- Moonboard Build -

I wanted a Moonboard at home, but the only space I had was a spare bedroom with an 8ft ceiling. So in order for a home climbing wall with 12ft of climbing space to fit, I had to make it 60 degrees. Great for a person that loves to climb overhangs, bad for a true Moonboarding experience.

Tools Needed

Circular saw
Miter Saw
Drill
Impact Driver
Ladder
Clamps
Angle Finder
String
Speed Square
Level
Stud finder

Lumber & Materials

(1) 2x10x8 (header)
(3) 3/4″ 4×8 sheets of plywood
(7) 2x6x12
(5) 2x4x8
Support beams lumber
2×4 under header joist
(16) Simpson Strong Ties
Hella screws

Mount Wall Header

Remove a 8ft wide section of the baseboard using an oscillating tool and pry bar
Found the wall studs using a magnetic stud finder, identified 6
Mounted 2x10x8 with (2) #14 4 3/4″ Screws at each stud
Used 2×4’s cut down to 12.5″ as framing under the header
Mounted the 2×4’s also with (2) #14 4 3/4″ Screws at each stud(2) #14 4 3/4″ Screws at each stud

Find Joist Angle

Tack a 12ft string to the bottom of the header joist and run it to the ceiling until it is all the way streched out.
Tack it to this position on the ceiling, this will be where the front of your top header joist will mount.
Use protractor to measure the angle at where the string forms an angle at the header joist.
Most 8ft ceilings should produce a 55-60 degree angle.
In my case the angle was 57.5 degrees

Mount Sleepers

Use a stud finder to find and mark your ceiling studs
I had to run sleepers as my studs were horizontal to the climbing wall. If yor wall runs perpendicular to your studs, you can skip the sleepers and mount the top header directly.
For sleepers I used 5 2x4x8’s cut down to 5 ft length
This length was sufficient so that I could hit 3 ceiling joists with the sleepers.

Mount Ceiling Header

Ceiling Header is a 2x8x8
Mounted with 10 construction screws, 2 at each sleeper

Cut First Joist

According to the angle you found with a string earlier
I used a miter saw to cut the angles after I marked my angles using an angle finder
Find your corresponding angle(mine is 32.5) and make your cut on the opposite end, keeping in mind which sides will be laying flat against your headers.

Mount Joist Hangers

Joist hangers are Simpson Strong Ties
I mounted one side only
Started with the two outer most hangers and measured off those spacing them evenly and marked where the first side would be mounted.

Test Fit Joist

I hanged the bottom end of the joist to the joist hanger on the wall header
Lifted the other end onto the top of a ladder to hold it in place
Then looked to see if the ends of the joist sat flush against the headers.

Cut Remaining Joists

After you confirmed the first joist you cut fits, use this as a template to cut your other joists

Mount First Joist

I started with the outermost position
Again, I started by hanging it on the wall joist hanger and propped it with a ladder
Mounted the other side of the hanger
Nailed in the joist to the hanger
Then mounted my ceiling joist hanger and nailed in the joist as well

Mount Opposite Side

Mounted up the other outermost joist

Mark Joist Mount Locations

Measured off the outer joist mount positions and spaced them evenly in accordance with the wall header joist positions.

Mount Side Joist Supports

I added supports on each of the outer joists to keep them square while i mounted the other joists, as I’d be using these joists to square the other joists.
This also ties in another ceiling joist for added support of the wall.

Outer Frame Done

Now you have a solid foundation to mount your remaining joists.

Mount Inner Joists

Repeated the same process for mounting the outer joists
Added two rows of 2×4 blocking between the joists at 4ft and 8ft for extra support of the joists and serve as extra mounting points for the plywood panels.
The blocks were laid flat to give the plywood more surface area to screw into and toenailed in.
I used clamps to pull in the joists to the blocking before I mounted them as my joists were a bit bowed.

Drill Plywood

Mark your hole locations by measuring in a grid style
I stacked 3 sheets on top of each other and clamped them down
Then used a 7/16 spade drill bit to drill the holes

Sand Plywood

I used a random orbit sander to sand down the plywood to a smooth finish
Then blew off the dust with compressed air and wiped the panels off with a damp rag

Finish Plywood

I chose to stain the plywood rather than paint as Ive seen on other walls the paint came off with the holds when you reset the wall.
I used 3 coats of Miniwax stain and 3 coats of polyurethane to seal and protect it.

Mount T-nuts

I opted for screw in rather than hammer in due to the possibility the hammer in spinning and ruining your plywood.
Screw ins take a lot more time to install, but you wont have to bother with them later on
I predrilled each of the tiny holes and drove the screws in with an impact driver

Mount Support 2x2

I temporarily added a 2x2x8 to the wall header to serve as a shelf to support my bottom plywood panels when mounting

Mount Plywood Panels

Best if you have someone help you lift the panel in place, hold, then one person clamp the panel down
I was solo, so I used a step ladder to help hold the panels in place.
Then clamped them to the joists, predrilled holes, and mounted the panels with screws.
I put a screw every 5″ along the perimeters of each panel.
For the second row, I used a taller ladder to hold the panels in place.
For the top row, I had to get another person to help lift the panels into place.