Building Walls at a Climbing Gym
Gearonimo Sports shares a building with Pure Bouldering Gym here in Colorado Springs. This rock climbing gym has decided to add more wall space to their facility, and they are constructing this new section entirely in-house. Their head route setter, Matt, comes from a construction background and has built other large sections of wall at Pure Bouldering Gym before, so he is taking the lead in both design and construction.
So what are they actually building?
They are converting our open sitting area—which was rarely used—into additional climbing wall. The new walls being built will include vertical slabs and slightly overhung routes. Let’s take a look at the steps we’re taking to build the wall. There will be a positive 2-degree section, a perfectly vertical section, a negative 2-degree section, and a negative 5-degree section.
The first step is to build the framing, which consists of 2x4s placed horizontally along the top and bottom, with vertical 2x4s in between, all screwed together. This framing is then stood up into place and nailed into the concrete using Ramset nails, which are driven into the concrete with black powder charges.
After the framing is nailed in, Matt then ties it into the studs of the building. This is where most of the strength comes from, as it transfers the majority of the forces into the strong structural studs of the building.
Once the wall is nailed into the concrete and tied into the studs, the majority of the structural work is complete, so it's time to install the paneling. This also adds to the overall strength of the wall. When the plywood is attached to the vertical 2x4s of the framing, it adds rigidity and ties each part of the frame together, helping to distribute loads more evenly across the structure.
The paneling is simply plywood with t-nuts installed so the holds have something to screw into.
As of now, all the framing has been put up and the paneling has been attached. All that's left is closing up the ends of the walls, painting, and putting in the new mats. Stay tuned for Part 2 to see the finished results.
