Home training wall question

[avaserfi]

We just made space in our apartment for a freestanding climbing wall and I'm struggling with some design decisions. The work space is about 7.5' tall and 8.5' wide. The basics of the design will allow me to mount my hangboard more comfortably than it already is and an independent campus board at 15 or 20 degrees (height dependent).

The issue I am having is deciding wall angle. Over the course of a cycle and depending on goals, wall angle needs vary greatly. While starting to design the wall I toyed with three primary options:

1) Fixed (unknown) angle - easiest/cheapest to build, limits training options
2) Adjustable angle - complicated/expensive build, size limits based on angle (steeper angle allows for a longer wall), possible kickboard necessary for steeper walls eats space on more vertical walls, potentially more training options
3) multiple fixed angles - the space seems small for such an option

This won't be my only training outlet, but making it to the gym regularly is about to get very difficult for me. 

Any advice on wall design options above or something I haven't thought of that will work throughout a number of cycles?

[MarkAnderson]

I don't think an adjustable angle would be THAT much harder to build, especially if you're already building a free-standing wall.

The home wall is most helpful for warming up, and limit bouldering. For those purposes, you probably want a wall around 10 degrees overhanging and a wall around 30 degrees overhanging. I would try to build a wall that could be adjusted between those two discrete angles. If you make the hinge point at the top of the wall, it should be possible to build a kick plate that would be fixed at the back of the structure, such that when you swing the bottom of the wall "up" to get into the 30-deg overhanging position, it would mesh with the top of your kick plate. The height of the swinging wall could be whatever maximizes the height of the 10 degree wall, and then the kick plate would make up for the extra height for the 30-degree wall.

[avaserfi]

Thanks for the encouragement. My largest concern with the adjustable angle was actually moving the board. A winch will work just fine. Last bits of design and then I'm building.

[Chris W]

My first wall was built in an apartment and was rather pitiful, but it was adjustable. It was just an 8x4 foot plywood sheet framed in by 2x4's. I had 2x4x8 "feet" extending from the bottom of the wall out, hinged by big lag bolts. On each side of the top of the wall I had 2x4 "braces" hinged there by big lag bolts. I had holes drilled into the "braces" that would correspond to holes drilled into the "feet" that would allow me to adjust the angle of the board. It sounds a bit sketchy (because it was) but it held up. It wasn't super useful though. I could lift that up myself, but when the wall grew to 8x8 feet, I used a 2x4 to prop up the wall as I slowly lifted it up to whatever angle I wanted.

Eventually I simply bolted the wall to the wall of the apartment and had two separate walls with different angles. When I moved out, I took it down, patched the screw holes with drywall putty, sanded and painted everything over. Looked good in the end. Forgiveness rather than permission?...