Home wall modification question

[Lundy]

So something I've been chewing on for a while that I'd love folks' ideas about.

I currently have a home wall in my garage.  It was built before I got onto the Rock Prodigy path, and so I built it with the following specifications:

• 45 degree overhang
• 20 feet wide
• Ceiling is 8' 1.5" tall (quite low)
• 12" kicker plate at the bottom

I built it all one angle as (a) I had read a lot about the difficulty in making good problems across multiple, smaller angles, and (b) my ceiling is so low that anything less seemed like it would make the actual climbing distance too small to be worth it.

However, having trained on it for about three years now, I can see that I'm stupidly strong now at an angle that I basically never encounter outside.  Harumph...

So my question is, do folks think it would be worth it to take the 8 feet on the open end (one end ties to a corner, the other is open out) and rebuild that stretch of wall at 20 degrees?  This would leave me with 12 feet wide of 45 degrees and 8 feet wide of 20 degrees?  My main worry is that, with a 12" kicker, I would end up with less than 8' of actual climbing space on the wall (i.e. it's not even high enough to use a single sheet of plywood).

Curious to hear what others would do in my shoes.  Thanks for any input you all might be able to provide.

[Chris W]

I would build the 20 degree section. My home wall now is, in my humble opinion, awesome. In my last residence, however, I had a garage with a slightly higher ceiling (9 feet) that I had a 20 degree wall in. I didn't have the RCTM then, but it would have worked. My current main wall 'sections' are 8 feet wide and I feel like that's plenty of width.

[tedwelser]

Mar 11, 2016 14:49:20 GMT -7 Lundy said:

So something I've been chewing on for a while that I'd love folks' ideas about.

I currently have a home wall in my garage.  It was built before I got onto the Rock Prodigy path, and so I built it with the following specifications:

• 45 degree overhang
• 20 feet wide
• Ceiling is 8' 1.5" tall (quite low)
• 12" kicker plate at the bottom

I built it all one angle as (a) I had read a lot about the difficulty in making good problems across multiple, smaller angles, and (b) my ceiling is so low that anything less seemed like it would make the actual climbing distance too small to be worth it.

However, having trained on it for about three years now, I can see that I'm stupidly strong now at an angle that I basically never encounter outside.  Harumph...

So my question is, do folks think it would be worth it to take the 8 feet on the open end (one end ties to a corner, the other is open out) and rebuild that stretch of wall at 20 degrees?  This would leave me with 12 feet wide of 45 degrees and 8 feet wide of 20 degrees?  My main worry is that, with a 12" kicker, I would end up with less than 8' of actual climbing space on the wall (i.e. it's not even high enough to use a single sheet of plywood).

Curious to hear what others would do in my shoes.  Thanks for any input you all might be able to provide.

Can you post a photo?    You could go from approximately 20 degrees to a bit of roof.  That transition is somewhat helpful to practice, even if you do not climb much with both hands and feet on the roof section.  My Dojo is even shorter than your space, and I get a lot of value out of the combination of wall and ceiling.

Alternatively you could put your time and money into making volumes, which would alter your functional angle.

Another option, is to simply expand your wall and add more terrain, this time with the less steep angle.   

[Lundy]

Thanks for your thoughts, guys.  The only way I can add more terrain is if we give up on the garage as a garage and just convert it to a gym fully, at which point none of this is a problem.  Unfortunately, I haven't convinced the wife of the value of that yet!

I'm trying to upload a photo, but I'm just technologically challenged.  I'll get it up soon...

[Otis.]

I'd second Ted's suggestion. I would do a 20 into a roof. It will give you a bit more options than your current 45. Adding the roof will give you at least one or two moves that would be equivalent to a 30 degree wall and then angle out to the 45 or steeper depending on how far you take the roof. I have a 15, 30 and 45 in my house and find they work great.