January 15, 2017

oh happy day

too long; didn't read
I built a moonboard with no prior construction experience. I love it, it was harder than I thought but still achievable. It cost $1,300 and took about 40 man hours.
behold!
Last August my membership at the local climbing gym was up for renewal and rather than renew it I decided to build a wall at home. I've had it up and running for about a month now and so far it's been one of the better decisions I've made. It's under an overhang adjacent to our garage, it's always shaded and never wet. There is no commute and no excuses to get in the way of a workout.
beholds!
In addition to the moonboard holds, I bought about 40 small jugs from a local climbing gym for a pittance ($50!). I drilled an extra row of T-nuts between each row and column of the moon grid and placed them there. These holds have been great for easy warm-ups and longer circuits...highly recommended.
no behold related comment here.
With the help of two compadres, I dug out 5 holes which each held an upright 2x4 that was cemented in place. Each 2x4 was bolted with a single 3/4" bolt to a 12' length of 2x6. Next time, I would go to a dedicated lumber yard for all the wood rather than Home Depot or Lowe's (which often sell warped pieces). We sorted the best we could at Home Depot and still ended up with some crappy pieces which made things harder but not impossible.
framing
The overhang joists were reinforced with 2x6s that added stability and an easy point of attachment for overhanging frame. Joist hangers were helpful. We measured the angle with a free app on a cell phone, fixed the board in place with rope and then screwed it all together with deck screws.
Once the frame was up I was pretty happy with how solid and rigid everything was already, once the plywood sheeting was on the frame it was sturdier still. When drilling and installing T-Nuts I applied two coats of Marine Spar the the plywood and frame to help add longevity the whole thing. I'm curious to see what the failure point will be...the delamination of the plywood, the rotting of the frame or the rusting of the bolts and T-Nuts. Time will tell but right now everything is lovely.

Here's a spreadsheet of the cost associated with the board:

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