Pandemic Project

So...I'm hearing stories of other people using this time for various projects...spring cleaning, catching up on correspondence, craft projects, yard projects, etc. While I definitely have some of those on my list, our big pandemic project thus far has been a home climbing wall. Yup. 

After some discussion, we decided that the stay at home orders were going to last a good while and that Micah's patience might not, lol. Commitment made, then, at the start of April we began rearranging spaces, I ordered holds, Nathan made a scaled model, and we bought a new mattress for Nathan and me... 

Yes, we moved all of those books and bookshelves from the front room to the dining room (along with all the other stuff in there...also sold our digital piano to help finance this project, lol). We're feeling pretty good about our order of holds from Metolius because, in the less than two weeks from when we ordered, it's become increasingly difficult to find holds to purchase. (With all the gyms closed and outdoor climbing being discouraged (so as not to risk hospital trips when hospitals have enough on their plates), climbers everywhere have turned to building home climbing walls! I joined a Facebook group dedicated to home walls and it's the most active group I've ever been part of, lol...and very helpful, too!)

Also, Nathan and I were overdue for a new mattress. We took a chance on one a friend recommended and it shipped to our house in a big box in just days. The boys had some fun seeing who was most flexible on it before we moved it up to our room. The old (memory foam) mattress will now serve as the crash pad for the climbing wall. :) 

And about a week ago, Nathan and Micah had their supply list ready and hit Home Depot on a mission. They were able to find everything and rent a truck to bring it all home. Our garage became the workshop...

We decided it needed to be freestanding and modular, so Nathan designed it to be bolted together with carriage bolts. He and Micah spent many hours working in the garage when time allowed (bonus woodworking and construction lessons for Micah); and, in less than a week, they'd put everything together beautifully and it was time for moving and assembling it. That's how we spent Saturday.

Fortunately, we have three teenage boys. The pieces are heavy. ;P We got the two sides into the house and finished installing the last few t-nuts (which will hold bolt-on holds). Then we brought the first 4' x 8' panel in and got that bolted into place. (Nathan created rails of sorts on the two side pieces that the panels sit in to make assembly easier.)

With the structure stable and set, then, we brought in the last two panels. The second panel was able to be maneuvered into place from below (slide one end up and past the side then drop the other side into the rail...get the first end into place and bolt everything together). The top panel was a little trickier, as it had to go up almost 8 feet. We ended up getting it around back then working together to slide it up the back, climb the structure and fit the panel into place...at which point Nathan was able to bolt it into place. Whew.

That main climbing wall has a surface area of about 8' x 12' and is at about 30 degrees. The vertical side wall comes out almost 8' at the bottom. And here's a progression of our front room over the past couple weeks...

And Micah's been busy setting routes and testing them out and is happy...

Technically, it's not completely finished (beyond the obvious fact that Micah's not finished setting holds). We're missing 25 t-nuts on the vertical side wall. Our plans changed slightly after we'd ordered the hardware. Given the popularity of building home walls right now, the hardware is now backordered most places through the end of the month. Since the climbing community is fabulous, the lovely folks at SToKed Climbing are generously sending us some to finish things off (we left the empty holes at the top, where we can still access easily). Also, at some point, I'd like to paint a design of sorts on the walls, but waiting for that to dry/set fully before using it was going to take longer than we wanted. Once the local climbing gyms open again, maybe I'll get to it. :)

In the meantime, Micah and I are looking forward to some good time spent on this awesome wall (and, yes, boys have also been climbing the pole, lol). If we find some climbing shoes for the three in the house without them, maybe we'll even convince more to join us. ;)

So. What kinds of pandemic projects have you all been busy with? :)