This week’s HWOW is a dual-angle Covid build out of Washington, DC. With the help of a contractor and some used materials, Elliott B. renovated his garage roof in order to make room for his new toy. Check out past HWOW here.
When did you build your wall? Was it a COVID baby?
May 2020. I’ve thought about building a wall for a long time prior to this but climbing outside or at the gym always got in the way, so being stuck inside pushed us to actually get it done.
How long did it take you to build and what did that time look like?
We hired a contractor who had done a bunch of work for my friend, both on his house and building a home woodie and a Moonboard. It took two weeks in total, with some days not working.
Not including holds and padding, how much did it cost you to build? Any surprises there?
We paid the contractor, Leo, $15k, but that was mostly to rebuild the garage roof and structure, and redo the gutters on the house. The wall cost was part of that, but not broken out of the total cost.
What was your primary incentive for the wall? Did anything in particular inspire your wall design?
Well, we got the home wall third-hand. Someone had built it and given it away to another person, and we got it from that person. So we got the disassembled wall from that person; panels, 2x4s, holds and all from him. And the idea was to put that wall into the garage space.
What are the dimensions of your wall?
It’s about 11 feet wide, 9 feet tall, at about 35-degree angle. There is a short vert wall which about 8 by 8 feet, though most of that is under the angled wall.
What was the most difficult aspect of the design and build?
So the wall is in the garage, but the garage was very old, with a leaky roof, and the roof was designed in such a way that it was very low, so the big cost was the contractor ripping off the roof and building a taller roof, and building in such a way that the support structure was mostly on the half of the garage that doesn’t have the wall, so that there was more height for the wall.
What would you do differently?
Done it earlier. We have been needing to do this for years, but before quarantine I was always going away for climbing trips and couldn’t focus on doing what I needed to get this done.
What is your favorite aspect?
How large the wall is and how close it is. Also, as part of the renovation we had an electric garage door installed as well so you can have a nice, airy experience.
Did you make any mistakes along the way or choose to re-do any aspects?
The wall was built from materials used in a 2 prior homewall builds of two different owners. Initially I thought the wall would be rebuilt as it had been in prior location, but actually they just used the materials to build a new wall. Knowing what I know now I probably would have extended it to be able to accommodate a full Moonboard set up. As it stands it should be able to approximate mini Moonboard.
How often do you use the wall? Do you think you’ll still use it as much when all of the gyms open back up?
I’m doing a Lattice plan right now, so I usually use it 2-3 times per week at the moment, depending on what the plan directs.
Any words of wisdom to aspiring homewallers?
Do it now! The sooner you do it, the sooner you can have years of fun and training.
Want us to consider your woodie for a future Homewall of the Week? Submit your homewall here to be considered. If yours is chosen you’ll win a prize like this (prizes vary each week):
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