Hey all!
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Last Fall, I was a guest participant in the One Room Challenge and undertook our kids’ playroom. We decided that the room required some much-needed design, storage, and organization!
In the end, we developed 3 different zones:
- Pretend Zone- a playhouse perfect for imagination
- Lego Zone- lots of storage, a place to build and display some cool Lego sets
- Adventure Zone- think rock wall, monkey bars, a climbing rope, and a loft hangout area too!
For more information about this room transformation, and to see the entire kids playroom space, click on some of the links below:
- Kid Playroom Zone Inspiration Board- Week 1: One Room Challenge Fall 2019
- Kid Playroom Zones- Week 2: One Room Challenge Fall 2019
- Pretend Zone- Playroom Week 3- One Room Challenge Fall 2019
- Lego Zone- Playroom Week 4: One Room Challenge Fall 2019
- Adventure Zone- Playroom Week 5: One Room Challenge Fall 2019
- Kids Playroom Zone- The Final Reveal! One Room Challenge Fall 2019
Since doing this room renovation, I’ve had many people inquire either on the blog or on Instagram about the “how-tos” of creating this indoor climbing wall!
So, I thought that it might be a good idea to put together a detailed post with a step by step tutorial of creating this super fun rock wall!
What to find out more? Keep reading for the step by step instructions!
DIY Indoor Climbing Rock Wall Tutorial
1-PLAN
- Yes, here I go again with the planning. But it’s soooo important. Here’s what we did–>
- First, we primed the wall to get rid of the unwanted blue stripes and then painted the wall our base color- We went with our go-to- Milk Moustache by Beautitone Paints @ Home Hardware.
- Next, we used washi tape to mark off our mountains. We knew that we wanted 3 mountains to represent our 3 kiddos.
- We started with the middle mountain and found the center point of our wall. From there, it was trial and error with the tape until we were happy with the end result!
2-TRIM
- After the mountains were planned out and loft hangout was built, we put up our trim boards. We used MDF boards that were 1 X 4 inches wide.
- We started with our middle mountain and worked outwards from there.
- Once the trim was up, we used a pencil to mark our studs and drew a very faint line. This was going to be where we attached our shiplap boards for added strength!
3-SHIPLAP
- Perfect! We were ready for the shiplap boards.
- We ripped our 3/4″ plywood sheets into 6-inch boards. The thicker plywood was to give support to the future rock wall pieces.
- Also, we wanted to create finger and toe holds with the boards to allow our kiddos some more options when climbing the wall. Therefore, we used a spacer to keep consistency across all the mountains as seen below!
- Adding the shiplap took the longest as some of the cuts and angles were not the easiest.
- We used a nail gun to fasten the shiplap planks to the walls at the stud location (we had already marked our studs with a pencil!)
Looks pretty good right!?
4- PAINT
- The next step was to prime and paint the mountains.
- We weren’t very fussy on this one and only wanted the front of the boards painted. That way the white wall behind would create some contrast against our grey mountains.
- If you look really close to the pictures, the tops and bottoms of the shiplap boards are not painted and I really liked it this way, so I decided to keep it like this! (Trust me, this was the easier choice too!)
5-ADD ROCK WALL
- OK, this step required some expert help 🙂
- We needed the help of our 9-year-old son who was able to show us where to put the rock wall pieces.
- We ordered 40 rock wall pieces from Amazon that LOOK like REAL rocks!
- HINT– we started by putting rock wall pieces and drilling them into the studs using GRK screws. (remember, the studs were still marked out with pencil on the wall between the shiplap boards- helpful!)
- Oh, don’t forget to erase all those markings when the wall is completed! 🙂
- Then, using our son’s help, we filled in the spaces as he continued to climb from one side of the mountains all the way across the climbing wall. Not to mention from the floor to the top of the mountain!
- We would stop when he needed a rock, and add one on.
- In the end, we created several different paths for the kiddos to take including the use of the finger and toe ledges.
BONUS- Indoor Monkey Bars
The Indoor Monkey Bars were really easy to make– they look amazing and our kiddos absolutely can’t get enough of them in our basement!
Here are the simple instructions–>
- Buy 3/4″ galvanized pipe fittings in the desired lengths you want- for each monkey bar, we needed 2 x floor flanges, 2 x 6-inch pipes, 2 x 90-degree connectors, and 1 18-inch pipe! We have 8 monkey bars in our basement.
- Make sure to clean the pipe fitting with soap and water- this will allow the paint to adhere to the surface.
- Customize them by spray painting them a colour- we chose matte black.
- Attach 2 2X4 wood boards into the ceiling joists– this is to provide the monkey bars the support needed as people hang from them.
- Assemble the monkey bars and then screw them to the wood board at your desired intervals. (we literally went to the local playground to measure the distance of the outdoor monkey bars– 15-inch intervals!)
- And Voila! You now have your own DIY industrial set of monkey bars!
In the End:
If you are thinking about putting your own rock wall or set of monkey bars in your basement, I hope this inspired you and also helped you mentally prepare yourself for this project!
In the end, it took us about a week (working after work hours) to complete this section of the basement. There was definitely an order that needed to be followed and sometimes we were waiting on the build of the loft hangout before we could move onto our next step of installing the shiplap, etc.
In fact, once the monkey bars were ready to be installed, they were up and already being climbed on within 40 minutes!
And in case you are wondering how expensive something like this might cost, here is a quick estimate breakdown for you–
- Shiplap feature wall & wood planks–>$200
- Rock Wall pieces–>$160
- Hardware–>$40
- Monkey Bars–>$240 ($30 each monkey bar)
- Paint (used elsewhere in the room too)–>$60
- TOTAL= $700
AND WELL WORTH IT 🙂 It’s the hot spot in our basement, an active area for the cold winter months, and a great chin-up competition location too!
In case you are interested in building something similar, here’s a link to the items in our playroom in our Inspired to Shop- Shop Our Home section!
Happy Building!
So….inspired to build your own DIY Indoor Climbing Wall? Leave your comments below.
Create your own Indoor Playzone!
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This is probably a dumb question, but how do the pipe and fitting go together. Do they just screw on, does it require a special glue, require saudering?? I am trying to get brave enough to try these monkey bars in our basement!
Hi. Your playroom and climbing are are incredible! We have a home gym in the basement that has an alcove that we want to build this out in. Question on the Monkey bars. When I’ve used these pipes for curtain rods, I noticed they are a little rough and not smooth to the touch. Does this bother the kiddos hands at all? Or did you do something to treat them first?
Hi Lindsey- that sounds like such a fun idea for your home gym! In regards to your question, they are gritty. My husband lightly sanded them down with a 220 grit sandpaper, washed them in vinegar, and then spray painted them. I asked my kiddos and they say that their hands don’t hurt when they go back and forth on the monkey bars. Hope this helps 🙂
Hi Jennifer- not a silly question at all- I hope this helps- the pipe and fittings thread together. So once they are threaded properly, they won’t loosen and don’t require any glue. Good luck with your monkey bar project in your basement! 🙂
Thank you so much for this inspiring post! What types of screws did you use to secure the monkey bars to the 2x4s and the 2x4s to the ceiling?
Hi Laura- thanks so much for your sweet comment! We used GRK screw fasteners that are contractor grade and hold extremely well. They were a bit pricey but well worth it for proper safety for our kiddos! I hope this helps! 🙂
Thank you for sharing your rock wall tutorial! Did you only screw in a hand or foot hold into a stud, or did you also screw them just into the 3/4″ plywood?
Great project!
Hi Cynthia- Glad you enjoyed this project! We screwed most of the rock wall pieces into studs for extra safety, but because the plywood shiplap strips are also screwed into the studs, the rock wall pieces that are just placed for design are still sturdy and not going anywhere 🙂 It would have looked odd if all the rock wall holds were only placed on studs- haha
This is awesome. I’m currently installing the same monkey bars in my basement for my kids. When screwing the floor flanges into the 2x4s, what size of wood screws did you use? And do the screws just go into the 2x4s or do they go through the 2x4s and the joist? Also, did you wrench the pipes together before installing them into the ceiling? Thanks!
Hi David- This is so exciting for your kids! I hope they enjoy the monkey bars as much as ours do 🙂 To answer your questions– my husband wrenched the pipes together in order to get the pipes the exact same in width (or as close as possible). As for the 2×4’s, they were purposely run perpendicular to the joists and therefore screwed into each joist using GRK 3 1/2 inch screws. The floor flanges for the pipes were screwed into the 2×4’s with #10 tapered screws (1.5-inch screws- not sure what is available in your area, but this screw pulls the flange in tight to the 2×4). I hope this helps- Good luck!
Hey how tall were your mountains? They look awesome!
Hi Alexa! Our basement ceilings are a true 8 ft. So our middle mountain is just shy of 8 ft and the other ones were about 7 ft tall. Thanks so much for the kind words, I’m glad you enjoyed this blog post 🙂
Great project – we’re just getting started! What screws did you use to attached the plywood to the wall and the holds to the plywood? Do the screws for the holds go into the wall at all or just into the plywood?
Thanks!!
Hi Natalie- Thanks so much! What a great idea to add before the winter weather! We used GRK screw fasteners that are contractor grade and hold extremely well. They were a bit pricey but well worth it for proper safety for our kiddos! The screws go right into the studs to hold. I hope this helps!
~Bry
This is really cool and been inspiring my wife and I to do something similar for our son. Two questions…First is about how you connected the shiplap to the wall. You obviously used screws to attach the shiplap pieces to the studs…did you also use the nail gun to nail it into just the drywall?
Additionally, if I understand correctly, some of the rock holds/handles are screwed into the studs and others are just screwed into the plywood/shiplap…did you use different length screws dependent on if the hold was going into a stud or no stud?
Hi Dan- I’m so glad that this project has inspired you and your wife! In regards to your questions– yes, we attached the shiplap pieces to the studs with screws and then again used the nail gun to further fasten it to the drywall for extra strength along the entire shiplap piece. For your second question- the majority of our rock holds are screwed into studs but even for the ones that weren’t into a stud, we used the same screws to fasten them to our plywood shiplap planks. This rock wall has stood up to 3 kids who love playing ninja warriors in our playroom! I hope this helps and good luck with your project!
Hi, love your post and would love to make some monkey bars.
You said in the description that you used an 18 Inch pipe?
what is that for?
Thanks so much!
Love the climbing walk and the bars.
Quick question… last year I attached two 2x6s to the middle of my finished basement ceiling(18” apart OC) and then attached monkey’s bars to those boards. The 2x6s are running perpendicular to the joists.
With kids hanging on the monkey bars, is there any chance of warping the joists and dancing my first floor family (which is the room above the monkey bars)?
Hi Mika! Thanks for stopping by the blog. In order to make our monkey bars, we used an 18 inch galvanized pipe and 2 90 degree elbow galvanized pipes to get the look that we wanted for each monkey bar. We purchased them at our local hardware store and then spray painted them all black.
Hope this helps- if you have any other questions, please let me know 🙂
~Bry
Hi Mike- Thanks for the question. I’m not a structural engineer, but our kiddos as well as my husband have been enjoying our climbing wall and monkey bars for almost 2 years now and there hasn’t been any damage above. In the end, there is actually way more weight sitting on the joists from above than any weight hanging from the joists below. Think about all the weight your furniture puts on your joists. The monkey bars are very similar to someone hanging a chair from the ceiling (which is quite trendy right now) and sitting in it. Hope this helps. ~Bry
I am in love with this setup! I just painted the area of our basement where I want to put something similar (thanks for the inspiration)! I’m wondering if you have a post on how you built the loft? I didn’t see one in the links so just curious. I’d love to be able to do that too but neither my husband nor I have ever built anything in our lives so I’m nervous to try it without some direction 😂 not to mention our ceilings downstairs are only 7 feet so it will be short but oh well.
Hi Shelby! Thanks for your kind words about our kids playroom- I’m so glad you found some inspiration from this space! I will send you a private message with some tips to help you with the loft area. 🙂 ~ Bry
Thank you for your detailed post regarding the wall and monkey bars. Quick question, what type of spray paint did you use and how many coats were needed for the monkey bars? Did you find that the paint chipped because you assembled them after you painted? Would it be worth doing it the other way around?
What type of paint did you use for the wall? How has it stood up to repetitive use over the years?
Hi Cindy! Thanks for stopping by the blog. I’m glad you enjoyed this post and found it helpful. We have been using the climbing wall and monkey bars now for a couple of years and it still looks in mint condition regarding the paint. We used spray paint for metal that had a built-in primer in it. We did some touchups after the monkey bars were installed, but this was much easier and avoided any spray overages. As for the walls, we used the Home Hardware Designer Series made for hi-scuff areas.
I hope this helps! Any more questions, just let me know! 🙂
~Bry