Good question Ryan and I’ve wondered the same. Anything portable (ie. not attached to the walls or an another framed structure) would have to be really well thought out. I’d love to see plans, picture, or diagrams for anyone who has done this.

I was actually able to find t-nuts pretty cheap on eBay- 500 for $44 shipped. But I can see this project will cost quite a bit as it progresses. I think the end result is only one aspect though. I’m already enjoying the process of building the walls, especially after working with computers all day!

1. First, forget the 4′ under stair area. Keep your hangboard there. Money will be better spent on the other section. 4′ is just too narrow to stay interesting. You’ll see why I suggest saving money below…:)

2. Basement size vertical walls won’t get used much. 20 to 60 degree overhanging flat walls aren’t hard to build and get used most. Even beginners can climb 20 degrees if the holds are big and close enough.

2. 9 feet is a great hieght! With 16′ of width you’ll be able to do lots of laps that loop low and high.

3. Adjusting walls is a pain. In my experience, better to just build your 16′ width with 8′ sections, each a different angle, maybe 25 and 45 degree. You can start with one section and build the other later.

4. Most important: Don’t forget to budget for many many t-nuts! It might sound like a lot but I’d drill 16-20 holes per square foot in a semi random grid. The more holds you can put on the more variety you have in your routes. You can create 4x the variations if you have 20 holes compared to 5 holes psf. Multiply that by your 4 limbs and the wall size and you have more moves added to your wall than can possibly be counted.

I learned that tip from none other than Tony Yaniro, who came over and corrected me when I was hacking together a wall for a friend of his. His arms were like drill presses as he bore through sheets of plywood 3 at a time. He was right–it was the best home wall I ever climbed on, despite only being 7 feet high!

And a practical tip on t-nuts: Drill as straight and clean a hole as possible, and hammer it quite flat into that hole. Practice some holes on a scrap of plywood. Screw some holds into them to see how it seats itself and how crooked t-nuts are a problem.

5. Yeah, so that means a massive hold budget too of course. (Realistically of course you can’t actually put a hold in every hole, there’s not enough space, but you still need tons of holds for interest and variety)

Looking forward to the updates.