It’s quite possible to make a climbing wall with your own hands. A fascinating sports simulator will provide an opportunity to work out endurance, muscles of fingers, arms and flexibility. As for the child, this device will allow him to get to the treasured peak on his own. Changing the placement of the hooks is an excellent motivation for the development of various skills, up to the maximum complexity.
General description of the simulator
A self-made climbing wall is a vertical platform with protrusions that are placed so as to determine the final difficulty of the ascent or descent route. Extreme versions of the simulator provide for the presence of additional planes located at an angle.
The main advantage of the device in question is that it does not take up a lot of usable area. Such an aggregate allows the child to pour out energy, and also supports him in good physical shape, along with improved coordination and plasticity. Climbing also develops logic, perseverance and visual memory.
The overall dimensions and configuration of the climbing wall for children, made with their own hands, depend on the availability of free space allocated for the placement of the simulator. The best and easiest option is to install a sports unit with reference to one of the walls of the room. If possible, you can arrange a corner version on two adjacent wall ceilings. In a standard dwelling, it is appropriate to build a model under the very ceiling (height - 2.5-2.8 meters). An improved version - a self-made climbing wall with a negative slope.
Mounting Features
A homemade climbing simulator is a plywood shield that is reinforced around the perimeter with wooden blocks or steel crossbars. Additional structural rigidity is provided by additional stiffeners made of timber or similar material.
Prepared hooks for a climbing wall are mounted on a fixed shield with your own hands or with the help of specialists. It can be hooks, artificial or natural stones of various shapes and sizes. Gadgets are available at sports stores or through online trading platforms. The hooks should be of a normal size so that the child’s legs and arms do not experience excessive stress. Good modifications to a climbing device are made from a mixture of silica sand and polymers. Such a surface of the parts allows to provide the necessary softness and roughness, guaranteeing the absence of sliding during the ascent or descent. At the initial stage of training, protrusions of a smaller size are used as support for the legs. With the growth of athlete’s skill, they can be moved higher, using as hand hooks.
How to make a climbing wall with your own hands?
For the manufacture of the simulator, the following materials and tools will be required:
- plywood sheet with a thickness of 15 mm;
- timber beam with a section of 70/40 mm;
- countersunk bolts together with dowels for fixing the bar on the wall;
- self-tapping screws for fixing the base and frame;
- hooks with fasteners;
- Allen key
- drill with a drill for 10-12 mm;
- emery;
- decorative details and paint whenever possible.
At the first stage, they develop a project for a children's climbing wall, which is not as difficult to make with your own hands as it seems. Determined with the location of the device, count the number of required parts. The dimensions of plywood directly depend on the total area of the future simulator. Hooks can be sold with or without fasteners, the calculation of the number of stops - 6-7 pieces per square meter.
Skeleton formation
At this stage, make the skeleton of a climbing wall. Holes are drilled around the perimeter of the base through 500-550 mm, into which special dowels made of plastic are placed. To strengthen the structure, stiffeners are added by screwing several wooden planks in the inside of the perimeter.
The overall dimensions of the dowels are selected depending on the wall material. The length and diameter of the bolts is calculated as follows: plus the thickness of the sheet, timber and the length of the dowel. Since a plywood sheet will be attached over the frame, the bolts should be selected with countersunk heads. Fixation of the simulator or hooks to plasterboard sheets is not allowed.
Base manufacture
First you need to cut the plywood sheets, according to the design of the climbing wall, created by yourself. You can do this operation yourself with the help of a milling tool or order cutting for specialists. Many hardware stores provide this service. On the finished base mark the labels for future holes.
It is recommended to maintain the grid in increments of 200-250 mm vertically and horizontally. This will allow you to rearrange the hooks in other positions, displaying several options for lifting routes. If the diameter of the nut is 10, with the help of a drill 11 mm and a drill, the holes themselves are made. The operation is performed on the front side, which will allow you to display possible chips on the back of the sheet. Special clips (“bulldogs”) are driven into each nest. The finished base is screwed onto the frame using suitable screws. Then the surface is treated with emery and painted, if desired.
Hook mounting
At the final stage of assembly of the simulator, hooks are installed. They are fixed in pre-made holes with bolts tightened with an Allen key. The specified design of the device makes it possible to vary the placement of the stops, complicating or simplifying the route.
Some users recommend mounting plywood directly on the wall. However, it is not always possible to calculate the required length of fasteners, which complicates the assembly process. Climbing hooks can be bought at specialized stores or online, they differ in shape, size and color. The most affordable option for equipping the simulator in question is the installation of hooks directly on the wall, without even using plywood sheets. There is one significant minus - the monotonous track will quickly bother the child, and the creation of new routes will require drilling additional holes. In addition, such a design wears out quickly, loses its presentation and gets dirty.
Recommendations
One of the most optimal versions of creating a climbing wall in a summer house with their own hands, according to users, is a wall of four plywood sheets located at a small negative angle. The advantages of this design:
- Easy to assemble and install.
- The vertical adaptation is perfectly mastered not only by adults, but also by children. The hovering stand is difficult at the first stages of classes, but it is perfectly suitable in the future development of an athlete.
- Safety, which is expressed in the fact that when falling, the child will not hit the lower stops, but will fall directly onto the mat, which must be placed under the simulator.
- The slope should not be too large, a sufficiently small deviation.
Total
No matter how perfect the climbing wall (made independently or purchased in the store), it is necessary to ensure the safety of the use of sports equipment. To do this, put a special mat or mattress below, which reduces the force of impact in the event of an accidental fall. So that the hands of the little conqueror of the peaks do not slide along the hooks, they are covered with magnesia. In the first classes, an experienced mentor or one of the parents must be present next to the child.