Embankment Climbing Wall
Installation Instructions
Clean out as necessary to make sure the tops of the tubes are at ground level. THIS IS THE TIME TO
MAKE SURE THAT THE TOPS OF THE SONOTUBES ARE LEVEL WITH EACH OTHER. You can use
one of the climbing wall boards on edge on top of both tubes together with your level to check this out.
Adjust the tubes as necessary.
8. Pack fill/dirt around the outside of the tubes so they don’t move when the posts are inserted.
9. Some people put 6 inches of drainage stone at the very bottom of the hole.
10. The next parts get a little tricky as there are a number of ways to approach the erection of the Climbing
Wall while trying to accomplish several things. The posts need to be plumb in two adjacent directions
(south and east sides, or north and west sides), they need to be 67 inches on center, and each of them
needs to be at the exact same depth.
11. If you have help, probably the easiest way to make all this work is to lay the two posts on a flat surface
such as a parking lot, so that the outside faces are exactly 6 feet apart. Then attach the top board and the
bottom board. Use the carpenters square to make sure the posts are perpendicular to the boards.
12. Then find the ground line marked on the posts, and temporarily attach the bottom board so that the bottom
of the board is lined up on those ground lines. This board is temporarily attached at this point so that when
you drop the posts into the holes, they will stop at exactly the right point.
13. Carry the heavy assembly over to the post holes, raise the “wall” vertical, then drop the posts into the
holes. Adjust the assembly so that the posts are in the centers of the holes.
14. If you decided to use the temporary bracing (the 1x3 strapping) and stakes, attach one to the outside of
each post about 18 inches down from the top using a single sheet rock screw, stretch each brace out to the
back, and pound in a stake near the end of the each brace (don’t screw them together yet).
15. Even though you leveled the tops of the tubes, this would be a good point to recheck that the boards of the
wall are still level. If not, level them up by detaching one end of the bottom climbing wall board, raise a
lowest post until the top board is level, then reattach the bottom board.
16. Assign one person to each post to move the post back or forth until it’s plumb, while the third person uses
the level to give direction. Once both posts are perfectly plumb in the center of each hole, the third person
can attach the braces to the stakes with a single sheet rock screw in each.
17. Now you are ready to mix the concrete in the wheelbarrow following the instructions on the bag. Some
people pour the dry concrete into the holes, alternating with the right amount of water, and after each bag,
use the rebar or strapping in an up and down movement to mix the concrete and water around the posts.
Continue alternating dry concrete and water until the hole is filled.
18. Let the concrete set several hours or overnight, then remove the bracing, remove the bottom board, and
attach the other boards under the top board as numbered.
19. If a center cleat has been provided, find the center of the back of the climbing wall, and center the 2x4 or
2x6 cleat, slanted end up and flush with the top. Use two of the sheet rock screws to temporarily hold this
cleat in place from the back, then screw each of the climbing wall boards through the front of the wall into
the cleat using at least two screws per board.
20. Make sure you check on the backside to make sure none of the screw tips protrudes out the back. If it
does, file it off so it is not dangerous.
21. Attach the climbing wall handholds to the front of the climbing wall using the recommended pattern of one
for every 1.5-2 ft.
²
. (Put holds 12 to 14 inches apart (measured ton the center of the hold), and 10” apart
vertically. Add some in the middle of the route every so often to give more flexibility in the route being
climbed.) No holds should be placed in the bottom 12" of the wall.
22. Fill the fall zone with the fall zone material.
23. Enjoy your Climbing Wall!
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