[Fultonius]

Mine is 3.3m long @ 30degrees, so do the math.  I've got actual mats from TCA leftovers, but took a few falls onto, and just off  boulder pads, which was grim/almost wrist breaking...

3.8 would be fine with dedicated padding I think (which sucks up about 40cm of height anyway), but 3.3m seems quite a decent size for solo sessions. Certainly doesn't feel "short". Just picked up some old carpet to lay on my foam, as foam along is a bit soft and directionally unstable!

I'm considering a clever re-design with a central crack running up the middle joist, maybe with inserts to change the sizes, or an adjustable width crack.

[Duma]

Mine is exactly 3m vertical height, and fine to land onto pads from the top (big snap with the cells so nice to land on). However its 30° so you're much less likely to land on your arse or wrist than on a 45° .
I think any more than 3m and I'd want dedicated foam, especially for a steeper board

[tomtom]

You can always make the harder moves lower down

[Paul B]

...and I'd want dedicated foam, especially for a steeper board

I have a slight worry that if I spend a lot on dedicated foam, the local rodents will have a field day building a home in it (likewise after GME's episode I'm worried they'll also eat my wiring loom during the winter). I've been gifted a few gym style blue crash mats (the thick ones, not the exercise stuff) and have an array of dead, dying and OK pads that initially I was going to use. Ultimately though I think it'd have to be either some commercial wall leftovers or the CORE/Holdz home variation (although both are £££).

I've tried convincing Nat that it'd be cheaper (considering mats) to build something that's adjustable (especially seeing as though at work we end up dealing with steel-fabricators often) and we'd end up with a better density of holds (see also cheaper) but I'm not winning.

Mine is 3.3m long @ 30degrees, so do the math.

2.85m.

[Probes]

You could go about 10ft at 45 then into a single panel at 30? Obv more likely to land on your feet pinging off a 30. That's a big/high board like.

[Paul B]

Do you mean 45 into a 30 head wall? We both need to be able to use the board for bouldering and circuits.

There's existing wooden joists sat on the UB running end to end with a tie member running on one side of each joist just below the beam. I was intending on running joists up to meet the existing (and using a butt joint) and then putting a plywood gusset over the side without the tie. Each joist would be a few degrees less/more than the one adjacent to it. I was then considering adding another tie, taking the existing one off and then mirroring things but I reckon I may run out of enthusiasm!

Anything more complex, like a headwall, would need to have plywood extending much lower to incorporate the change in angle I'd have thought?

Incidentally I always enjoyed climbing on the old Foundry barrel board as the holds at the top (Pusher Font stuff) was desperate.

[Probes]

Yeah 45 into a 30 headwall.
Just reread your post. Sweet idea, slightly curved boards, you'd have gaps at panel edges which would mean a bit of filling. I'd go for that!
I'd be inclined to fix ply gusset to existing rafter then the new board timber onto other side of ply, and stick a bolt or two through the lot at the top. With butt joint the ply becomes structural so you should really be screwing and glueing it.. ball ache.. be easier and quicker to get a bolt at the top and just screw fix ply, use to take out any bounce/deflection.
With your roof being ridge beam, I'm guess 150 or 200 deep rafters on that span, need to be careful on loadings here. I bet the roof timbers are near their limits. That garage I've just done is 3.2m rafter length, 150 deep rafters at 300 centres. 400/450 would have been fine, going to 300 should allow me to fix a board to it.

[Paul B]

There's two buildings, the one which is by itself (doesn't share a wall) has the same timbers and beam but at MUCH closer c/c. I'll check the dims. but from the top of my head they're further apart (in the more spaced garage) than 300mm c/c and I'd guess they're deeper than 200mm.

Either way I'll be running a few quick calcs.

[spidermonkey09]

You could always go for one of these if the price doesn't put you off 

I reckon they'd be keen for some ad space in London Climber though...

https://www.interfaceclimbing.com/

[thelittlesthobo]

Not sure if this is of any interest but i built this during the summer.  It fits into a modern (Ie bare minimum size) semi detached house with garage.  I must declare we did have support from commercial suppliers but the cost to build and end result has been fantastic.

The holds are from Hardwood Holds & Beta Blox
LED Digital system from Digital Training Boards
Plywood - Local Funeral directors (Try getting quality 3/4" ply during lockdown.  I called in a few favours)

I already had the 3 x frames from a previous build i had on the outside of the garage.  I found that although it seemed a nice idea to have an outside wall.  In reality it was hardly ever used.  Restricted in how it worked and the marine ply fell to pieces as nothing could stop uk weather and just general damp.  The frames however were high quality, built by a professional and hadnt weathered a day.  I spoke to a joiner friend and he advised that seeing as i had 6 roof joist frames in our garage there was little to worry about the weight of the wall/climber.  I braced a beam through all 6 joists (That took me and my son about 30mins where we actually bent the beam to fit it in one piece).  I fixed it down with a few screws to stop it moving but essentially it didnt need much fixing as the load is pushing/pulling down on the beam.  I then fitted a kickboard frame with a beam at floor level and another at about 1ft, both fixed into the wall of the garage. Then it was just a case of fixing the 3 x frames i had to the beam in the joists.  If i had 4 x frames it would have been better but there is only a small amount of flex in the plyboard noticable on really powerful moves so no big deal.

Once all that was up it was time to put the boards on. 2x  8x4 sheets plus a kick board.  No big deal.  We ended up with an angle of about 40dg.

We had the help of DTB who was amazing.  He even got all the holds and laid them out on a 8x4 sheet of paper and drew around the holds and numbered them for us.  Me and my daughter fitted them in a few hours together.  Its all screw ons.  No t nuts.  It was honestly like painting by numbers.

This was all done at the height of lockdown and we unfortuately had to wait for the Digital setup to be fitted.  Honestly, its amazing.  Exactly the same setup as fitted to all the commercial walls around the country.  It takes 2mins to set a climb as it is a picture of the wall and you press the holds you want to use on a touch screen.  Confirm the name and grade and off you go.  I can set and programme climbs mid session quite easily.  I went on a facebook page and asked for suggested routes.  Spent a night programming them in and because it has a mirror facility and 2 sets of footholds, the 100 or so climbs i got sent turned into 400 climbs.  Its a fantastic training facility and we have it set up where we can do pyramids based on grades, climbs based on movement specifics and even concentrate on weaknesses if we feel something is missing.  We even have some endurance loops programmed.

Costings were something like

2 x sheets of ply £80
Frames - Free
Kickboard ply - Free
Top Beam, screws and other bits & pieces - £50
Holds - Not sure but i think there will be about £6-800 worth of holds on there
DTB System - Contact him to see as they are all bespoke.

I reckon without the DTB part you are looking at about £1000-1200 all in and that is using holds from brilliant companies such as Beta Blox, Hardwood Holds and Core.  You may be looking at doubling it to get the digital system but believe me, it makes a massive difference to using it as a training tool.  You can structure sessions in minutes so you are concentrating on climbing rather than setting and grades.

Anyhow, i hope this helps.  If the links dont work then its all on lily.climbs on instagram

Not sure if these links will work but i hope this may be of interest

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_rzOrRj7Zw/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_r1bA-Df4V/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAVMBgxDcpE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFfbvz0D-IR/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

[JamieG]

Wow that looks like an amazing setup. Nice work!

The LED system looks really good too. Definitely a step up from my dodgy handwriting in a notepad. And it would definitely speed up setting problems. Although to be fair a significant amount of my training time is spent sitting on the mat watching netflix, so maybe there are other efficiency savings to be made first.

[thelittlesthobo]

While we waited for it to be fitted we used sticky dots, electrical tape etc etc to mark climbs.  It either didnt stick due to chalky environment or just ended up a mess where we couldnt work out what climb was what.

Seeing as i dont climb, i got the job of setting climbs.  I would come out with a sore head from the stress of trying to set suitable climbs quickly enough.  With this you choose a grade, slide a bar on the screen and off you go.  We are not part of a network like the Moon system but i am not a fan of the holds on the moon boards, they arent very skin friendly. 

[Bradders]

Question for the hive mind; if you already have a 45' board and have space for a second board for circuits, systems, etc., what angle would you go for on the second?

Max height 2.5m. Max overhang c. 35' but I figure that's probably too much.

[spidermonkey09]

 Firstly, you lucky bastard! If you've already got a 45 I think the best angle for circuits is probably 20/25 degrees. Not sure what angle walls tend to use for their circuit boards?

[tomtom]

55 💪🏻😀

[SA Chris]

Mine is 26 degrees, and I find the downclimbing bit of circuits hard without resorting to jugs, what sm says sounds about right.

[Paul B]

Firstly, you lucky bastard! If you've already got a 45 I think the best angle for circuits is probably 20/25 degrees. Not sure what angle walls tend to use for their circuit boards?

I think from memory the LH of the two circuit boards at the Depot Manc is 25 degrees.

The LH of the circuit boards at BUK seems like a good angle to me. Often the down-climbs have been the crux but they certainly don't resort to jugs!

[highrepute]

I've got 15 degrees and works ok.

I find that on steeper circuit boards, I guess 20+, pain in my callouses becomes the limiting factor if trying to stay on for a long time. so i prefer a less steep board for circuits. My favourite board for circuits was the ply wall left of the door at the edge, which varied between 10 and 20, RIP. One can still get outrageously pumped on a vertical wall but the holds would have to be tiny. Which is ideal training for peak routes. What are you training goals?

[Paul B]

Has anyone finished their board with a layer of satin varnish or something? I'm not wanting it pristine for ever it just seems to keep them from 'rubbering up' quite as fast.

In theory I've got some beefy C24 turning up tomorrow-ish and then building can begin next week.

[Bradders]

Thanks for the views on circuit board angle. Going with 20.

Follow up question for those with boards in sheds....do you get condensation forming on the holds in this kind of humid weather? Any thoughts on preventing this happening?

Has anyone finished their board with a layer of satin varnish or something? I'm not wanting it pristine for ever it just seems to keep them from 'rubbering up' quite as fast.

In theory I've got some beefy C24 turning up tomorrow-ish and then building can begin next week.

I was recommended yacht varnish to seal it / weather proof the boards. Never actually got round to putting it on when I had an outdoor board though so not sure how effective it is.

[Fultonius]

Small garage wall advice....

Mate is building one in a very standard garage. Lengthways at 35* with a 30cm kickboard, it has about 1m "space" between the top of the board at the garage wall. What's the recommended minimum gap so you don't roll back and twat your head?

40* gets 778mm

40* no kicker is 500ish mm

Thoughts?

[sxrxg]

Just pad the wall? You won't ever be hitting it that hard at 500mm horizontal from the top holds. You may dab if cutting loose however I'm not sure if that is an issue on a home wall.

If it was me I would maximise climbing space as the first priority.

[rginns]

Thanks for the views on circuit board angle. Going with 20.

Follow up question for those with boards in sheds....do you get condensation forming on the holds in this kind of humid weather? Any thoughts on preventing this happening?

I was recommended yacht varnish to seal it / weather proof the boards. Never actually got round to putting it on when I had an outdoor board though so not sure how effective it is.

I know r-man has treated his outdoor board with some sort of varnish when he built it this year, he may be able to give some detail on how it's bearing up so far?

[Paul B]

Small garage wall advice....

Mate is building one in a very standard garage. Lengthways at 35* with a 30cm kickboard, it has about 1m "space" between the top of the board at the garage wall. What's the recommended minimum gap so you don't roll back and twat your head?

40* gets 778mm

40* no kicker is 500ish mm

Thoughts?

I once built a board in a spare room in a fairly small flat in Sheffield and had a similar issue. It was a bit unnerving at times but mine also featured a window ledge which posed an additional hazard. Sorry I can't quite remember the clearance but it would've been 1m or less and I don't remember hitting it that often.

[gme]

[quote author=Bradders link=topic=3260.msg620830#msg620830 date=

Follow up question for those with boards in sheds....do you get condensation forming on the holds in this kind of humid weather? Any thoughts on preventing this happening?

[/quote]

Not in a shed but this is a real problem for me on my outdoor board. More susceptible to condensation than any crag. Resin holds up better than wood but all bad in general. If there is no wind and humidity is high it’s un climbable.