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home (outdoor) climbing wall

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PrettyLady 26 Jan 2017
We are thinking of creating a smallish climbing wall at home on an outside wall of our house. It is breeze block, about two storeys high. I understand that the usual way to attach finger holds etc is from the back through plywood, which facilitates changing the positioning of the holds. Can anyone give me some advice on this, please? If it is just not possible then fair enough but I would like to think I have explored all avenues. Thanks.
 jkarran 26 Jan 2017
In reply to PrettyLady:

What type of climbing wall do you want, what do you want to do with it, what climate and aspect, what space, tools, skills and budget do you have?

Not trying to be an arse, it's easy to screw some holds to a block wall and that may suffice for a while but it may not, it helps to understand what the aim is.
Jk
 TonyB 26 Jan 2017
In reply to PrettyLady:

I agree with JK that bolting some holds on the side might not suffice.

This is my wall https://www.ukclimbing.com/images/dbpage.php?id=219874

It's obviously in the garden but has several advantages. I think that vertical walls are poor for training on for most people, and a steeper wall might give more longevity. Also I can easily move holds around on my wall, and experiment with route setting. I think this could be a pain on an external wall. Finally, it would be relatively trivial for me to remove the wall if we sold the house. I'm not sure if any of these are things that you might want to think about.

My wall catches the evening sun. On hindsight I think that's about right. It means that I can climb on it after work during winter, but in summer I need to wait until the sun goes down. Also at 30 degrees, it stays dry in the rain, unless the wind blows it into the wall.
 Oogachooga 26 Jan 2017
In reply to PrettyLady:

This is something I'd probably do, my 2c...

If its your house why not, the enjoyment you'll get from it will be worth the work needed to put right after.

If it was me, I'd take an area and drill uniform holes spaced evenly apart (to allow for resetting), using the height of the wall. Drilling two at the top for top rope anchors aswell.

Personally I would use 10mm expansion bolts and glue them in addition, leaving them 2mm extra deep for easy covering apon resale of the house.
3
 Durbs 27 Jan 2017
In reply to PrettyLady:

I've just finished doing just this - an outdoor bouldering wall attached to the side of our house.

https://www.instagram.com/paul_on_cajon/
Show's the work in progress

Was route-setting last night, first climb tonight!
 fmck 27 Jan 2017
In reply to Oogachooga:

> If its your house why not, the enjoyment you'll get from it will be worth the work needed to put right after.

A little issue that you need to have a building warrant at least to legally do this to your home. Your loading this wall in a manner it was not designed for and it would require a structural engineers report and probable strengthening works to achieve building warrant approval.
To be honest it wouldn't stop me either but a mate was having some work done to his front entrance that required a visit from building control. The guy seen the training wall attached to the building and had him remove it or he wouldn't of given him the building warrant approval for the work being carried out. At first I thought what an a**e but his reasons I could understand and fair enough he was only doing his job.
PrettyLady 28 Jan 2017
In reply to PrettyLady:

Thanks everyone. Sounds like it might be more hassle than it's worth. Kids are enjoying the local wall, so Just thought it would be a good way to get them some extra practice when you can buy packs of holds for not too much cash. I can see the Council might not like it (and it would be visible from the road so not exactly under the radar), they seem to be quite strict. Don't really want to spend a fortune, especially if I could be told to take it down again. Disappointing.
PrettyLady 28 Jan 2017
In reply to Durbs:
This loo,s great. Shame we couldn't build a false wall like that on our house.
Post edited at 21:48
PrettyLady 28 Jan 2017
In reply to TonyB:
Wall looks great. Thanks for posting the picture.
 stp 29 Jan 2017
In reply to PrettyLady:
It need not be expensive or difficult or even problematic with the council.

There is a wall on the side of house near me, one of the first in Sheffield I believe, that's been there for 30+ years. It's visible if someone points it out but is basically just some bits of wood screwed into the wall. Very simple to do if you've got a drill. Another simple cheap way would be to use some epoxy cement and just stick that straight on. This would be harder to remove but unobtrusive, particularly if it's the same colour as the wall.

Some walls are good for climbing without doing anything to them. If the depth of the cement joins are deep enough you can just climb on those - sometimes known as buildering.
Post edited at 08:42
 Durbs 30 Jan 2017
In reply to PrettyLady:

Depending on the size you want - could you look at a free-standing one?

Most people (I would guess "all") build home bouldering walls, rather than ones for ropes.
Another option to look at, if it's just for kids, is attaching plyboard to a climbing frame and sticking holds to that (both sides!)
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