UKC

Hello,

I'm wondering what wood to use on my climbing wall.

Ply is well expensive. As an alternative, I'm thinking
of using OSB (Oriented Stranded Board).
From what I've been reading, OSB is stronger, or equal to good quality AC ply but normally half the cost.

OSB = £16.99 per sheet
Plywood = £35.99 per sheet
Cheap Ply = £12.99 per sheet

If using ply, I've heard you need to go for the best plyboard as the cheaper stuff could have voids between the sheets that aren't visible, where they use poor quality woods to save money.
This can result in you pulling the T Nut all the way through the wood and a nasty fall.

OSB however contains no voids.

Has anyone used OSB for their climbing wall or can anyone offer any advise
on this point?
I'm wondering whether the T nuts will go in straight on OSB as well??

This sight has some good info on it-
http://www.hstech.org/howto/material/plywood.htm

Cheers

Paul

In reply to Paul213123:
I haven't used OSB on walls before but I have used it extensively on other jobs. I tend to use 'Chinese' far eastern ply (about £18) for walls, which although not the best ply available I would say is better than OSB.
OSB would I think take a T nut direct, I think it would be more critical to get a snug fit on the hole with USB than ply. OSB has inherently more tendency to sag under load or even it's own weight then does ply, this could probably be offset by decreasing the spacing of frame members.
Core voids are most common in shuttering ply and I would not use this for a wall, Chinese far eastern ply does have it's defects, I don't believe any core voids would cause a failure as you described.
Who are you using as a timber supplier?

In reply to Paul213123:

I used 18mm shuttering ply for the first part of my wall and had no problems (frame of 4ft squares, no sagging, no voids found yet).

The second lot of wall was made from good quality 15mm ply (bought at shuttering price - don't ask) and obviously is excelent.

The final part is 18mm shuttering ply and it's shite, full of filler and voids. Placing holds requires an eploratory drill to check for voids before screwing into it.

No idea about OSB but wouldn't gamble on shuttering ply again unless it was free.

jk

In reply to karl walton:

Thanks for your response.
If I could find your chinese far eastern ply for £18 then I'd get that. Where did you get yours? I'm in Hampshire near Hindhead. I will purchase the wood from however will give me the best price for what I need. Jewson's, Travis Perkins, Homebase etc.
The reason I'm considering OSB is that I thought it was a lot cheaper. I reckon the ply I found for £12.99 is probably shuttering ply. The Ply I found for £35 was called Elliotis Ply.
I didn't realise building a home woody was cost as much as it does so am trying to economise whilst obviously keeping it safe.

The woody is being built on the back wall of our garage. It's 8 foot squared almost, so 2 sheets of wood required. One will be set at approx 30 degrees and the other about 15 degrees overhang. I think I will be using 3 maybe 4 vertical 2 x4" joist per sheet and obviously one across the bottom and top.


Cheers for you help

In reply to jkarran:

Thanks for the response.
I've have read about issues will shuttering ply and will avoid at all costs.
Cheers

In reply to Paul213123:

The B&Q near me sells ply for £20. I've used it and not had a problem.

In reply to jkarran:

I just rang Travis Perkins, who told me shuttering ply (£22 plus vat) is as strong as far eastern ply (£44 plus Vat) the only difference is the appearance.
Hmmmm idiots!

In reply to thomasadixon:

Sounds good, was that shuttering ply or better quality?

The last thing I want to do is fall from the ceiling onto my makeshift crash mat following ripping the nut through the wood!

Cheers

This thread was started in the wrong forum and has now been moved.
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In reply to Paul213123:

I used the tongue and groove hardened chipboard they sell for floorboarding.
It's cheap, strong and fits together seamlessly.
My cellar's been in very frequent use for 8 years now and i've had no problems whatsoever with t-nuts, rigidity or anything else.

In reply to john arran:
John,
I have some questions please:-

How many Frame joist do you have running down the back?
How big is the climbing surface?
Is the chipboard 18mm?

Cheers

In reply to Paul213123:

I used 18 mm ply from B and Q. £23 to £24 per 8' x 4' sheet when I bought it last year. Get it from a superstore where they do free cutting.

I'm selling a bouldering cave at present too:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=212325

If nothing else, there are listed pics & construction description for extra ideas.

In reply to Paul213123:
I tend to use a dedicated sheet material suppliers (look in yellow Pages).
Prices do seem to vary a lot over short periods of time and between suppliers.
Delivery will probably be the deciding factor on a supplier if your not collecting it yourself.
I think the OSB or chipboard are both probably good options if you're on a budget and building for yourself.
I use these people.
http://www.lawcris.co.uk/

Thanks for all the advise here.
I think I'll scrap the idea of using OSB and stick to ply even though it's more expensive
Thanks again

In reply to Paul213123:

I'm pretty sure it's thinner than 18mm - from memory I don't think it's more than 12mm but I could go down and measure it if you're really keen.
It came in 8'x2' sheets, which i fitted horizontally, with a 4x2 joist at each end and a 2x2 one in the centre, which seems to work fine. The tongue and groove system means that each piece is given extra stability by its neighbours, essentially making one continuous piece of whatever size you want, which is quite neat really.

If you're in sheff you could come round and see.

In reply to Paul213123

Paul- OSB is NOT suitable for a wall. It is a sheathing boad with tensile strength- and very little resistance to punch shear force.I.E. you will pull the t-nuts through it. Plywood is a totally different matierial. All other things being equal-its strength depends on three main components- 1/ the layup and timber used- 2/the thickness and 3/the type of glue used.

To select the right sort of plywood for your use you should consider the spans the loadings and the fixings. I wont suggest the exact combo you need- but use your common sense and try to understand the loads you are putting on it. In general use fixings with broad heads- and countersink them into the ply wood- make sure that whatever you attach it to is strong enough- and use suitable fixings for all different substrates. There are plenty of good web resources to do your research from. Regarding buying it- go to a builders merchant- look at what he is offering- and dont spend much more than 15-20 quid a sheet inc. vat ex delivery.

Oh- shutter ply almost as strong as veneer play- its just a little more splintery and rough looking.

WBP= water and boil proof glue- needed if its going outdoors- or in a damp place like a wet basement.

Try not to cut down the rain forest- white wood good- dark wood bad.

hope that helps

In reply to Paul213123: I used 'good one side' plywood that is used for flooring, it's cheaper than standard ply, but just as strong. So far it has lasted 20 years!

In reply to Paul213123:

Be careful where your supplier sources his 'cheap' far eastern ply- it's not cheap for no reason.
We (along with most other local authorities) have recently adopted a policy not to use it as the sustainability / environmental accreditation of the original sources can not be guaranteed. It appears that a good portion of this eastern ply has been manufactured using illegally felled trees and is sold on using fake certification.

http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/MultimediaFiles/Live/FullReport/7251.pdf

In reply to Paul213123: i have 17 4' by 4' plywood boards with full fibre glass features on them all drilled and t'nutted for sale, i bought them from a wall that closed down.The features are amazing two boards join and create 1 long tuffa. Im looking for £25 per board, and buyer collects from north east, im getting some pics together and posting these on this site at the weekend but there yours if you want them.

In reply to Paul213123:
For all your plywood requirements call Premier Forest products on 0121 331 2082. We can offer you the advise from professional sales staff on what products to use. James Webber

In reply to Andy Saunders: I andy could you send me pics and your contact details via email to [email protected] be interested in taking some off you...Dan