Hypertufa Climbing Wall - Do You Want To Build One?
I got this email today…
Hi,
please advise me, I’d like to make a rock climbing huge boulder w/ climbing holds for children to practice and play climbing…will hypertufa be the answer? how do I do this?
thanks for any help u can offer
I thought it would make a good subject for an article.
Here is my reply…
Thanks for asking:
I don’t think I would use Tufa for what you are doing. It is a bit soft and crumbly if you get the mix wrong. You don’t want anyone to have a handhold break off.
Go with concrete. It will be a big job.
I would go to a couple of places where they have them and ask how it was done. I have never done anything like it and would not like to give advice that may be wrong.
Del
To elaborate on this a little I will add that I went to a local store where I had seen them setting up a climbing wall on the weekend.
I had been wondering how they made it. The paint was still wet when I got there and I asked one of the guys what the wall was made of.
It was spray on foam over a plywood base. The handholds where steel, they come pre-made and are screwed on. They foam guy builds up around them and they use templates to show where to put the high and low spots.
These things are a work of art; they take 4 guys about 2 days to set up on average. Once they are done they come back and do repairs and maintain them every day. They last about 3-4 weeks and then are taken down and destroyed so that no one can get hurt playing on them.
They cost about $8 - 10000.00 including the daily maintenance. Foam and plywood makes sense, it keeps the wall light and easy to move. The foam is a special blend that gets a thick hard skin on it when it sets. This makes it more realistic and of course durable.
Now you know as much as me.
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Tags: build a hypertufa wall, climbing wall, concrete wall, hypertufa rocks, hypertufa wall, sculpture concrete