Keep Your Climbing Facility Looking New

In today’s competitive climbing gym market owners are realizing that they must keep their facility looking as good as it did the day it opened. No longer is it acceptable to have bubbling or torn padding, stinky bathrooms, peeling tape signage, or even worse, cracked walls and falling insulation.

But you don’t have to wait till the competition compels you to clean things up before making improvements to your gym, you can take preventative steps to keep your climbing facility looking like new every day regardless of how long ago operations commenced.

PLAN FOR WEAR AND TEAR

Nothing looks new forever, yet your customers will expect your facility to be great regardless of how old it is. To plan for this, facility operators need to pay special attention to high traffic areas that will show wear and tear regardless of your preventative efforts.

In climbing facilities these areas include edges on floor padding, bouldering landing zones, waiver stations and even the climbing wall itself. Perhaps the biggest offender of wear and tear is in the locker rooms and bathrooms. Make sure to keep an eye on tile around toilets and hand dryers as these can easily collect moisture and mold that can go unnoticed.

After identifying areas of concern, note how long it takes for facility elements to begin to show wear, then document the average lifespan and cost of repair or replacement for future planning.

PROTECT HIGH-IMPACT AREAS

In facilities that see hundreds of users every week or every day, high-traffic and high-impact areas need extra protection. In the weight room, extend your flooring system up the wall 30 inches to protect against damage from free weights. Waiver stations should have keyboard and monitor covers to protect equipment from greasy fingers and chalk dust.

Staff can put a lot of wear and tear on your facility too. Add corner guards to high-traffic areas such as equipment and storage rooms, or anywhere moving carts might be used. The entry way to the setters hold room is a common area that takes a lot of beating from carts and wagons let alone routesetters in a hurry to create their masterpiece. Protect these spaces with sturdy door frames and think about adding ramps for wagons to get up on to padded areas.

SELECT EASY TO CLEAN AND VISUALLY FORGIVING FINISHES

When designing your space trendy material choices may not be your best option, particularly if there is no cleaning history for that new product. In the locker room it’s best to select a dark colored mortar for the tile on your floors, since light-colored mortar gets dirty and stains quickly. In the showers use tiles with a matte-finish that won’t show water spots.

The biggest high use area in a climbing gym is of course the climbing wall itself. Choose a textured paint that is easily washable and won’t show boot rubber. Many wall builders are now offering products that either resist chalk and rubber or are cleaned by simply wiping with a cloth.

DEVELOP AN AGGRESSIVE CLEANING PROGRAM

In climbing gyms a standard custodial cleaning is often not enough to keep the facility looking good and to prevent premature aging of surfaces and equipment. Chalk dust is an ever-present nuance that can make your front desk and retail areas look old and neglected in no time.

It is essential to develop a daily cleaning routine of all user areas and regular maintenance cleaning of harder to reach areas like light fixtures, HVAC ducts and vents, railings and retail fixtures. Budget for quarterly deep cleanings to keep your building looking and smelling like new.

BUDGET FOR REGULAR REFRESHES AND REMODELS

Many fitness facilities use a 7- to 10-year planning and remodeling schedule to ensure their space remains fresh and modern. Climbing gyms should consider this same model for ensuring that capital is allocated for minor refreshing and major remodeling projects of user areas.

This goes for the climbing wall too. The average “life expectancy” for a climbing wall is 10 years. Of course walls last much longer than that but your members psyche for climbing on a 10 year old wall depreciates as well. Instead of tearing the whole thing down, consider replacing sections of the wall that you’re unhappy with. In fact, many modern walls are designed with this purpose in mind. A new climbing texture or surface can make your facility feel new again.

MAINTAIN ADEQUATE ATTIC STOCK

The styles and colors of all the products that went into making your facility look good often change from batch to batch, and undergo more significant revisions over time. This makes matching styles for repairs challenging. Maintain plenty of attic stock to allow well-matched repairs and replacements.

 

This article was inspired by the article Ten Tips for Keeping Your Rec Center Looking Like New.