#19. How To Build a Home Climbing Wall in a Garage

Use graph paper and a protractor and draw out your garage climbing wall.
Scale models will also help you understand the limitations of your space.
Though features like roofs may seem cool today, clean flat overhanging walls of 20 degrees to 35 degrees offer the best variety.
45-degree garage climbing walls are very steep and work your core muscles. They do not offer much in terms of learning footwork unless you are climbing at an expert level.
Roofs tend to offer the same moves over and over. If you want a roof, we suggest getting some Volumes for it. They will add the variety you need.

This photo shows 2” x 4” and 2” x 6” lumber being used since the wall is short in height.
The taller the wall, the larger the framing lumber comes.
Frame your wall using the 16” center rule. That’s 7 joists per 8’ wide section.

Sisters, Sleepers and Header Joists create easy attachment points for joist hangars.
Lower angled walls can be built in complete sections on the ground using this method.

These Sistered 2” x 4”s have been attached to existing studs and joists.
This method (also known as Furring Strips) creates easy-to-find locations for attaching your panels.
These Furring Strips also create space behind the panel for the bolts of the climbing holds to enter.

Sistered 2” x 4”s to existing studs for a Kick Plate on your wall.
The Kick Plate creates room below your wall so that you can start boulder problems from a sitting position for one extra move.

This 2” x 8” Header Joist was run perpendicular to the studs/joists.
This creates a landing area for your 2” x 6” wall studs where your panels can attach.

Blocking adds strength and stability to joists.
Locate Blocks where the seams of your panels meet.
This keeps the panels on the same plane and gives you a place for attachment.

A 48” Drywall T-Square is a nice tool to have when marking short cut lines.

A Chalk Line is the tool to use when marking long cut lines.

Using straight edges to run your circular saw along helps some builders.

When building angled walls, plywood should be cut so that it fits snuggly.
These types of cuts will create tighter joints thus less finish work in the end.
We used a “clinometer app” on an iPhone to measure the angle of the wall to get the correct angle to cut the panels.

Before investing time into painting and drilling out your angled panels, dry fit them.
It’s more cost-effective to ruin a raw panel rather than a textured panel equipped with t-nuts.
Attach panels with a few screws and make final adjustments.

There are several textured paints available to your local Home Depot or Lowes.
We’ve used Restore, Floortex and several others. They are all anti-skid flooring paints.
The basic principle for texture is so for climbing holds to stick less to your wall.
When we say, stick to your wall, what we mean is that if you just paint without texture, your holds rip off the paint (and a top layer of plywood) when you try to move them at a later date.

If you don’t prime your panels, you should use paint with a primer mix on raw panels.
Roll out your textured paint using a high nap roller.
Have a second person available to brush out the texture evenly while you are rolling.
In painting, the general rule of thumb is to do 2 coats of paint.

T-nuts are cheap so add, at a minimum, 72 t-nuts per sheet of 4’ x 8’ plywood.
Use a chalk line and mark only one panel with the layout.
A staggered pattern t-nut layout is best.
T-nut locations should be located so they miss your framing studs.

Place t-nuts about 8” apart on the first row and then offset that pattern by 4” on the next line.

You can clamp anywhere from 3 to 6 panels together when drilling.
Always drill from the front surface (the side you will climb on) through to the back of the panel. Blowouts will create an undesirable look, so keep those to the backside.
Use a 7/16” wood spaded bit or Forstner to drill the holes.

Be sure to hammer the t-nuts in straight.
Wear ear protection.

Pre-marking your wall where the studs lie will help eliminate guesswork when installing panels.
Install panels using #8 x 2” deck screws every 6” to 8”.

Wood putty is nice to fill in gaps. Durham’s Water Putty (found at Lowes and Home Depot) is an excellent material.
A thick mix is easier to work with.

Touch up your garage climbing wall with leftover textured paint.

Additional high light colors or even murals can be painted on your wall.
Now go the extra mile to create depth and aesthetic appeal!

Small walls need lots of bouldering holds to keep them interesting.

Now you’ll find out if your installation of the t-nuts went well
Hand-tighten the bolts into the t-nuts at first so there is no resistance. If you meet resistance, stop immediately and back out the bolt. Cross threading a t-nut is a pain to get off the wall.
Tighten down your hold once you are confident that the bolt when in properly.

Now that your holds are up, protect the climbers with adequate floor padding below.
2” to 4” padding is adequate for an 8’ tall wall however, adding stable extra padding never hurts.