DIY Moonboard Cost Estimate Spreadsheet

Joe Ferrare wrote: Does anyone know if escape’s industrial tnuts are compatible with the moonboard holds? I thought that they were generally universal but the escape rep raised some doubts. 

I used those on my MB and it worked great.

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Much appreciated!

Something to consider: I found ordering the bolts (and t-nuts) through Moon to be -considerably- less expensive than anything I could find on the internet.  They’re also -very- high quality, and the depths and counts correspond exactly with the holdsets...

Mark Paulson wrote: Something to consider: I found ordering the bolts (and t-nuts) through Moon to be -considerably- less expensive than anything I could find on the internet.  They’re also -very- high quality, and the depths and counts correspond exactly with the holdsets...

That is definitely worth considering. In my case, I need stainless steel hardware that can endure the elements since my wall will be outside. I'm sure the bolts and tnuts from MoonBoard are high quality, but I believe they are meant for indoor settings.

Joe Ferrare wrote:

That is definitely worth considering. In my case, I need stainless steel hardware that can endure the elements since my wall will be outside. I'm sure the bolts and tnuts from MoonBoard are high quality, but I believe they are meant for indoor settings.

Like, outside and covered, or outside and getting rained on?  Mine is outside and covered, and based on the quality of the Moon hardware plating, I'm not worried about corrosion at all (and it gets -real- humid in NC). If it's getting wet-wet, yeah, go with SS, though the cost is gonna be formidable...

Mark Paulson wrote:

Like, outside and covered, or outside and getting rained on?  Mine is outside and covered, and based on the quality of the Moon hardware plating, I'm not worried about corrosion at all (and it gets -real- humid in NC). If it's getting wet-wet, yeah, go with SS, though the cost is gonna be formidable...

There will be a small roof that covers the wall and landing area. But I live in the PNW; it's going to get wet. No doubt about the cost...

Joe Ferrarewrote:

There will be a small roof that covers the wall and landing area. But I live in the PNW; it's going to get wet. No doubt about the cost...

Did you end up doing this build? I started looking at rock walls for my daughter and ended up... Well looking at them for me and was curious how yours ended up as a PNWer who would build outside too. Curious how you designed it and what your cost estimate was if that isn't too personal.

Corey Fisherwrote:

Did you end up doing this build? I started looking at rock walls for my daughter and ended up... Well looking at them for me and was curious how yours ended up as a PNWer who would build outside too. Curious how you designed it and what your cost estimate was if that isn't too personal.

Hi Corey. I just started the build. I'm not a skilled carpenter so I'm trying to take my time to make sure I get things mostly right. So far I have painted all the lumber and installed the t-nuts on all panels. When completed, it will consist of a standard 40-degree Moonboard with an attached 15-degree spray wall that is 12ft tall by 4ft wide (i.e., 1.5 plywood sheets) and a triangular panel that covers the 25-degree gap between the two walls. The structure will be freestanding using a design that is similar to this: youtube.com/watch?v=nt82RQE… . I will also be adding a roof using polycarbonate roofing panels. I don't have any pictures to share yet, but I will post them in the next few weeks as the frame is assembled.

I purchased high quality ACX plywood at ~$65 / sheet and then primed and painted each sheet with an enamel that should hold up to being kicked etc. I am using fir 2x6s and 2x4s for the frame and primed and painted using an exterior acrylic paint. I put two coats on everything, including the edges/ends where the lumber is especially vulnerable to water absorption (so I'm told).

For the t-nuts and bolts, I went with a combination of Escape's industrial stainless t-nuts/stainless bolts and Atomik's stainless t-nuts/bolts. I would have used Escape's t-nuts for the entire wall but they ran out and last I checked they didn't expect to have more until mid-July or so.

I purchased the yellow, white, and black Moonboard hold sets. I have received the black set after 9 weeks and I'm still waiting for the yellow and white. It's been 10 weeks. For the spray wall, I purchased a 100-pack assortment from Atomik holds. I'll buy more once I get a feel for how I want to customize the spray wall.

Approximate expenses so far:
1. Mooboard holds: $950, including shipping
2. Atomik holds, 100 pack: $410 + shipping (maybe $35, can't remember)
3. Escape industrial t-nuts, 200ct: $175
4. Atomik stainless steel t-nuts, 100ct: $100
5. Escape stainless steel bolts, 175 ct: $165
6. Atomik stainless steel bolts, 100ct: $110
7. ACX Plywood, x 7 sheets: $450
8. Fir 12' 2x6s, x 25: $310
9. Fir 12' 2x4s, x 2:  $17
10. Stainless steel wood screws, 200ct: $6
11. Joist connectors (variety of Ts, 90 deg., & plates): $50
12. Paint (1 gallon wood primer; 1 gallon enamel; 2 gallons exterior acrylic): $325

That puts the total at just over $3,000. That doesn't include any tools you might need: drill, impact driver, circular saw, mitre saw, clamps, drill bit guide have all been helpful so far. I also still need to purchase the polycarbonate roof panels, but those are relatively inexpensive. Typically, it seems that folks build a Moonboard for about $2,000 depending on whether or not they install LEDs. However, the cost of adding the extra spray wall and buying materials to withstand rain (paint, stainless hardware, ACX ply) added an extra $1,000.

Feel free to follow up with any questions. I'll update with some pics once this thing starts to take form.

Max Rwrote: Lumber prices are sure steep where you live. I think that my total lumber cost for building my moonboard was around $150, including delivery. I used 7 12-foot 2x4s and this achieves very minimal flex. Chalkboard paint is the way to go if you're not shelling out for the LED kit. Make sure that you drill the holes and install T-nuts before positioning the 2x4s.

Love this idea (chalkboard paint instead of LEDs to save $). Have you tried it out? Is it working well?

S Misawrote:

Love this idea (chalkboard paint instead of LEDs to save $). Have you tried it out? Is it working well?

Yes the chalkboard paint works well. LEDs work better but the cost isn’t worth it to me. 

Hey all, I have a question about bolt lengths.  I just got white Set A holds.  The website says the bolts for this are: 40 pcs 3/8" x 2.5", 10 pcs 3/8" x 3.5" (40 pcs M10 x 60mm 10 pcs M10 x 90mm).  Are these numbers accurate?  I feel like I should probably just believe them because they're on Moon's website, but I saw another poster say he mostly used 2" bolts.

I happen to have a bunch of 2" bolts and would rather not buy new hardware unless I really need it, so I just thought I'd ask.  Thanks everyone.

dsm75wrote:

Hey all, I have a question about bolt lengths.  I just got white Set A holds.  The website says the bolts for this are: 40 pcs 3/8" x 2.5", 10 pcs 3/8" x 3.5" (40 pcs M10 x 60mm 10 pcs M10 x 90mm).  Are these numbers accurate?  I feel like I should probably just believe them because they're on Moon's website, but I saw another poster say he mostly used 2" bolts.

I happen to have a bunch of 2" bolts and would rather not buy new hardware unless I really need it, so I just thought I'd ask.  Thanks everyone.

There are a few holds where you could use smaller bolts, but a large number of the holds definitely need the longer bolts. If anything, they err on the short side, and it took a while to figure which holds required which bolts... at first it seemed we were shorted on the long bolts, but we ultimately ended up making everything work. We ended up getting all our hardware from Moon (in metric sizes), and I'm glad we did- super high quality, and all the lengths are correct. Plus, the prices seemed significantly lower than anywhere else we looked at. Remember that the Moon hold washers that are molded into the holds are beveled, and require flat socket head cap screws, not your standard climbing gym bolt. I'm sure you could just mash them in with standard bolts, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Hey, thank you for the response. At least now I know for sure my 2" bolts are not going to cut it. I don't have many flat head either...

You've got me thinking about just buying bolts from them. I have an outdoor wall, so I'm going to email them and see if they've got bolts for outdoor walls.

thanks again!

Edit: in case anyone wants to know, the Moon folks said their bolts are stainless steel.

Yeah, I had no idea they were SS until they arrived... I just ordered them because they were cheaper than any -regular- steel bolts I could find. When I got them, I couldn't believe how nice they were.. If anyone is thinking of getting some Moon sets, do yourself a favor and get the corresponding bolts. I'll add that their t-nuts, while burly and high-quality, are zinc-plated steel. That being said, I have zero concerns about corrosion (our board is outdoors but covered).

Has anyone used the Climblight LED controller that you can get from eBay?

It is 100bucks cheaper and it also allows for some custom LED programming through a web interface.  Sounds kinda sweet.