Framing and Anchor Design: Part I
There are numerous websites dedicated to the planning, materials, and construction of home climbing walls, but none of them discuss anchor designs which allow the wall to be removed easily from the structure to which it is attached. Often times, the climbing wall becomes a permanent, and in many cases, ugly addition to the climber’s home. Here is a simple anchoring system designed to not only allow you to remove your climbing wall for easy maintenance, but you can take it with you if you move with minimal impact to the existing structure.
Disclaimer: I am not a structural design engineer. Before beginning any type of construction where the modification of your home structure is concerned, be sure to consult structural engineers and professional builders for adequate framing techniques and load-bearing analysis if in doubt. I accept no responsibility for damages incurred to yourself or your home.
For the purpose of explaining this anchor design, let's assume the area you have to work with is 8' wide and 10' high, or 80 sq/ft. Typically, your wall studs will be 16" on center, which means every 7 studs is roughly 8' (see Figure 1). This design example also assumes you will build two separate sections for your wall...a 4'x10' vertical section and a 4'x10' overhanging section. A note about overhangs: The more you overhang a section of the wall, the taller the section needs to be if you build to the ceiling. This is important if you plan on anchoring any part of the overhanging section to the ceiling itself. For example, if you overhang a 10' high section by a mere 10°, and your ceiling is 12' high, that section will need to be 10' 1.85" high to reach the ceiling. If you overhang that 10' high section by 20° it will need to be 10' 7.7". This can be determined by using the following equation:
Total Wall Height = Vertical Section Height / (Cosine (degree of overhang))
The first step is to determine where the anchor points for the wall's framing will contact the wall studs. Once you have decided on their placement, drill 1/2" holes through the center of the studs shown in Figure 1.
The Vertical Section
The 4'x10' vertical section of the wall's design will be anchored to the 1st stud and 4th stud shown in Figure 1, which is exactly 4'x10' assuming the studs are 16" on-center (O.C.). To anchor the vertical section to the wall studs, 1/2" holes are drilled in the corresponding locations on the wall's framing and should line up nicely with the anchor holes drilled into the wall studs (see Figure 2). The anchor braces shown are constructed from scrap 3/4" plywood cut into 5" wide lengths and will act as anchor trusses at 6 different points on the wall. You will need two anchor braces per anchor point...one on the outside of the stud, and one on the inside. If using scrap 2x4 for the braces, you can get away with using 1 truss per anchor point. In some instances, you may have an elevated portion of the cement foundation in your basemenet or garage to rest the wall itself on. This displaces much of the wall's weight onto the floor and not directly onto the wall studs, allowing the studs to simply hold the wall vertically in place.
The Overhanging Section
The overhanging section illustrated in Figure 3 will be framed in exactly the same manner as the vertical section with the only difference being the lengths of the plywood braces used to anchor the wall. The braces will need to be altered to accommodate the desired angle of overhang. You will notice that the overhanging section will be anchored to the 4th and 7th studs represented in Figure 1. Which means that the 4th stud will anchor both sections at the same anchor points. Plywood can be attached to the side of the overhanging section to create a fun arete feature, which also creates a small corner as it is anchored adjacent to the vertical section.
Continue to Framing and Anchor Design: Part 2 >>