Part 2: How to build and official American Ninja Warrior Salmon Ladder! (Concreting the post)

Salmon Ladder Materials List:
Material List for Dual Salmon Ladders:
4 - 12’ 2x4’s (To cut the rungs from)
2 - 10’ 2x4’s (To cut the pieces of 2x4 that go above and beneath the rungs)
8 - 16’ 2x6’s (The main frame for the Salmon Ladders)
2 - 10’ 2x6’s (To join the Salmon Ladders together at the top)
1 - 5 lbs box of 3” screws (Used to screw everything together)
4 - 40 lbs bags of Quikrete Concrete (1 bag is needed for each Salmon Ladder post)
1 - small box of 3” finish nails (Used to hold the rungs in place prior to screwing them down)
1 - Black Steel Fence Post (Common: 1.66-in x 6-ft; Actual: 1.66-in x 6-ft)
Material List for Single Salmon Ladder:
2 - 12’ 2x4’s (To cut the rungs from)
1 - 10’ 2x4’s (To cut the pieces of 2x4 that go above and beneath the rungs)
4 - 16’ 2x6’s (The main frame for the Salmon Ladder)
1 - 10’ 2x6’s (To connect the Salmon Ladder together at the top)
1 - 2 lbs box of 3” screws (Used to screw everything together)
2 - 40 lbs bags of Quikrete Concrete (1 bag is needed for each Salmon Ladder post)
1 - small box of 3” finish nails (Used to hold the rungs in place prior to screwing them down)
1 - Black Steel Fence Post (Common: 1.66-in x 6-ft; Actual: 1.66-in x 6-ft)
• The 16ft 2x6’s will not need to be cut. About 2ft of them will be concreted in the grow leaving 14ft above grow for your Salmon Ladders.
• The rungs are cut on a 35-degree angle measuring 10 ¾” from long point to short point.
• The rungs should be 12” apart. So from the top of one rung to the top of the next should be 12”.
• The 2x4 that goes above the top rung is 12 ½” from straight to short point.
• The 2x4 that goes beneath the bottom rung does not have to be precise because the bottom part of it will be buried in concrete. So just measure it when you get to that part.
• The 2x6 pieces that will be used to frame up the top will need to be measured after you get the salmon ladder post concreted in place. There dimension may vary a little depending on how far apart the post are. It is hard to get them perfect since they are so big and heavy.
• The Salmon Ladder post should be 4ft apart. So if you are building dueling Salmon Ladders you should have all 4 post planted 4ft apart forming a square.
• If you are building single Salmon Ladder, then you will just need to place the 2 post 4ft apart.

[@RossiMethod]

Awesome work, congrats and thank you for this very useful video

[@AlphaDDC07]

Thanks for the videos Nic, I've been looking for the specs for a salmon ladder for ages and looking forward to building it :)

[@NicSteinhaus]

David Christie, That is great to hear! If I can help you with anything please shoot me a message.

[@hermonmak695]

Thanks for the video. Very very helpful in both design and workmanship. Just wondering how to prevent the ladder from sinking...

[@NicSteinhaus]

Hermon Mak If you use concrete like I did you should not have a problem with them sinking. Thank you 🙏

[@brandon4781]

Do you have any video of you doing the salmon ladder with this build, I have seen a handful of others, but there always seems to be significant movement as you go. This seems much stronger though, so interested to see it in action. Regardless great content!!

[@NicSteinhaus]

brandon coleman Thank you. I have not uploaded a video of me doing this Salmon ladder. I’ll try to put one together and upload it. As far as movement, this salmon ladder has next to NO movement at all (even when I lache from one side to the other) since it has four post that are all connected and planted 2 feet into the ground.

[@brandon4781]

Also if I could add, is there anything that you would have changed with the build now that you have had it up for a few months?

[@NicSteinhaus]

brandon coleman The only thing that I still plan on changing on my salmon ladder is just adding some peg holes to the side of it to be able to use it to train for something other than just salmon ladder. Otherwise everything about it has worked out perfect.

[@mygreenmtns]

Nice job. Thanks for a very well done video. What material did you use for the bar? Looked like black iron or galvanized pipe? Good luck and hope you wear out the rungs.

[@NicSteinhaus]

mygreenmtns I happen to have an old-style steel closet rod that I had just taken out of a rental house so I used it. It is not optimal because it weighs over 10 pounds but I listed in the video description the best suited Rod for a salmon ladder. I listed the name of it as it is on Lowe’s website. It is a fence post that measures 1.66“ x 6‘. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

[@makingthatcandy]

Do you think you need to cement it in or could you just attach it to a wooden frame so it was more mobile and didn't have to dig for it?

[@nikolabeleski7003]

I’m in the plans of making one of these for my house in the next week or two, after some time with it would you say it’s a good build overall (as a salmon ladder on its own) or some things that you would tweak on it? Cheers

[@NicSteinhaus]

Nikola Beleski If you were wanting to build one out of wood as I did, there is nothing I would change. I am really enjoying this one. Now if I were up for spending more money when I was building my salmon ladder I would have went to a metal shop and had them weld me some salmon ladder rungs that I could’ve bolted to two 2 x 6 post in the ground. Unfortunately that way was going to cost me a couple hundred dollars more so I went with the way you see in the video. Thank you and good luck with building yours!

[@nikolabeleski7003]

Nic Steinhaus thanks for the response, I looked around and found some pre-fabricated steel rungs I can incorporate into the build. Looking forward to press on with the salmon ladder, grateful for your help and insight on it

[@gem934]

No test run at the end.😢 Nice job. Did you stick a mat or old mattress at bottom in case you slip from up top?

[@NicSteinhaus]

HHFPT Sorry, after I finish building it I was in such a hurry to get it edited and put up on KZbin that I did not even think of filming a test run. When I first started working on the same ladder in my backyard I found that a crib mattress for a baby bed fit perfectly under my salmon ladder and gave me enough cushion and security that I could practice without worrying too much about hitting the ground. I purchased a toddler mattress for $10 off of the Facebook yard sales. :-)

[@NicSteinhaus]

HHFPT That is awesome. You have a lot of building project plans. I am about to add on to my area some more and I’m going to make it more kid friendly so my kids can train on it.

[@jacederosia9785]

How much does it cost to build the Single Salmon Ladder?

[@NicSteinhaus]

Jace DeRosia It should cost around $50-$75 depending on wood cost in your area.

[@jacederosia9785]

@@NicSteinhaus Thanks a lot, I'm looking to build it over my extended spring break

[@NicSteinhaus]

Jace DeRosia No problem! Glad to help.