How to Make an Indoor Climbing Wall | I Like To Make Stuff

I built my kids an indoor climbing wall, it was super fun to make!
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In our old house I built a huge climbing wall in our backyard. With the renovation of the boys' bedroom almost completed, I thought it was a perfect time to rebuild that fun rock wall in the their room.
First, here is a safety disclaimer...I built this wall for my kids in a manner that I am completely confident in. I don't know your room layout and I don't know your kids abilities. If you want to build a wall yourself, awesome! But you are assuming all responsibility and risk in doing so (that said, it is pretty awesome and you should go make one).
I began this project by measuring out the space in the room and making a digital copy of it (Its been very helpful for me lately), being sure to accurately measure the ceiling pitch. I then mapped out the placement of some drop-in, 2x4 walls that would support the 3/4 inch plywood faces. I cut and nailed the wall pieces together and screwed them to the existing room studs with some massive lag screws. I translated the ceiling pitch to the angled wall section and used a bird's mouth cut at the end of the 2x4 so that those joists would sit on the header of the wall below it.
Once the walls were framed in place, I broke down the sheets of 3/4 inch plywood to cover each section. I made sure to mark out the location of the new wall studs on the plywood so that I could secure them together, but it also helped me identify where to NOT place the holes for the climbing holds. On the plywood, I marked out a geometric grid that would become the locations for a bunch of T-nuts. These pronged nuts will receive the bolts that attach the climbing holds to the wall. The grid allows you to change up the arrangement later if you wanted. After drilling the grid holes and hammering in the T-nuts, we mounted each plywood face to the framed-in walls.
Accurately measuring the space was crucial when putting up the faces, each piece fit together in an angular puzzle that turned out amazing. All that was left to do was to place the climbing holds and bolt them to the T-nuts. This was pretty erratic, but it allowed for different skill levels in different areas. I even got to use the hand hold that I made using a silicone mold. After I throughly tested out the wall, I let my kids go nuts. They really love this new awesome addition to their room and I'm really happy they have an area to be wild and crazy kids. If you liked this project, check out more of my work using the links above!
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How to Make an Indoor Climbing Wall | I Like To Make Stuff
• How to Make an Indoor ...
I Like To Make Stuff
/ iliketomakestuff

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Lots of people ask why I didn't just put the plywood directly on the wall. There needs to be negative space behind the plywood for the bolts to poke through. In my space, I could have removed the drywall and put the plywood on the studs but it's an attic space so that would let tons of air through .

[@noconz0727]

I would just put some furring strips on the back of the plywood for whatever offset you want from the wall. Then attach plywood directly to the wall.

[@noconz0727]

Cool project though. I might do this in my son's room.

[@doubledarefan]

Cover the studs with plastic sheeting with enough slack to keep from being poked by the hold screws, and seal all the seams airtight.

[@charltonwang]

Noconz0727 MC Agree. I ran my 2x4s flat and perpendicular to the studs and then mounted the plywood to them.

[@andrew6745]

I Like To Make Stuff I am climbing 9 times a week😆😆

[@nodin6286]

Little does this man know the impact he has on climbers in this current pandemic who now want to build home setups

[@gabrielvergara4633]

Amen for that

[@KungFuPandaria]

aye.that's why I'm here

[@OmahaRiverDonkey]

No kidding. I wish I had that setup.

[@calebheywood2678]

so true

[@NeverComplyEver]

PLANdemic

[@joeldowell5059]

This would be a great project to do while the kids are at school. If you were my dad, and I came home to this, I would be speechless.

[@Sam-vv4zd]

Georgia Bob: How to make a bookcase, headboard, plywood vase Kentucky Bob: KATANAS AND CLIMBING WALLS AND AIR POWERED ROCKET LAUNCHERS

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Ha! :) Well, you can only make so many pieces of furniture before there's nowhere to put them anymore.

[@jamesgrimwood1285]

A climbing wall is just furniture you can climb on ;-) And paint it orange/blue, of course.

[@letsmake8166]

This is freaking awesome! Your kids are going to have such great memories of all the awesome stuff their dad made for them!

[@Nayde]

Let's Make aside from pictures as memories you can have these as an item or place where you can share stories with you grandkids (i know its way ahead) i guess this is how you envision great old days..

[@craftedworkshop]

So awesome! I actually think a wall like this with modular shelving and storage would look really cool, got my gears turning. And those outtakes... 😹

[@StaxRail]

His house must be full of awesome features...

[@timothyhayes9724]

That's it fellas. Bob has done it. He has won the best dad ever.

[@ahollatz]

My friends and I built a huge wall structure in our backyard. We used lock tight for the screws, and we painted the plywood with a sand/paint mixture. The texture helps a lot with climbing, but I don't think it would be absolutely necessary for a small space. Great job, I think you did everything about how it should be.

[@PenelopeKay-lc2it]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@bevin1609]

Dude, your like the ultimate dad.

[@jiin5276]

i am absolutely gonna make this some day

[@Dannie_Doot]

That starting transition made me chuckle so much! Very well explained, inspirational stuff!

[@Iliketomakestuff]

:) Thanks!

[@drewmcqueen932]

Very cool, looks like the whole family will enjoy that for a very long time. What a nostalgic moment at 11:05 after attaching that hand hold you made years ago!

[@FrostBite1147]

Hey Bob! I’ve been a fan of you for years and I just made a climbing wall for my nephew. It’s a lean to design but I learned a lot by watching this video! It’s made out of cedar and pine 2x4s and we can fold it up or adjust it when he gets older.

[@TheBadasscinema]

Usually indoor climbing walls have some kind of "sandy", rough surface soyou can use your feet on them. You get grip and you can challenge yourself by using hands on holds and feet on wall only. Great built! Kind regards from Germany!

[@donovancorcoran1392]

Hi Bob- nicely built little wall. If you're still thinking about paint, one thing you might consider is adding some texture. There are textured paint available commercially for use on artificial climbing surfaces, but you can fairly easily make your own as well. Exterior paint in your choice of color with some sand mixed in can create a nice basic texture effect. Another option is to mix up some fast-set cement, color if desired and some sand/fine gravel. Apply like you would drywall mud, but don't pay much attention to getting it smooth. Edit- also, a quick safety tip. I noticed you and your wife climbing while wearing your wedding bands. Even on a relatively easy wall like this, climbing while wearing rings or other jewelry does present a risk of degloving injury (google at own risk). Back when I was a climbing instructor, I always told people no rings whatsoever, watches or tight fitting bracelets are ok as long as the band will break (rubber/plastic ok, metal or leather not) and nothing loose around the neck. Have fun, be safe!

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Thanks, we both wear Qalo (rubber) rings.

[@kvisualtree]

What a fantastic video this is. Me and my son were watching this video with rapt attention. In awe of the skills 👍

[@seankennedy1391]

Reminds me of romans climbing wall !! Awesome job

[@retina6288]

I love all your videos but the cool stuff you do for your kids are definitely my favorites.

[@AnthonyBowman]

Super cool! Also just got my copy of Making Time! Excited to get to reading it!

[@vepristhorn8278]

Wow you have a steady hand! I would not attempt some of those cuts without a guide

[@goodgoat3096]

Usually it's kids that have their parents climbing the walls! Seriously, very cool!

[@Sonal_Mobile]

Really cool project that gets the kids (and grown-ups) away from the iPads and video games :) Great work!

[@gasmask9893]

your children are so lucky to have a father like you

[@kaziahscats]

You can actually get a job by going to people's houses and installing cool things. Like this.

[@craigpereira6381]

Awesome.. dad of the year award..

[@roseyposeysims2618]

A dad who builds and craft as a carpenter is so attractive. You know how many toe rubs he'll get!!!

[@Anakreo515]

I should show this to my in-laws, they love climbing!

[@williamlivingstone4326]

Made it and my son loves it! I'm making mostly wooden holds but I did try the resin ones that worked out pretty good too!

[@TheWoodYogi]

Fantastic work Bob :) That will give years of fun ॐ

[@apollojohnson3319]

I love the plug idea!

[@Bikeeast]

Awesome, wish I had the space in the house to do something like this. Hoping to do one outside this summer.

[@robertarosteguy2245]

Thank you so much for this! It was your video that inspired me to build a wall for my kids. Very straight forward and it turned out awesome!

[@vhbissett]

he deserves a father of the year award!

[@wordiebirdie]

Your workspace is so organized 😍 also, am I the only one that thinks the plywood before the holds were put on was extremely satisfying to look at?

[@baseballrecruit]

Awesome! This and your bookcase trapdoor video are my favourites.. I love the projects you do for your kids/family. (I also like how you put your own mold front and centre. Loud and proud baby! haha)

[@3x3CustomTamar]

You’re officially the coolest dad ever. If my kids ever complained after I built this for them I would say “I built you a rock climbing wall.” And walk away.... hmmm. Now I think I need to make this for them. Ha!

[@bigtonka82]

That's awesome. For the next rock wall you should build one outside, maybe a two pillar design with an archway in between them. You could have bars or something to that effect to get across from one side to the other. That's if you have the space and if your local city codes will allow it. Keep up the awesome projects.

[@Daxter-fl1te]

Hey Bob. You’ve inspired me to start woodworking. Wanted to say thanks.

[@ralphlea7595]

Holds/holes bonus feature made me crease, great video

[@georgel5308]

Ur kids must love it. Great job

[@cam9028]

Yes! Thanks for giving me so many ideas for my future dream home.

[@magicrobharv]

Officially, the coolest dad ever!

[@spraycanman4490]

My sons and i go climbing both outdoor and indoor, they would love this in the house

[@PhilCaplinger1]

One of your best builds yet. !!

[@alexbold2146]

Can’t wait for a full housetour

[@PJGalati]

Cool addition to the kids room and it looked like Ginny was enjoying it too. :P

[@axelpit987]

The arcade machine should go in that room too, best room ever

[@imconnected870]

when i was a child i absolutely loved these climbing walls its so much fun

[@muukadventures3629]

Good stuff this is the next project 👍

[@isaiah5643]

AWESOME! You should add a crash pad at the bottom or like a rope pulley system for safety, of course I don’t know how tall it is but if you fell anywhere wrong it could break something.

[@ethancaissie6690]

You continue to amaze me

[@carloshenriquedamasceno8990]

Good job Bob! This is a of the best project! I loved that! It's radical! it's fun!

[@Tadpole0110]

I'm so jealous of your kids. I would have loved something like this. My mum did actually make a climbing wall for my school, (she attracted an audience of people wanting to see a women carpenter), but I never thought of a small one in a bedroom.

[@BeInspiredwithDominic]

That is an awesome project, Bob. I had not even considered that a possibility, but I guess now I need to look into that. Thanks for sharing!

[@oisinmcgovern2162]

him putting does really long screws in the wall was so satisfying

[@wootsman]

4:40 MORE COWBELL! haha great project, came out looking pretty cool!

[@cevikfatih]

You're a real hero ❤🙏

[@maxhallowell]

There was a Kreg pocket hole ad before your video. Didnt unsubscribe. Love the channel

[@nicolascotugno9097]

Your tools are awesome! Congratulation from argentina

[@Geeksmithing]

Nice to see you made it to scale.

[@noelsabbath9194]

Cool background music and this is a great build and a super cool video

[@DMonZ1988]

SO COOL! its a lovely looking feature wall too, but most of all, AMAZING fun! lucky kids! really, you're doing an incredible job on this room! what an upgrade!!

[@gabesolis4402]

Cool! Im moving soon and i might put this in my new house!

[@KurtBorg]

Love it! Been waiting for this one since the hand-hold you cast ages ago :D

[@timothyhayes9724]

ooooooo and he can 3D print new ones too!!!

[@hugopohlak5831]

Timothy Hayes kind of useless -takes a lot of time and uses a hell lot of filament

[@gregbowie3695]

Man this is so timely, I've been thinking of doing this in the basement

[@jakoball]

so cool! I bet kids love it. maybe just extend the crash pads out a bit as well, because you tend to fall further back when climbing on the slope. You can also make some wooden holds in forms of angled cut strips or something similar. I just recommend a ring-porous wood like oak, black locust or something similar (wood like beech or maple get really slippery after a while).

[@Ragdllgarage]

If they don’t like the sanded cut out you can add a router round overturn sand and it will be much more pleasing to grab than a squared edge. From one wood worker/carpenter to the next this is fantastic

[@MxMstrStve]

Very cool, Bob.

[@77martinv]

I was waiting for this project as I have a box of holds in my shed waiting to be used... Nice one

[@BrendanEvan]

The most impressive thing Bob's built is a KZbin channel with 3 million subscribers.

[@neetones]

What a great dad.

[@AlexMckillmore]

Good job, I did a similar size wall in my bedroom. However as I have no kids I have a rum dispenser at the top for doing shots mid climb.

[@paulbesser55]

NIIIIICE! I would never have thought T nuts would hold that kind of load. Makes sense now that i see it in action. Hey. I have an idea on final finish for the wall. Snag some of David Picciuto's stone wall paper that he put on his slider doors. Haha.

[@rosered8691]

Brilliant project and very clearly explained. Thanks.

[@alexbrazeau9538]

Thank for the tutorial and have a nice day

[@AppalachianLife]

Nice build. My kids like to be outside so I'm going to build one outdoors.

[@kilometershaldex]

11/10 best dad ever

[@motzemog]

Great job! Looks plenty sturdy and tons of fun.

[@stephenwgreen78]

That's an awesome project. Love making stuff for my boys

[@FranksDIY]

My kids would have loved this when they were small. I guess theirs always the grand kids ? haha

[@thenorwegianmaker]

Aswome build! I wish I thought of that 25 years ago when my kids were at your kids age!

[@reforzar]

Yall rocked this one. Love it.

[@project_idea]

That is really awesome! Now we totally want a climbing wall.

[@maddieberkson7445]

Your kids are extremely lucky, their room already so cool and jts not even funished yet!

[@ewelinarozakaniewska4406]

I love making stuff like you

[@camlennon8015]

A lot of public walls have a surface that is quite rough so that you can get some grip on the wall itself, you could always do a similar thing by mixing sand and paint together

[@frankchen887]

Wow, this is such a great idea! I'm sure your kids love it too :)

[@lorenzomariasantini]

"i wanna make this room the ultimate boy room" you were not kidding at all!! goo idea!!

[@lilywatters3619]

This is a neat project. I wish you'd mention some of the things that work, but you'd do differently if you had a do-over.

[@ArnoutWG]

Best dad ever

[@SoundsWithin]

There is no need to put nuts for the bolts behind the wall?

[@jimcadorette1702]

I just installed a climbing wall and my biggest frustration was installing the hand holds because the holes I drilled were not perpendicular to the wood base and my screws kept cross threading into the t-nuts. My advice for anyone installing one is to make a drill guide by using a drill press to drill a hole into a block of wood (maybe 2" cube) so that all your holes are perpendicular to the surface of the wood. I would also install the hand holds to the base, if possible, before screwing the base wood to the wall to prevent the t-nuts from popping out the back while installing. The holds don't add that much weight to the wall.

[@BillyCollins312]

I love all of your work, but this is the coolest project by far. Lucky kids!

[@BruceAUlrich]

Awesome project! Loved it when all 4 kids were climbing at once & that even Mom & Dad tried it. ;) Great Video, Bob.

[@MaxMakerChannel]

Very nice. I build one myself a few years ago. Its good fun. In case you want that perfect rough texture, I made a tutorial for that.

[@Chairhugiyguk]

I wish i had a dad like you

[@jdpjamesp]

Wish I had these sorts of skills. Would love to do something like this!

[@grahampike3690]

Amazing build!! I don’t have near enough talent to make this, but I still want to make one!!

[@alec4672]

Nice framing! Looks solid expensive lag screws right there. Also glad you didn't just cover the outlet, that'd be highly against code. Maybe a bed liner finish? Nice and grippy, durable. Great video!