Climbing Wall (Done)

Last summer I decided to build a climbing wall in my barn. I had the space, a bit of money and like climbing so I figured it would be fun.

Research:
I used www.reddit.com/r/climbing to answer a lot of my questions about how to find holds for cheap, the type of wood to use ect.

I used a bunch of holds I bought off craigslist then order some from a variety pack online. The majority came as factory defects from companies that would sell them to me. I emailed about 20 different climbing hold companies about buying holds that have cosmetic defects for a discount. This proved to be extremely helpful as some sent me free samples and others offered nice holds at extremely discounted rates.

The Build:

The holds came! 

Results:
I found that using an old matress with foam pads underneath was plenty padding for the inevitable falls. I also found that setting climbing routes is actually pretty hard. Its trick to challenge yourself with a route that you cant do first try everytime but thats not completely out of your skill range. People who set route at rock climbing gyms deffinitally have that job for a reason

Lessons Learned:
If I had more time/ money (maybe this coming summer) I will expand because as is size is a bit limiting so the most I can do is 5 to 8 move routes. I also dont like that I wasnt careful with the support brackets on the frame I would have spaced them more evenly and checked because i think some of them are at an angle sort of parallelogram like. If I expand it Ill want to make the next section a bit steeper. This wall was about a -20 degree slope which I found is nice for endurance climbing but short boulding is more suited for steeper overhangs.