Garage Woody Design

I'm thinking of building an oversized moonboard in my garage this winter. I am thinking of using same length of climbing surface, but make it 11ft wide instead of 8(allows it to fit). Also, I want to make the main climbing surface have an adjustable angle. It would pivot from the kickboard and be attached via chains to the wall and a 1320lb hoist from amazon also attached to the wall. Does anyone think that using 8 or so regular door hinges would not work? 

Also, I plan to purchase some Moonboard holds possibly the new ones or maybe just the set A and B.  Unless there is something else to use that could be on par with the Moonboard route database.  Adding in extra holds with the extra space for some warm-up etc...

Rather than "regular" door hinges, like what you'd see on a bathroom door, go with long, beefy ones that might be at home on a barn door. And bolt/washer/nut them on rather than use screws.

I will definitely use some beefy hinges and bolt em instead of screws, great suggestion.

Keep em coming

We built an adjustable wall once.  Instead of hinges we just extended the vertical supports up from the kicker and down from the wall a little.  Then we just ran a piece of one inch steel pipe through holes drilled in the overlapping supports.

How high is your ceiling? An unmodified moonboard is 40 degrees and needs 10'4" inches of height so unless you have 11+ foot ceilings you won't have the height to adjust the board to be any less steep. Just being able to make it steeper might not be worth the hassle.

Sturdy barn or gate hinges should work fine, the wall surface may flex and twist side to side as you try to change the angle depending on how you attach the hoist. 

The tension board has the only other similar database i'm aware of. 

I'm lucky to have 12.5ft ceiling in the garage, I think that will get some good adjustability. I haven't tried to figure out the math on it yet.

A steel pipe is interesting, do they carry them at a typical home improvement store ie Lowe's?

Any suggestions for other holds to go on the wall, more for warm up and the wife?

Everything I've read about adjustable walls is that it hasn't been worth it. They almost never get adjusted because it is a pain. Walls are heavy.

I have read the same things about an adjustable wall not being worth it most of the time. I think it will work for me because of my high ceilings, and reclaiming the space in my garage for other things. Plus, it will allow the wife to use it now vs in six months when she can consistently do v4.

Greg Koeppen wrote:

A steel pipe is interesting, do they carry them at a typical home improvement store ie Lowe's?

Look for gas line or electrical conduit. Conduit is cheaper.

With ceilings that high you should be able to get it up to 23-ish degrees I think. Which is nice because moon seems to be introducing the idea of a 25 degree moonboard based on the angles their freestanding wall can be set at.

I wouldn't do the pipe thing for a wall that wide, it won't be easy to make it support the wall in the middle. Better to just use a bunch of big hinges located near the "studs" of the wall.

You probably also want to reinforce the top piece of the wall as it will only be supported at the sides by the chains 11 feet apart. You could look up what size lumber and beams you'd need to use to build a floor or deck with a 12 by 11 foot unsupported span.

I was thinking of using 3 chains to support it in the middle as well as a 2x10 top board.