12ft Wide Freestanding Home Wall Questions

I’m planning on building a freestanding wall in my garage and I have 12 feet to play with for the width. I am debating between 8w x 10h, 10w x 10h, or 12w x 10h. There are a bunch designs and videos online I can follow for 8 x 10, but I haven’t seen any for a freestanding wall 12ft wide.

What things should I consider when adapting plans from 8w to 12w? Is 12w too long for a freestanding structure? Is 8 ft wide plenty of room for playing around on or would I regret not going as wide as possible?

It is going to be a spray wall, between 30-35 degrees, with a kicker between 8-10 inches. I’m also debating on using angled cuts for the base or multiple hinges for potential adjustability. Thanks for any input!

I've built a 10x10 freestanding wall and it's awesome (I used a similar design as this). I'd definitely say go as big as possible, it gives you more climbing space. Most boards tend to be 8 feet wide, because that's how wide plywood usually is. While you'd probably be happy with that, if you have the room and you're building a "non-standard" wall, might as well use all the space you have!

I used 2x8's for the frame and the support legs, and it's tank. I ran studs every 2 feet. Hardly flexes at all. The one consideration is that you will want to double up the framing where plywood panelling meets, so that you're not trying to screw two pieces of plywood into a single 1.5 inch wide stud. 

My board is on hinges, but I will never adjust it. Building on hinges makes the construction easier since you don't need to worry about cutting precise angles. I just attached the framing together on hinges, raised it as high as my ceiling allowed, and fixed it in place. It ended up at 40 degrees, which is perfect for me. I think this makes the building much easier, and if you're not building a standard board (moonboard, tension board etc) the precise angle doesn't really matter. 

Go for it!

Go big if you like to do big moves on big holds, and if you have plenty of hold budget/the wall will be around long enough that it'll get covered in holds. For a spray wall at 30-35 the density can be very high, so if you think it might take years and years to get ~400+ holds, the width won't matter. On the other hand if you make your own holds, like climbing on huge volumes, or have a large hold budget, then going bigger makes more sense. Mine is 8ft wide by 12 long at 45, which for me is plenty at that angle

. If I had 12ft width I think I would make a dual angle wall. Maybe 10/45. On my 45 warming up requires quite a bit of off the wall work just to get my shoulders and back ready. 

Ys Brand wrote:

I've built a 10x10 freestanding wall and it's awesome (I used a similar design as this). I'd definitely say go as big as possible, it gives you more climbing space. Most boards tend to be 8 feet wide, because that's how wide plywood usually is. While you'd probably be happy with that, if you have the room and you're building a "non-standard" wall, might as well use all the space you have!

I used 2x8's for the frame and the support legs, and it's tank. I ran studs every 2 feet. Hardly flexes at all. The one consideration is that you will want to double up the framing where plywood panelling meets, so that you're not trying to screw two pieces of plywood into a single 1.5 inch wide stud. 

My board is on hinges, but I will never adjust it. Building on hinges makes the construction easier since you don't need to worry about cutting precise angles. I just attached the framing together on hinges, raised it as high as my ceiling allowed, and fixed it in place. It ended up at 40 degrees, which is perfect for me. I think this makes the building much easier, and if you're not building a standard board (moonboard, tension board etc) the precise angle doesn't really matter. 

Go for it!

This is awesome. Thank you! I think I'll go for either 10x10 or 10x12 for sure then.

As for wall design, I have the climber dad's pdf for how to construct the wall. I plan on doing something similar, but will use wood instead of ratchet straps at the bottom.  I like the idea of using hinges to make the building process easier. I will probably end up with a fixed angle, but I like the option to change it gives. What type and how many hinges did you end up using?  Also, Do you think I can get away with 2x6s? My friend thinks 2x4s would be sufficient and thinks 2x6 or 2x8s would be too heavy, but it looks like your 2x8s hold up just fine. 

Jackson McCoy wrote:

Go big if you like to do big moves on big holds, and if you have plenty of hold budget/the wall will be around long enough that it'll get covered in holds. For a spray wall at 30-35 the density can be very high, so if you think it might take years and years to get ~400+ holds, the width won't matter. On the other hand if you make your own holds, like climbing on huge volumes, or have a large hold budget, then going bigger makes more sense. Mine is 8ft wide by 12 long at 45, which for me is plenty at that angle

. If I had 12ft width I think I would make a dual angle wall. Maybe 10/45. On my 45 warming up requires quite a bit of off the wall work just to get my shoulders and back ready.

I had a feeling I might regret not taking advantage of the extra space if I went with just 8 feet wide. I'll go as big as I can then. I was really mainly considering 8 wide to make the building process easier. As for hold, I plan on collecting them over a long period of time, so I'm in no rush to fill in the space. I will end up doing just one angle since it will be easier to build free standing. Hopefully it shouldn't have to go any steeper than 35.

I'm not an engineer, but I don't think "weight" is an issue. The supporting 2x8 legs can take a huge axial load. My whole frame is 2x8's and I don't think it's a problem. 2x6's should be ok too from what I've read. You might have some flexing with 2x4's. I wouldn't recommend 2x4's personally, but they could probably work. Not sure why you'd want to risk it though. 

I used 5 heavy duty gate hinges, something like these. 

If you plan on having this for a long time, do not go less steep than 35 degrees. 40 is ideal for boards in my personal experience. 45 if ceiling height is limited.

My board is 30 degrees and I think it’s perfect for training 12+ climbing. Anything steeper probably would be hard to circuit on. I would strongly recommend building a kicker. Metilous has a fantastic plan. I also did my wall with 2x8s it does not wiggle at all. Build it as big as you can.

Height (length) is more important than width. If you go steeper and it means you can make it 12' that would be better. Because you can get more vertical climbing moves in per problem.

I'd also go with the wider width. Even if you just build the frame 12' wide, and the climbing surface is 8' in the middle of it, with 2' on either side open frame, or possibly cracks. Then when you fall off, or make big dynamic moves you won't hit any of the framing.

Built an 8'x8' wall because that's what fit in the garage of the home we were renting. Definitely wish it was at least a couple of feet bigger, both length and width...(insert Steve Carell joke here). I think the bigger you can the better. I've essentially just made a systems board, otherwise I'd be changing holds/routes constantly for variety.

Trevor Taylor wrote:

My board is 30 degrees and I think it’s perfect for training 12+ climbing. Anything steeper probably would be hard to circuit on. I would strongly recommend building a kicker. Metilous has a fantastic plan. I also did my wall with 2x8s it does not wiggle at all. Build it as big as you can.

I'm skeptical whether a woody can serve both purposes. It's either ok for lapping or for hard bouldering. I'd rather err in the side of the latter. But maybe my endurance is just too bad, I mostly climb short routes. Absolutely agree with build as big as you can - that's sort of rule #1 of building a woody.

I think 2x6s are perfectly fine for a wall, that's what I've got and it's certainly stiff enough. I'll echo what Glowering said, you'll probably end up putting the vast majority of your holds in the middle 8' of your board, but might as well go with 12' wide anyways. I'd say 40 degrees is perfect if you're in the 12- or harder range for circuits if you get the right combo of jugs and crimps

Pino Pepino wrote:

I'm skeptical whether a woody can serve both purposes. It's either ok for lapping or for hard bouldering. I'd rather err in the side of the latter. But maybe my endurance is just too bad, I mostly climb short routes. Absolutely agree with build as big as you can - that's sort of rule #1 of building a woody.

I have had a pretty good bouldering season for myself personally using my wall initially for bouldering. It is pretty rare to find boulders here that are severely overhanging, what is more frequent is slight over hang on the worst feet you can imagine. I also supplemented with TRX/weighted pull ups/hangboarding. I would say build the woody to your priority. I feel like my woody is perfect for me personally at targeting power endurance that replicates outdoor climbing I expect to see all my jugs are either in my horizontal roof or as impossible underclings.