[Probes]

I do these as an option http://crusherholds.co.uk/wooden-climbing-holds/crusher-wood-footholds. I punt for a mixture on my board, with some half balls to. These I find good, very slick, and turn problems very Corey..  sometimes more an exercise in keeping feet on. My crusher ones are pretty positive in comparison.

[jwills]

Thanks again for all of the suggestions. I ended up getting a set of the geo screw-on board feet and birch split wood balls. Has anyone seen a moonboard with holds added to it and care to share how they went about modifying it?

At this point I'm envisioning screwing on the geo board feet on the same row as the all of the other moonholds. That way I'll be able to do the regular moonboard problems but with way worse feet. There also is quite a bit of empty space if one was to use the space in between rows and columns (if that makes sense). I think though I'd prefer to leave that empty for now. If anyone has any suggestions of how to fill that space in I'm all ears as well. It's be pretty easy to just throw up a bunch of other holds (homemade wood) in those spaces but my fear is that I'll mostly still just stick to the moonboard problems out of sheer convenience... and laziness.

[Eddies]

I finished building my own woodie a couple of weeks ago.
Thought id share a few pics to give ideas to anyone wanting to build something similar. Its 8ft wide x 9ft long / 6.6ft vertical height.
I simply strengthened my existing 5"x2" garage roof beam by bolting another beam either side, spanning the full 3m width, then bolted my 6"x2" rafters to the original beam via angled brackets and big coach screws. The bottom of each rafters are bolted to the floor with concrete screws. I used 4"x2" purlins to tie the rafters together top, mid and bottom, and screwed the 18thk hardwood ply to all the rafters and purlins. Its absolutely solid and doesn't flex or creak at all.

[Drew]

Planning on building a couple of boards in our Summer House (damn right!). One overhanging and variable angle (needs to take up as little space as possible, but also be a meaningful training board), and one vertical next to it. The overhanging board is on the back burner for now, but I was planning on sorting the vert board this week. Only thing is, I've got a bunch of basic questions, which I'm hoping the UKB collective will be able to help me with:

For starters, whenever I see instructions on how to build, or photos of someone building one, I always see the thin side of the 2x4s against the wall, rather than the thick side. Why is this? Is it important?

My vert board is going to be screwed into a wooden side wall, so it would take up less space if I could screw them flat (thick side against the wall), rather than standing proud.

[Paul B]

For starters, whenever I see instructions on how to build, or photos of someone building one, I always see the thin side of the 2x4s against the wall, rather than the thick side. Why is this? Is it important?

It influences the timbers' ability to resist bending (moment of resistance). That's not to say that in some circumstances mounting it the other way isn't acceptable. There's also a 'correct' way to align plywood.

[SA Chris]

Having thin side on to the ply means the full "rigidity" of the wider part of the wood is resisting flex, less of an issue on a vertical board, but there will still be fair weight pulling outwards. Not sure if having a bigger air gap at the back would reduce the chance of damp developing and consequently mould, i guess it depends on location. You will also invariably need to access the back a few times just after you've built, to change out duff T nuts that cross thread and spin.

[Drew]

Ok, so follow up question:

If I do put the thin side against the wall, What's the best way to screw it into the corresponding stud on the other side? There's a wall of overlapping shingle which I want to leave in place (so it still looks nice when we end up selling the house) and 2x4s inside the structure. Do I need 200mm screws to get through the 85mm of framework timber, 50mm of wall structure, and deep into the internal framework?

[teestub]

There’s shingles on the inside you want to leave in place or just on the outside?

[Paul B]

any chance of a photo/sketch (or alternative)?

Cladding?
Existing stud (??mm)?
Wall structure (50mm)?
Soldier (50w x 100d;)?
Plywood

To avoid SA Chris's issue with T-nuts, buy the screw in version from Core and do a good job of putting them in (or just use screw-ons for everything).

[Drew]

Just the outside.



It's going where the piano is in this picture, between the door and the brick wall.

Inside are 2x4s the "correct" way around, but at uneven spacing. I was planning on just screwing 2x4s to the outside of the wall, straight into the internal 2x4s, but there aren't many options for long screws.

[Paul B]

You should be able to get long enough coach screws (Screwfix do 200mm versions). Just provide a recess for the hex headed versions (these are also easy to remove if/when necessary).

Any chance of the construction in order:
Cladding?
Existing stud (??mm)?
Wall structure (50mm)?
Soldier (50w x 100d;)?
Plywood

[Paul B]

(or is your wall going on the outside?  )

[SA Chris]

Where's the old joanna going to go?

In my mind, if you plan on building a steeper / adjustable board I'd not bother with a vert one too, unless it's for kids.

[Drew]

It's going on the outside. Exactly where that piano is. The shingle wall is screwed into the internal 2x4s. I want external 2x4s to screw into them.

Are coach screws not a bit overkill? And they'd leave big holes when it's taken down.

The vert is for warming up, the shorty, and the mega-shorty (3 years old). And the previous owners took the piano with them 

[teestub]

If the shingle is just screwed on, can’t you unscrew it and store it for reuse? Sounds like it would save you a lot of faff. If you wanted to fix additional 2x4 to the internal ones to extend the wall out, there are various nail plates etc that could do that job.

[Paul B]

Are coach screws not a bit overkill? And they'd leave big holes when it's taken down.

I'm a Civil Engineer so quite possibly! When I'm dealing with timber framing like this it's usually as concrete formwork.

[Drew]

If the shingle is just screwed on, can’t you unscrew it and store it for reuse?

They'e nailed on. Reckon it'd be more of a ballached peeling them all off.

I'm just going to put the 2x4s on flat side against the shingle. That way I can use a 150mm screw (lots of them), and anchor them onto the internal 2x4s. I guess the internal ones are the right way around, plus I don't need to be as accurate when screwing my ply onto a 3.5" side rather than 1.5"?

[Steve R]

For a vert wall you won't get much outward force at all so no need to go mad with the fixings (provided your uprights are sat on the tiles that is).  I'd probably use L-angle brackets - easier than trying to get long screws all the way through everything... fasten the brackets in vertical lines through the shingle into existing stud work (assume you can locate studs from the nails through shingle) screws long enough to go through shingle layer and few cm into stud, I like 5mm diameter screws in pine stud work but come in a good bit from the ends of any studs to avoid splitting.  3 - top, middle, bottom, (or maybe only 2 - top and bottom) if top bracket is bomber fixing) brackets per upright. Then just screw your uprights (for a vert wall, either thin side or thick side will be fine) in place through the brackets.  Obviously there are lots of ways to do it but in my experience most people (builders included) tend to really over or under-engineer this kind of thing.     

[SA Chris]

in my experience most people (builders included) tend to really over or under-engineer this kind of thing.     

Hopefully I've gone for the over...

[SA Chris]

I simply strengthened my existing 5"x2" garage roof beam by bolting another beam either side, spanning the full 3m width, then bolted my 6"x2" rafters to the original beam via angled brackets and big coach screws.

Is the strengthening beam necessary? I've just screwed brackets straight to rafter and will bolt uprights through the brackets.

Intend putting in a couple of timber ties to other rafters further back if needed.. 

[Eddies]

It was necessary for me because my existing 5" x 2" beams that ran across the 3m width of my garage's flat roof were only strong enough to support the roof and nothing else.
I decided to strengthen the one beam so I didn't have to mess about with columns or ties to other beams; and so I could get on with insulating the roof and fix all wall fixings to the underside of the one beam.

[SA Chris]

Ah OK. I've not checked the size of them, but we have a bedroom above the garage, so hopefully they are hefty enough....

[Eddies]

I finished building my own woodie a couple of weeks ago.
Thought id share a few pics to give ideas to anyone wanting to build something similar. Its 8ft wide x 9ft long / 6.6ft vertical height.
I simply strengthened my existing 5"x2" garage roof beam by bolting another beam either side, spanning the full 3m width, then bolted my 6"x2" rafters to the original beam via angled brackets and big coach screws. The bottom of each rafters are bolted to the floor with concrete screws. I used 4"x2" purlins to tie the rafters together top, mid and bottom, and screwed the 18thk hardwood ply to all the rafters and purlins. Its absolutely solid and doesn't flex or creak at all.

A few photos:

Before:








After:

[205Chris]

Anyone painted the ply on their boards?

Resetting mine this week and looking for the simplest way to remove old hold names etc. written on in marker pen rather than sanding it back.

Recommendations for decent paint?

[Nutty]

I used Zinsser Allcoat Exterior on mine, mainly because you can re-coat in 1 hour which cuts down the time to do the job hugely. Has lasted well on my outdoor board. You can also get it tinted to whatever colour you want (only off-the-shelf colours are white and black). Self-priming so you only need to do two coats of it. My wall had a bit of mould on it after a few winters but it all scrubbed off without damaging the paint.