This video is FANTASTIC! I have almost no woodworking skills but my 19 month old loves climbing and I really want to do a small climbing wall for her second birthday! This is perfect ☺️ thank you so much for all of the helpful information!
Wow thank you so much Ben for breaking down this build step by step. I have very little DIY / carpentry skills & because of you I have been able to build my kids a climbing wall they love!
What's the point of the furring 2x4. Just use the existing wall framing to fasten the plywood directly to the wall, and cut to height from the top of baseboards. Moreover, unless your kids are having too much juicy drink, then there is not enough load to consider over building, and lets be real due to he size of the climbing area they'll use it a few times and get then bored of it. Keep it simple
The T nuts are not completely flush with the back of the plywood, they stick out a little bit - so if you screw the plywood directly into the studs behind the drywall, you're going to leave a grid of T-nut-shaped imprints in the drywall. My thought with the furring was that in theory I could take this down when the kids are older and only have minimal holes to patch in the wall. (for the record I built this 2 years ago and the kids still use it all the time - my 8 year old is close to outgrowing it but will still get a lot of mileage out of it with the now-3-year-old who was a baby when I made this)
According to one of the manufacturer's websites (Atomik), the holds are fine to use outdoors but the colors will eventually fade due to UV exposure. You'd also want to use pressure treated or composite lumber so it's water resistant. But if you search online it looks like plenty of people have built these outdoors.
An adult can climb on this wall no problem. The bolt diameter is the same regardless of the hold size. "Child size" holds are just small, difficult holds for adults :-).
If you have the space for it, I'd definitely recommend an overhang. My daughter is 7 1/2 now and has a pretty easy time getting to the top of this. I don't have room for the overhang because of the furniture layout in the basement (there's a risk if you fell off that you'd hit your head/neck on the back of the couch).
I wanted to make sure this was extra sturdy and adults could also climb on it, so wanted the 2x4s resting on the floor. So do you HAVE to...probably not, but do so at your own risk :-). If you don't want to remove the molding, you could also use a jigsaw to cut out part of the ends of the 2x4s so they fit over the molding. That way much of the load would still be transferred to the floor.
@@BenFinioI’m so happy I read this comment because I plan on climbing on the wall as well (115-125 lbs). I will remove the molding! What should the weight limit be?
@@lisawillis1832 Honestly as long as you use long enough screws to screw into the studs on the wall, it is probably fine without removing the molding. But for what it's worth, I am 180lbs and it holds me just fine.
I wound up going with these two sets, but it looks like they are both currently out of stock. They have worked great for my daughter, with two caveats. 1) They use the M10 bolts and tee nuts, which are much harder to find in the US. If you click the link to the Instructable that I added in the video description, there's a link to the ones I bought. 2) These are definitely kid-sized holds, made for tiny hands. So if there will be an adult or a teenager also using the wall, they probably won't be that comfortable (at least if you're a beginner like me and prefer the bigger/easier holds - I guess for advanced people it would be fine). smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08L5YKWJS smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08J6K868B
This video is FANTASTIC! I have almost no woodworking skills but my 19 month old loves climbing and I really want to do a small climbing wall for her second birthday! This is perfect ☺️ thank you so much for all of the helpful information!
Our toddler (who was a baby when I made this video) now loves it - totally worth it and minimal woodworking skills required!
hey how do you know if your wall can handle the horizontal load from pulling force?
Don't be so hard on yourself this was a really thoughtful DIY. Thank you
Wow thank you so much Ben for breaking down this build step by step. I have very little DIY / carpentry skills & because of you I have been able to build my kids a climbing wall they love!
Really appreciate you explaining things about the wall and need for a frame at the beginning. That’s exactly what I was looking for 🙌
Super helpful! I want to make one for my kids for Christmas and am definitely a beginner builder!!
Awesome video. Great detail too. Looking to build something like this in my daughter’s bedroom and found this very helpful.
thanks. great detailed explanation. we will learn from your mistake.
perfect video! I’m going to do this for our kids, thanks!
This is sooooo helpful!!! thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge!
You're welcome!
What a great video! Thank you. I love all the commentary too 😂😂
Excellent video and explanations throughout.
Thankyou!!!!! Amazing tutorial, so appreciated!! Just sent it to hubby, hoping we can get it done for our son's birthday 🤞🤞🤞🤞
Can I do this in an apartment? 🤔 My kid would love this lol
Thanks for the insight. Very helpful. Plus, I loved your self deprecating sense of humor. It made the video funny. Well done!
This looks so great! I really want to do this for my son.
Awesome climbing wall! I wish I added extra t-nuts to ours. Next time 😀
epic! love to see it, why did my parents never build me an at home climbing wall
Yes, why did your parents not do that?
Saw this comment and took me a minute to realize this was THE Kevin Bond. Back in the 90's they just sent us out into the woods to play with sticks...
What's the point of the furring 2x4. Just use the existing wall framing to fasten the plywood directly to the wall, and cut to height from the top of baseboards. Moreover, unless your kids are having too much juicy drink, then there is not enough load to consider over building, and lets be real due to he size of the climbing area they'll use it a few times and get then bored of it. Keep it simple
The T nuts are not completely flush with the back of the plywood, they stick out a little bit - so if you screw the plywood directly into the studs behind the drywall, you're going to leave a grid of T-nut-shaped imprints in the drywall. My thought with the furring was that in theory I could take this down when the kids are older and only have minimal holes to patch in the wall. (for the record I built this 2 years ago and the kids still use it all the time - my 8 year old is close to outgrowing it but will still get a lot of mileage out of it with the now-3-year-old who was a baby when I made this)
Building plan in PowerPoint, I’m also a PowerPoint enthousiast and love this 👏🏽
I figure a lot more people already know how to use Powerpoint than CAD programs, so it makes sense!
You’ve inspired me to build one.
Congrats for the video and family! It is really helpful!
great job man! my fav part was the pijama story haha :D
that is so cool man. Really inspired here.
Hello,
Great video,
What if my studs are already exposed?
Can I go directly from the original studs to plywood?
I don't see why that wouldn't work.
Thank you! I'm going to do this!
Badass. Thanks for the ideas. I’d like to build one of these outside, but I’m not sure if it would fade or last with the weather.
According to one of the manufacturer's websites (Atomik), the holds are fine to use outdoors but the colors will eventually fade due to UV exposure. You'd also want to use pressure treated or composite lumber so it's water resistant. But if you search online it looks like plenty of people have built these outdoors.
Excellent project... and looks awesome
Thanks!
this was the most wholesome thing to watch thank you
Thanks!
Would I be able to do this in brick
You are the expert in the best councils, thank you very much.!!!
Bravo! So glad I discovered this. Recognizing that you used child-sized holds, if you used adult holds, could it support an adult's weight?
An adult can climb on this wall no problem. The bolt diameter is the same regardless of the hold size. "Child size" holds are just small, difficult holds for adults :-).
Bunch of information! Thank you so much!!!
Helpfull, Thanks👍
Extremely helpful!!! Thank you🙌🙌🙌
i like the child chelping her father
Excellent!!!
What was the spacing for your grid? Thanks!
Honestly I don't remember but I think I put dimensions in the Instructable: www.instructables.com/Indoor-Kids-Climbing-Wall/
@@BenFinio Thanks!!
Very useful
This is wonderful!! Thank you!
Thanks!
Whoops, replied from the wrong account. Thank you!
Do you wish you made the wall with a overhang? I want to do a similar thing for my boys, but don't want them to outgrow the wall too soon
If you have the space for it, I'd definitely recommend an overhang. My daughter is 7 1/2 now and has a pretty easy time getting to the top of this. I don't have room for the overhang because of the furniture layout in the basement (there's a risk if you fell off that you'd hit your head/neck on the back of the couch).
Nice work! Curious.. Do you have to remove the molding? Could the climbing wall just sit a few inches off the ground and above the molding?
I wanted to make sure this was extra sturdy and adults could also climb on it, so wanted the 2x4s resting on the floor. So do you HAVE to...probably not, but do so at your own risk :-). If you don't want to remove the molding, you could also use a jigsaw to cut out part of the ends of the 2x4s so they fit over the molding. That way much of the load would still be transferred to the floor.
@@BenFinioI’m so happy I read this comment because I plan on climbing on the wall as well (115-125 lbs). I will remove the molding! What should the weight limit be?
@@lisawillis1832 Honestly as long as you use long enough screws to screw into the studs on the wall, it is probably fine without removing the molding. But for what it's worth, I am 180lbs and it holds me just fine.
Which 2" screw size and brand did you use to attach the 3/4 board to 2x4's?
Don't remember the brand, but I think they were pretty thick which was overkill - maybe #10?
How did you know about my poor impulse control???
Great video! Looking to do this for my son's birthday. Which holds did you end up purchasing?
I wound up going with these two sets, but it looks like they are both currently out of stock. They have worked great for my daughter, with two caveats. 1) They use the M10 bolts and tee nuts, which are much harder to find in the US. If you click the link to the Instructable that I added in the video description, there's a link to the ones I bought. 2) These are definitely kid-sized holds, made for tiny hands. So if there will be an adult or a teenager also using the wall, they probably won't be that comfortable (at least if you're a beginner like me and prefer the bigger/easier holds - I guess for advanced people it would be fine). smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08L5YKWJS smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08J6K868B
Very cool. Why almost no coments here?\
“Mediocre?” Hardly!