Build Your Own Climbing Wall

Have you ever wanted to build your own rock wall at home but lack the finance, know-how, or even resources? Well, there are some really great resources and how-to videos scattered about online for the do-it-yourself personality. It will cost money and take some time but building your own climbing wall is an excellent way to hone your skills in the privacy of your garage, backyard, or even your bedroom. Depending on the complexity of your own imagination and the physics of space and supplies to work with, you have the oppotunity to build something better than some of the artificial problems at your local gym.

Build a Climbing Wall by Todd Hahn
Not too bad; he built a pretty impressive 8' x 20' workout wall in his garage for about $2,000.

Build a Climbing Cave
Pretty interesting, this Australian group shows a rough plan on how to build a cave for your backyard. A lot of work, but probably worth it in the end.

Here is a video step-by-step of a corner garage build


Want more Professional Plans?
This link gives you plans for both a vertical climbing wall and a overhanging wall. Very thorough and straightforward.

Still Not satisfied? How bout a word from a professional wall builder and climber?
Sponsored, world-renowned, climbing extraordinaire Steph Davis enlisted the help of her personal wall-constructor Noah Bigwood (please hold your jokes) to answer the big question about building a home climbing wall. He had some good suggestions. You might want to check it out.

Try building your own holds instead of buying
So, you just constructed a wicked wall or cave...that was the cheap part believe it or not. The holds are going to cost a small fortune (don't believe me, check the prices here.) Especially if you want to incorporate more than one single bouldering route. Well, why stop with building the wall, when you can also build the holds? This link is to a very interesting site by Stephen Williamson where he shows you how to build different holds from common hardware items.

Putting it all together.
This guy built a bunch of different styles of home climbing walls and was nice enough to share some of his photos and thoughts on his projects.