the bar fairly high for the new office.
Reply
Sep 21, 2009. 10:37 AMcody316
says:
The awesome thing about Eric, hes just like us, BUT RICHER!
Reply
1
Nov 5, 2008. 12:30 AMsssssbooom
says:
That is so many holds, bet you get some sweet problems going though
Reply
1
Sep 13, 2008. 6:21 PMChicken2209
says:
I can imagine you trying to sell your house okay if you want to see the second floor then go ahead and strap in and il meet you up top. I would never go this far, but i could see how much fun it would be to repel down your loft from your bedroom on the 3rd floor into your living room
Reply
22
Jan 15, 2008. 4:14 PMGorillazMiko
says:
Can you actually climb and play on this stuff? That would be cool.
Reply
13
Dec 12, 2007. 8:01 PMWade Tarzia
says:
Wade Tarzia
says:
Great! I fantasized about that once, but glad to see the reality. And when it is time to move, you can market cleverly: "House for sale, perfect for rock climbers." You'd get people in there just to have a look -- did it work that way?
Reply
140
Dec 12, 2007. 10:03 PMewilhelm (author)
says:
ewilhelm (author)
says:
I actually did just that -- it was a highlight of the house listing -- but in the end, it wasn't a selling point.
Reply
16
Dec 2, 2007. 4:32 PMDoctor What
says:
Where did you get that ladder??
Reply
2
Dec 3, 2007. 1:15 AMJames (pseudo-geek)
says:
its a Little Giant. Google it.
Reply
16
Dec 3, 2007. 11:28 AMDoctor What
says:
I figured it was a little giant. I've just never seen one that was able to go in an M shape.
Reply
Dec 7, 2007. 11:14 AMsdfine
says:
It's not a Little Giant Ladder. It's called an articulated ladder. You can buy them at any home center.
Reply
1
Dec 6, 2007. 8:27 PMmetrometro
says:
OK, there's never really a bad place for a climbing wall (except, perhaps, on actual rock) but it seems like this pretty much totally eliminates bouldering because the landing area is so bumpy. To me, that's the best part of a climbing wall -- being able to hop on and try something tricky about 3 inches off the floor. Love the construction though -- good solid work.
Reply
140
Dec 6, 2007. 9:16 PMewilhelm (author)
says:
ewilhelm (author)
says:
True. Because we were above the stairs, we always had to rope in. That was annoying, but you work with the space you've got!
Reply
Dec 6, 2007. 8:55 PMcrankola
says:
I just gotta say - I envy your lifestyle!! kite boarding, and your own personal indoor bouldering rig! very nice, wish we were buds!
Reply
200
Nov 30, 2007. 5:39 PMrandofo
says:
randofo
says:
My gosh! There are a billion holds. That would make me dizzy.
Reply
1
Dec 6, 2007. 4:14 PMgarrettmikesmith
says:
my thoughts exactly, they could've saved a lot of money.
Reply
5
Dec 6, 2007. 12:56 PMzaro12345
says:
This is really cool. I could have used this at my old house with vaulted ceilings (not like my parents would let me).
Reply
13
Nov 30, 2007. 9:21 PMWhaleman
says:
Whaleman
says:
Ha! "Outdoors" category! Anywho, that looks awesome! You and mythbusters must have the best jobs EVAR! Makes me wonder where you guys get money.......
Reply
16
Dec 2, 2007. 4:31 PMDoctor What
says:
See the little ads on the site, that's where they get their monies.
Reply
13
Dec 2, 2007. 7:01 PMWhaleman
says:
Whaleman
says:
Yeah, but it doesn't seem like ads is a way to get enough money to live on and still be able to make rock climbing walls in your spare time.
Reply
2
Dec 2, 2007. 8:07 PMJames (pseudo-geek)
says:
well, high traffic is how they get it. the more people that see those little ads, the more money they make, hence, it is important to have an awesome website.
Reply
13
Dec 2, 2007. 10:00 PMWhaleman
says:
Whaleman
says:
Yeah, I thought of that. But I just want to know how much it costs to have an ad here....... TV ads are really expensive.
Reply
2
Dec 3, 2007. 1:14 AMJames (pseudo-geek)
says:
probably quite a bit. my uncle knew a guy that made $6,000 a month from a website he had, he had it set up so every time someone clicked the ad, he made a set amount, like anywhere between 10 and 25 cents. they can add up. what he had was a search engine site, but not something big like Google, it was specific to one type of thing...not sure what tho.
Reply
13
Dec 3, 2007. 3:56 PMWhaleman
says:
Whaleman
says:
Ahh, maybe I should start a website, yeah?
Reply
2
Dec 3, 2007. 5:28 PMJames (pseudo-geek)
says:
heheh yeah.
Reply
2
Dec 2, 2007. 8:43 AMzorro3355
says:
zorro3355
says:
man that foldable ladder is dangerous.
Reply
2
Dec 2, 2007. 8:08 PMJames (pseudo-geek)
says:
no its a Little Giant it locks like that.
Reply
14
Dec 1, 2007. 12:22 PMbedbugg2
says:
a climbing wall in your HOUSE! i could only wish for that :(
Reply
140
Nov 30, 2007. 7:54 AMcanida
says:
canida
says:
I miss that climbing wall- it was awesome.
Reply
47
Dec 1, 2007. 1:41 AMdan
says:
dan
says:
it was awesome, i am happy to remember the few times i got to use it too! now you've inspired me to post some of my own really old stuff, like the tensegrity.
Reply
5
Nov 30, 2007. 4:43 PMmada
says:
Freaking awesome! It's too bad that you moved. If I was the one buying your house that certainly would have been a selling point! Good work!
Reply
22
Nov 30, 2007. 3:06 PMGorillazMiko
says:
awesome!!!!!!!!!11one
Reply
10
Nov 30, 2007. 11:40 AMmarc92
says:
That is awesome!!! How did the belay system work? In a couple of the pictures it looks like you were just tied off on the railing, and judging by the complex construction of the rest of the wall I didn't think that would be right
Reply
140
Nov 30, 2007. 12:51 PMewilhelm (author)
says:
ewilhelm (author)
says:
There were various anchor points throughout the wall, and we would just top rope from whatever anchor point made the most sense.
Reply
10
Nov 30, 2007. 8:20 AMgmoon
says:
Been putting something like this off for a long time...I'm getting tired of the one-dimensional route-setting at the local gym... Great job! Toprope anchors and everything. Did you 'sport' the with bolt hangers, or were they only temp. anchors used during construction?
Reply
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