[hibernated]

First up I'm new, so hello! 

I've only been bouldering twice, so by no means a serious boulderer. Who knows in future though! 

There isn't a wall near me that I can easily get too, and I had the late night idea yesterday of building a temporary wall in my garden. Now I've slept on it and still think it's a fantastic idea I'm gonna go for it.

Problem is, I don't have much cash. Around £100 is really all I can spend (I know it's not alot for a wall). Intending to make it out of treated pine as it's not too expensive for the frame, and that isn't really a problem. What is a problem is the panelling.

My plan was to use plywood, drill a grid of holes in and carve handholds from offcuts of pine. But I've since found out plywood is waaay pricey.  I was thinking 18" in 1.22x1.22m panels with 100x50mm pine supporting it on all 4 edges and a 50x50mm pine strut horizontally across the middle... but this isn't going to be financially viable when a 1.22x1.22m panel is £18 at that thickness. Was my guess of 18" about right, or can I get away with something thinner.

Thanks alot for any replies :D

Hibernated.

[chicane]

Have a look at this ---> http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/pdf/How-to-Build-a-Home-Bouldering-Wall.pdf

and google it there is loads of info around...

Good luck

Matt

[slackline]

Yeah, there's a "bit" of info in these forums, you just need to look in the right place 

[rginns]

Firstly 

Do a search on here there's been loads of stuff on wall building in the past,

I think R-man on here has made a fairly makeshift wall in his garden - have you got any existing structures (trees etc) you may be able to save money by anchoring to these / use chains somehow.
Unfortunately plywood is relatively expensive and you may just thave to fork out... failing that, beg, borrow or steal some.

[Krank]

you could save more money and try to use one of these while you wait.

http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,7530.0.html

[dave]

I knew a guy who made a wall with scrounged plywood from a building site for fuck all. OK it won't be top grade but cheggers can't be boozers.

[hibernated]

Wow, thanks for quick responses!

I have looked through a lot of this stuff already (was browsing here yesterday), but will keep looking back at them as I design the wall, it's specific things I wanted to find out here really.

What thickness of plywood will support weight?
Is CDX plywood (one of two grades I found at wood cutting place) good enough for building an outside wall, or do I need to get the more expensive WBP stuff?

Unfortunately no, I don't have anything to hang it on.

Thanks again for replies

[Tris]

Like you I went to B&Q to find some plywood and thought no fucking way at that price... it's like £20 per foot or something daft.

I then found some plywood that was part of some palette/crate things. I would go checking round industrial estates and see if you can spot any discarded wood. My outside board cost me about £70. £50 of that was the holds The rest was on outdoor paint and bolts/screws.

[Bubba]

Marine Plywood would be ideal for outdoors but it's pretty expensive - no reason why you can't treat normal plywood though.

I used 12mm thickness but i'm a right chubba. If you're skinny 9mm might do. Either ways, you would normally batten it at the rear to provide strength and to stop the whole thing flexing too much.

[hibernated]

Scrounging isn't a half bad idea, had a massive flood of building going on here recently but seems to have all gone now. I'll have a look over the weekend maybe. 

Still after the answers to my questions though... Is CDX ok? It's £22 a sheet so would save me £7 a square metre...

[Bubba]

I think you'd want WBP tbh.

Have a look at these: WBP    CDX

WBP would be much more weather resistant.

[Andy B]

I used 12mm thickness but i'm a right chubba. If you're skinny 9mm might do.

Was that not really bendy? I've only ever used 18mm. A cheaper and less bendy alternative to ply is flooring grade tongue and groove chip board in 8' by 2' boards. If it's C grade (bathroom and kitchen stuff) it will be a bit damp resistant, but probobably not enough for an outside wall. If you have any space indoors at all I would suggest that a smaller indoor wall will be much more useful than any size of outdoor wall.

[Tris]

Marine Plywood would be ideal for outdoors but it's pretty expensive - no reason why you can't treat normal plywood though.

That's what I did with the wood I found (treat it I mean - just used shed/fence treatment) here is a pic of it finished:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2747/4080865052_f6aae796e8_b.jpg

[Bubba]

Was that not really bendy? I've only ever used 18mm.

I may well be confusing 9mm/12mm with 12mm/18mm

here is a pic of it finished:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2747/4080865052_f6aae796e8_b.jpg

Very slick 

[account_inactive]

I've taken down my old workshop wall and have a load of marine ply panels with t-nuts already in place.  PM me for a price innit

I also have wood for the structure.  You could make a fence!

[dave]

Was that not really bendy? I've only ever used 18mm.

I may well be confusing 9mm/12mm with 12mm/18mm

here is a pic of it finished:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2747/4080865052_f6aae796e8_b.jpg

Very slick 

18mm is 3/4" which is normal for cellar boards. 12mm is 1/2", can be ok on less steep walls if well supported at a push. 9mm only if you're paulB's ethiopian half brother.

[Bubba]

9mm only if you're paulB's ethiopian half brother.

People are always saying that about me.

[hibernated]

Thanks for all the replies guys. The links you sent were very insightful Bubba, looks like I'm sticking with the pricey wood! >.<

Cool wall Tris!  Wish I was able to fix mine to the side of the house. I've got to get it free standing on grass 

Thinking this idea may not get off the ground if I can't find a good source somewhere!  Still, I'll keep looking! :D

[Tris]

Very slick 

Cheers - it would get some use if it ever stops frickin raining!  (downside of an outside training wall)

[Tris]

Cool wall Tris!  Wish I was able to fix mine to the side of the house. I've got to get it free standing on grass 

Thanks, free standing - sounds like it's going to have be on the large side with lots of wood?

Maybe Dylan could be your knight in shining armour? check his post above...

[hibernated]

I have done, hopefully will be but we shall see what happens. I'm in uni on Monday and they have a timber shop so I will see what they are charging there too... Will update if I find anything...

[rginns]

good luck old chap

[Jim]

9mm only if you're paulB's ethiopian half brother.

He's that thin he's 2D.

seriously tho if you've only been twice, it might be worth going a few more times before you build a wall.
Any timber recycling places near you? look em up - well cheap innit. Practically fook all.
Failing that befriend someone who works in a timber yard

[dave]

Failing that befriend someone who works in a timber yard

that's the way scouse would play it.

[badong]

look out for building work/skips.

those wooden wall/fence things they construct round larger building sites are an ideal sauce of ply but you need to ask when they're being taken down obviously. Galleries can be surprisingly good sauces of wood/boards as they often change the layout of the spaces with stud walls or section parts off for for showing projections or what have you. They don't have the space to store stuff once its dismantled and each project is usually funded by the arts council or what have you so the gallery isn't out of pocket when they chuck it out. just check when an exhibition ends and approach them near the time. careful its not plaster board though as that's next to useless.

[Tris]

Galleries can be surprisingly good sauces

Mmmm - love a bit of gallery on my chips...

[soapy]

google 'wood recycling', there may be a collection/disposal centre not too far away

[tomtom]

google 'wood recycling', there may be a collection/disposal centre not too far away

My local tip has a separate wood pile... you can either hang around there and see what comes in (What a cool way to spend your day!) or I would have thought the odd 5er or 10er to someone who works there to put some stuff to one side would work very well?????

[hibernated]

Thanks for all the ideas everyone. No luck today but tomorrow I might be able to get to the dump, see if they have a wood pile there, and on Monday I will see what prices are like at the uni woodshop.

I looked on ebay and there's some pretty nice deals on there, but nothing nearby unfortunately. 

Would anyone recommend scaffolding over wood, or is wood frame definitely the way to go?

Thanks all. 

[Jim]

I'd get the scaffold cos it doesn't rot but it is ££££

[hibernated]

Well rotting shouldn't be too much of a problem once I've sealed everything. £££s is something I don't have unfortunately, so looks like scaffolding is out - so thanks for clearing that up, even it was against what you said. 

Found some CD grade plywood pretty cheap, I looked up what the grades mean so I know D is awful, but is it strong enough to use? What is the cheapest grade I can realistically use without having to worry about my hand-holds pulling holes in it under pressure?

Thanks again to all who are answering, hopefully I'll be able to actually build something next week! 

[badong]

Galleries can be surprisingly good sauces

Mmmm - love a bit of gallery on my chips...

wooops, worth a shot anyway, regardless of my ridiculous spelling.

[grumpycrumpy]

18 mm CD plywood should be strong enough to use provided you fix it across the middle and not just around the edges ie half lap 3" x 2" battens across the centre of your frame to produce 1' by 1' squares which should give adequate support .... And don't forget to glue your plywood down ..... If still worried you can always back up your holds by using longer bolts and putting a washer and another nut on the other side of the ply ( nylock nuts are best but they do cost a little bit extra )   ....   

[hibernated]

Oh brilliant, that makes it a tad cheaper than what I was expecting. Thanks for the good news grumpycrumpy 
I was planning to do the batten thing already. Glueing it down is a good bit of advice I was missing though, was just going to use wood screws.

The weekends out as my girlfriends going to be here, but hopefully I'll be able to start building next week now. 

[Jim]

Make sure you have a 10v+ electric screwdriver/battery drill!
why bother glueing? just makes it harder to dismantle/modify and adds to the cost, just use enough screws to start with.
Use 10x2" screw for attatching the board to the frame

[grumpycrumpy]

It'll be cheaper if you use 3"x2" all round instead of going for expensive fancy timbers like 4"x2" .... Not sure where you're based Hibernated but if you're in Sheff I've got a couple of longish offcuts I can bung your way ....
I always glue everything , force of habit being a carpenter and all .....   

[rodma]

I always glue everything , force of habit being a carpenter and all .....

I thought you guys just paslode away 

[hibernated]

No not in Sheffiled, though I'm starting to wish I was. Seems just about everyone on here is from Sheffield.. plus my girlfriend of course  Is Sheffield bouldering central or is it just a coincidence that so many on here seem to be based there? I'm actually in Maidenhead, not far from London. Still haven't had a chance to get to the 2 nearby wood yards yet... Too much uni stuff! Also, found out we have the head office of a wood recycling company, and no wood recycling facilities - typical ey 

[rginns]

...Seems just about everyone on here is from Sheffield... Is Sheffield bouldering central or is it just a coincidence

Don't be fooled, many people are duped into thinking that Sheffield is the bouldering capital of the world. 

The enlightened few eventually realise that the centre of the bouldering universe is in fact LANCASHIRE

[grumpycrumpy]

I always glue everything , force of habit being a carpenter and all .....

I thought you guys just paslode away 

I dream of owning a paslode nail gun ..... 

[Barratt]

Bit more info contributed to this thread following my build... might be useful to anyone building a free standing board:

http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,3260.msg229550.html#msg229550