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dyomad
Jun 17, 2005, 3:55 AM
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I know the ideal plywood size is 3/4" but I can get 1/2" for free and this would obviously cut down on the cost of my wall. I would double up each piece so I'd be using 1" worth of wood. This will lead to more cutting certainly and thus more swearing, but less cost and thus a more wife friendly wall. Does anyone have any experience using thicknesses other than 3/4"? Thanks.
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atha152
Jun 17, 2005, 4:16 AM
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I just finished a wall 3 weeks ago with 3/4 plywood and it worked. My main concern using 2 pieces of 1/2 would be trying to keep the holes lined up for t-nuts from sheet to sheet. I guess you could use liquid nails glue the sheets together prior to drilling.
Atha
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ctardi
Jun 17, 2005, 4:29 AM
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I'm sure you could do 1/2 inch, if you used closer stud spacing.
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tradnomad
Jun 17, 2005, 12:49 PM
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In reply to: I'm sure you could do 1/2 inch, if you used closer stud spacing.
I would go with the double 1/2 inch, if the wood is free it will save you $$$ on studs, and you won't have to worry about the T-nuts ripping through the wood when you are crankin'...
Like someone else said, drill the holes after the two pieces are attached, either glue them, or drill the holes once they are on the wall (if you have access to the back).
Have fun!
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robbovius
Jun 17, 2005, 1:53 PM
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if you're doubling up the 1/2, you'll definitely want to use the screw&glue method to attach the doubled panels to each other if you are using a construction adhesive like liquid nails. I wouldn't trust liquid nails to not eventually separate under the flexing of the wood.
alternatively, you could use a good carpenters wood glue or two part epoxy to laminate the sheets together, though you'd want to make sure that you got full coverage of the gluing surfaces with proper fill in the voids, and need some method to weight the pieces to provide clamping pressure while the glue cures.
whichever you do, drill the t-nut holes after laminating the ply panels, but prior to attaching the panels to the studs. pound inthe t-nuts [prior to attaching too.
having built my bouldiering wall with 3/4, you'll probably need somebody to help you hold the 1" thick stuf in place while screwing it on (with 2-2.5 inch long #10 drywall screws, minimum) because 1 inch ply is HEAVY.
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landgolier
Jun 17, 2005, 2:57 PM
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You may want to go the full monty and screw and glue to laminate the sheets together, but it seems like a quick and dirty solution if you need to drill all your holes before you mount the sheets would be to just throw a few clamps on, drill a couple holes, and just mount a couple of holds. 4 or 5 holds on each 4x8 section should keep things lined up until you get it mounted to the studs, and then the drywall/deck screws in the studs should be enough if you space them a bit tighter than you would with the lighter 3/4". Plus, if you use some big jugs it'll give you something convenient to hold on to while you mount it. No extra screws, no glue, though bear in mind that this reccomendation is wholly unencumbered by the testing process.
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pixelguru
Jun 17, 2005, 3:17 PM
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My experience:
Just using 1/2" is not advisable. Not only is it too flimsy for a 185lb guy like me, most T-Nuts will prodrude through the front when set into 1/2" ply. This means that you can't even get a hold tight, and the t-nut rips out the first time you use it. Grinding down the t-nuts will get them to fit, but is a pain and can mess up the threads.
I used doubled 1/2" ply - screwed and liquid nailed together - for a couple of roof panels. I thought it needed the added strength, but it turned out to be overkill, and the panels were a lot heavier & harder to install. I should have countersunk my t-nuts on these panels because on some of the roof jugs, even the longest bolts don't reach the threads.
I would think that drilling your t-nut holes before you laminate the two pieces of ply together is an exercise in insanity. Laminate them first, then hoist the panel into position and mark where the supports hit, and where you want your t-nuts to be. Then lay the panel on a scrap piece of ply on the floor and drill your holes through from front to back.
To countersink, flip the panel over and remove some wood from around the holes... I personally would use a router so that you ended up with a nice uniform depth flat surface for the t-nut to go into. That's a lot of routing though...
Setting the t-nuts into a countersunk hole like this might require a big punch so that you hit t-nut and not wood... and buy a handheld 5lb sledge to pound them in (it looks like a hammer on steroids). You'd be swinging all day with a regular hammer. The sledge sets them solidly with one or two whacks.
Good luck! Building a wall is almost as good of exercise as climbing... or at least I was sore in about as many places.
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jakewolf
Jun 17, 2005, 3:51 PM
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no
you will have a wall full of spinners. I have seen people make this mistake. spend the money for 3/4
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landgolier
Jun 17, 2005, 3:54 PM
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Jakewolf, you mean if he uses only 1 sheet of half, right?
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tradnomad
Jun 17, 2005, 3:54 PM
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In reply to: Does anyone have any experience using thicknesses other than 3/4"?
In reply to: no you will have a wall full of spinners. I have seen people make this mistake. spend the money for 3/4
Huh?? Who are you talking to? How will 1" plywood create spinners?
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mgoodro
Jun 17, 2005, 4:02 PM
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As long as it is good quality wood you should be fine with doubled 1/2" - the teeth on the t-nuts typically only go in 1/2" anyway. Spinners shouldn't be any more of a problem than with 3/4" plywood, they are more likely to be caused by cheap wood than the thickness (as long as the nuts don't protrude, but that clearly won't be an issue here).
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dyomad
Jun 17, 2005, 5:59 PM
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Thanks for all the feedback. I certainly wouldn't go with just one sheet of 1/2". If you think your wall flexes, I'm 250lbs. and climb v4 so I know the 1/2" wouldn't be fun to climb and wouldn't last long, although maybe it would be like climbing loose rock. Good training for alpine...hmm. Anyways, I will definitely go with the full 1" and prelaminate the sheets together. As to the t-nuts, again I'm going the overkill route but a good friend of mine manages a gym nearby and I can get the same t-nuts they use, which each have three small screws that help to secure the t-nut and keep them from spinning. Has anybody used these before? In my wall design it will not be fun getting to the backside of my wall so anything I can do to eliminate needing to go back there to fix whatever would be great. As to structure itself, I'm knocking down an older shed and replacing it with a gym/garage, so the climbing wall is going to be heavily factored into the design and construction of this new garage. Any tips would be great. The wall itself will occupy most of a 20ft. long wall and the 14ft. wall adjoing it as well as a ten ft. section on the opposite wall, forming a horshoe with one slightly shorter end. Each side of the horshoe will be connected over the top with a roof section. In theory at least...
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cintune
Jun 17, 2005, 6:16 PM
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In reply to: As to the t-nuts, again I'm going the overkill route but a good friend of mine manages a gym nearby and I can get the same t-nuts they use, which each have three small screws that help to secure the t-nut and keep them from spinning. Has anybody used these before?
- I've had to settle for using those a few times when I ran out of the regular kind. They actually kind of suck, though, because when you crank hard on a hold it can pull the nut into the wood somewhat, and then those little screws become loose. I much prefer the standard t's with the integral prongs. Make sure your friend isn't just trying to unload these things on you, because if it's hard to get behind your wall, once those screws start loosening up, you are, er, screwed, so to speak.
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dyomad
Jun 17, 2005, 6:34 PM
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Good to know. He's not at all trying ot unload them on me, unless he somehow tricked me into buliding a wall and then knew that I had seen them at his gym, he used Jedi mind tricks to have me ask him about them. That Bastard!! I could see how the screws could loosen like you said. Amazing how stuff you thought you understood minutes ago can be disproven so quickly?! Maybe we shouldn't all post like we know everything. Not yet at least. I'm sure after building my wall I will have attained "wall nirvana" and can strike down silly noob comments by people like engineers and carpenters. Or we could all lighten up. One of the two. Anyways good advice on the t-nuts. That will definitely be something to think about
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