The New Woody

I spent something close to 8 or 10 months on this, but in my defense, it was one hell of a busy year. The homestead is a 100+ year old house, that has been mostly renovated, but I never did much of anything with the old garage, which serves as my woodshop. So we took the battens off th esiding on one end, and added some furring strips.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...2010.18.23.jpg

There just wasn't a lot of room to play with, the end of the building is only aout 14' wide by 15' tall at the peak, so the features are pretty limited.

My daughter is the most avid climber in the family, so she has been the driving force and the workhorse of the project.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...2020.48.29.jpg

Not quite done, but we were done enough for now, and finished off the parts that were completed with chalkboard paint.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...2019.44.48.jpg

The swinging doors still work, just barely. The extra weight causes them to drag on the ground, so I might add a caster on the inside. I almost never use those doors, it's a woodshop not a garage at this point, and I haven't built anythign really large in quite a while.

An old futon pad and a couple fo bouldering pads provide crash protection. Still building a collection of holds, but the daughter has already started putting up routes, and I've gotten a work out in. I think she'll get a lot mor eout of it than I do, she's a boulderer, whereas I really need more time on the sharp end of a rope at this stage of my development. DOesn't matter it's fun.

Glad it's fun so far, but how long until you wish you made it steeper?

The over-under is about 4 days.

And at that point, I think I'll build a mobile wall that can be set up over the deep end of the swimming pool, with adjustable angles. BAsically, this: http://www.mountainproject.com/image...ium_2b2e6c.jpg

i like the idea of this...!
(we sold our house with my last woody and I want to do it soon to the new place)

but I suggest you consider a couple things:
- beefing up the studs/header (go triple king stud at the doors if it's double & 4x12 header if it's not already)
- bolster the stud wall w/ plywood on the inside if it's not already there under the siding (1/2 or better)
- plywd on the two side walls for 4' away from the corners (shear walls perpendicular to the climbing zone)
- diagonal struts behind the gable extension & blocking between trusses to brace this load
- the doors are basically fucked as doors - need more HD hinges or continuous HD piano hinge...i'd suggest creating a locking pin that can restrain them in a REALLY strong lockdown mode if you want to open them occasionally. Otherwise make the one with the overhang permanently closed, and plan on the working one coming loose and falling at some point
- i'd also consider extending the eave somehow to keep the weather off, project it at least 30" (that upturned shelf is going to need a weather cover at least)

(if you've already done any of this, just tell me to fuck off :) )

hope she has fun with it!

That's pretty cool. Nice job!

That certainly sounds like how it SHOULD be built, but I built this with an expected lifespan of four years (till the daughter goes to college), not 50. Sheathing the interior side is on my list, though. Do you really think shear walls on the perpendicular are necessary? Even with my weight on the holds, am I really going to rack the framing. It's actual 2"x4" construction, that has had 100 years for the native pine to dry out and harden up.

As to extending the eaves, this is Boise, rain is not really our problem. I'm actually thinking of hanging a fabric sun shade over the whole area.

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Originally Posted by Jamespio

That certainly sounds like how it SHOULD be built, but I built this with an expected lifespan of four years (till the daughter goes to college), not 50. Sheathing the interior side is on my list, though. Do you really think shear walls on the perpendicular are necessary? Even with my weight on the holds, am I really going to rack the framing. It's actual 2"x4" construction, that has had 100 years for the native pine to dry out and harden up.

As to extending the eaves, this is Boise, rain is not really our problem. I'm actually thinking of hanging a fabric sun shade over the whole area.

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old 2x4 framing, even the nice old growth real 2" material, is undersized when we're talking about dynamic loading (as opposed to gravity). i don't think it's going to fall down tomorrow, but, if it were mine, i'd right-size the framing strategy (i don't mean change the stud wall itself, just bolster it with the steps above)

old structures were designed without any seismic consideration (i realize that we're not dealing with earthquakes, but we are talking about moving, cantilevered weights on the skin of this old structure...so a it's similar idea)

even if the woody disappears, you want the garage to be durable and useful as long as you own it

again, just my internet 2 cents

Looks like a fun project. I always wished I had a place to do something similar if not nearly as grand. Question though, how do you keep the weather from trashing it and the building underneath?

Like I said above, we're in Boise, where weather is just not much of a problem. We have a wet season in the spring, and then everything gets bone dry for the rest of the year. A little bit of snow and rain in the winter, but with long dry periods in between each storm, usually. The building itself is not very watertight to begin with, I have to put a lot of effort into protecting the tools I keep in there. So, I expect I'll be doing some minor sanding and repainting once every year or two, but other than that it sould be fine. The chalkboard paint also strikes me as being pretty durable. It's a latex of some sort, but with a finish that will take chalk, so I expect it will protect trhe wall well. that all remains to be seen, of course.