Scaling New Heights: The Epic Tale of Our DIY Climbing Wall Adventure
Dive into our DIY journey as we scale the heights of home improvement by building a thrilling, kid-friendly climbing wall right in our playroom!
Welcome to what might be the most adventurous DIY project we've ever tackled – building our very own climbing wall! If you're looking for a mix of chaos, creativity, and a whole lot of carpentry, you've come to the right place. Strap in, and let's climb through this journey together, one stud at a time!
Finding the Hidden Treasures (AKA Stud-Finding Shenanigans)
First Things First: Finding Our Footing Every great adventure needs a solid starting point, and for us, it was about discovering the mystical land of wall studs. Armed with a stud finder and a keen sense of hope, we embarked on the epic quest to pinpoint the perfect spots to secure our climbing wall. Why, you ask? Because nothing says 'fun' like making sure your wall doesn’t crumble under the ecstatic weight of your climbing kiddos!
Going the Distance: Why Our Wall Stands Eight Feet Tall
Keeping It Simple, Keeping It Smart When it comes to DIY, we like our projects like we like our coffee – straightforward and strong. So, we opted to make our climbing wall a neat 8 feet tall, because, hey, plywood comes in 8-foot sheets, and who doesn’t like to keep life simple? Plus, our ceiling is 9 feet high, which gave us just enough room to add in a safety mat on the ground for those inevitable falls.
The Skeleton Behind the Success (AKA Framing Frenzy)
Building Bones: A Framework of Dreams Next up, we played a game of connect-the-dots with 2x4s, creating a robust frame directly on the studs hidden behind the sheetrock. We laid out horizontal 2x4s to give the plywood that extra hug it needs to stay put. Think of it as the skeleton that keeps everything together—minus the spooky Halloween vibes.
Plywood and Holes: A Tale of Precision and Patience
Smooth Moves with Birch Plywood Choosing birch plywood wasn’t just a splurge—it was a declaration of our commitment to smoothness and strength. Yes, at $90 a pop, these sheets are the Cadillacs of plywood, but they're worth every penny. We needed three sheets, cutting one down to make our wall an even 11 feet across. Precision, dear friends, is key in the land of DIY.
Drill, Baby, Drill! Before the plywood could meet its wooden skeleton, we turned into human calculators, marking out a grid for our climbing holds. With a trusty pencil, I mapped out a future for each hold, ensuring they wouldn't collide with the studs behind the scenes. We drilled holes about 10-13 inches apart using a 7/16 drill bit, then introduced each hole to its new best friend—the M10 t-nut. Hammering these little guys into place was a workout in itself!
The Art of Ascent: Bringing Color to the Climb
Mountain Masterpiece Here’s where my inner artist (shoutout to my 7th grade art teacher!) came out to play. After slathering the wall with a base coat of Behr Sweet, I mixed up a storm, creating a gradient of Urbane Bronze that would make any painter proud. Starting from the top, I painted my way down, adding shadows and highlights to bring our mountainous vision to life. Not an artist, you say? Well, neither am I, but here we are, making mountain murals like it's no big deal!
Using crosshatch strokes with my 2.5inch paintbrush helped give the mountains a rough look, rather than using a roller.
Seal the Deal: Polyurethane Power
Protecting Our Peaks After the painting saga, it was time to seal the deal—literally. A generous layer of polyurethane topcoat was just what we needed to protect our artistic endeavor from the inevitable scuffs and scrapes of climbing shoes. This shiny armor had to dry for a solid 24 hours, which felt like forever in DIY time.
The Grand Finale: Handholds and High Fives
Ready, Set, Climb! The final act was a family affair, with the kids jumping in to help install the handholds. Armed with an Allen wrench and an unstoppable enthusiasm, they screwed in each hold, transforming the wall from a painted plywood canvas to a climber’s paradise. And then, the moment of truth—we climbed!
And We Played! The laughter, the climbs, the slips, and the triumphant reaches to the top—all of it made every puzzling moment, every backache, and every bewildered stare at a stubborn t-nut utterly worthwhile.
There you have it, folks—the wild, wonderful story of how we brought a mountain into our playroom. Whether you're a seasoned DIYer or a curious onlooker, we hope this tale inspires you to take on your own home adventures. Because in this house, we do hard things, have fun, and maybe—just maybe—teach our walls a thing or two about standing strong.
Product List
Paint
Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze in High Gloss
Behr Sweet in Flat
Home Depot
8- 2x4s
3 Sheets of Birch Plywood
3.5in Wood Screws
1 Quart of Polyurethane in Clear Satin
Amazon
Climbing Wall Holds (highly recommend! They also come in super cute earth tones)