Irshad basement rack — plans + Chicago used

What we actually need

StrongLifts here is squat, bench, row, OHP, deadlift. Deadlift is from the floor. Rows can start from the floor. OHP can be cleaned once. The only lift that requires a catch is bench. Squats are nicer with catches, not mandatory at these weights if plates are rubber and the dump is controlled.

MustTwo rigid catches at armpit/chest height, wider than the bench, that still hold if one side fails first.

NiceJ-cups at squat/OHP height so you don’t clean every set. Fold or roll away so the basement stays a basement.

Do not hang a dropped barbell from ceiling joists or ratchet straps. Joists are sized for a light distributed floor (often ~10–20 psf live for a non-storage ceiling), not a point-load dump.[14] Starting Strength shot down the “straps from the ceiling” idea for the same reason: one-sided fail + impulse ≫ rated strap load.[5]

Pick a path

Three families. Ranked for this basement + these loads, not for a 400 lb squat.

1. Bench goalpost — portable (recommended first build)

Two short steel posts on a wide H-base that straddle the bench. Pin-adjustable safety pins or 1″ solid bar through holes. No wall. No ceiling. Rolls or carries to a corner.

Steel: 2×2×11ga or 2×3 square tube, ~48–54″ tall (bench only) or ~72–84″ if you also want squat J-cups.
Feet: weld 18–24″ front and back per post so it cannot tip when the bar hits one side. Tie the two posts with a rear crossmember at floor level (won’t hit shins) or a removable spreader.
Holes: ⅝″ or 1″ on 2″ centers through both posts, identical heights. Drill press or jig — crooked holes make the bar walk.
Safeties: 1″ solid cold-rolled pin, 12–16″ stick-out, UHMW or pipe sleeve so the knurl doesn’t chew the pin. Short arms = less leverage on the feet.
Why this wins: solves the neck problem this weekend; matches current 50 lb bench; welding class is enough; can live next to a folding wall rack later.

If you only weld one thing, weld this. A $100–200 scrap-steel weekend vs a $400+ folding rack that still has a spotter-arm problem (see below).

2. Fold-to-wall half rack (buy or clone)

PRx invented the gas-shock “fold up” rack in 2014; Rogue / Titan / REP fold the uprights sideways to dodge the patent.[4] Feet sit on the floor when open; unit hangs on wall stringers when folded.

PRx Profile: 2×3 11ga, ~24″ off wall, ~4″ folded, advertised 1,000 lb.[7]
Rogue RML-3W: 3×3 11ga, 9 / 20.5 / 40.5″ depths, USA.[6]
Titan T-3 folding: 2×3 11ga, 21.5 or 41″, ~$375 on sale — cheapest serious option new.[8]

Official word from Rogue (via Garage-Gyms, 2016): do not use spotter arms on their wall-mount racks. A dumped bar on the outer end of the arms tries to pry the stringer off the studs.[3][9] Home-gym people still run short arms for light bench; that is owner-risk, not a rated catch. For Irshad’s bench that is probably fine if arms are short, the bar stays close to the uprights, and the stringer is lagged into multiple studs (or a 2×10 spanning 4+ studs).[19]

DIY weld clone: two wall hinges + two 2×3 uprights + floor feet + removable pull-up bar. Same physics as Titan. Budget tube + hinge plates from a steel supplier, not Amazon “folding rack” no-name 14ga.

Wood analog: Instructables folding 2×4/oak posts, ~300 lb claimed by a non-engineer.[1] Fine as a learning project at empty-bar / 65 lb. Do not treat it as a fail-safe for bench.

3. Anchored to the top — compression, not hanging

Exposed beams are useful as a stop, not a hoist.

Two telescoping or cut-to-length posts (2×3 or 2½″ schedule-80 pipe) from finished floor to a steel plate on the underside of several joists — sister a 2×10 or 2×12 across 3–4 joists first, never a single 2×6.
Preload with a bottle jack + shims so the post cannot walk. This is the same idea as a cargo shoring bar, sized for steel.
Safeties on the posts. A dump loads the posts in compression + bending. The beam should not take the dump as a hang.

If the “beam” is a real carrying girder (3–4 ply 2× or an I-beam), a welder can add a sleeve around it and hang static J-cups. Still do not use that as a crash pad. Crash = floor-bearing posts or a cage.

What others do (and what not to copy)

4×4 wood power cage — Buff Dudes / Garage Gym Reviews: eight 8′ 4×4s, Simpson ties, ¾″ pipe safeties, ~$200, drill-press holes.[2] Alex already walked this path. It works at beginner loads. GGR themselves say buy steel if you’re going over ~400 lb.[2]
Folding wood wall rack — Instructables.[1] Space-saving, not a rated catch.
Welded compact collapsible steel — plenty of YouTube living-room racks. Quality = tube gauge + hinge pin diameter + whether feet actually touch the floor.
Independent squat stands — cheap, portable, trip-hazard feet, you re-measure 48″ every session.[4] OK as a stopgap; bad as the only bench safety.
Ratchet straps / chains from joists — no.[5]

Novel but still sane

Split system: portable bench goalpost (plan 1) + cheap J-cup wall hooks or a pair of 4×4 lean-to posts for squat unracking. Don’t ask one gadget to be a full Rogue.
Floor-to-beam king posts with pin-in safeties (plan 3) — unique to an open-joist basement. Measure joist size/spacing before cutting steel.
Fold-flat A-frame that leans on the wall like a ladder, with a floor spreader that kicks out (sawhorse geometry). Pins lock the spreader. Good if landlord won’t allow lag bolts into studs. Must have anti-walk feet and a wall strap so it cannot kick.
Not novel, skip: Smith machine, cheap Amazon 14ga “1000 lb” cage, anything that only has J-cups and no catches for bench.

Suggested order of operations

Measure (next tab). Photos of the wall, joists, and bench.
This week: rubber horse-stall mats + plan-1 goalpost or hunt a used cage with real safeties (market tab).
If the used market is junk: Titan T-3 folding ~$375 + 2×10 stringers into studs, short spotter arms for bench only, dump squats to mats.[8][3]
If you want to weld anyway: plan 1 first, then decide if a fold-to-wall is still worth it.

This is a briefing, not a stamp. A dumped Olympic bar is a dynamic load. If a landlord, HOA, or “this is a rental” is in play, buy a free-standing cage and don’t touch the house.

Chicagoland secondhand

Scraped Fri Sep 11, 2026 late morning CDT. Craigslist HTML is bot-walled from this box; Facebook item pages likewise. OfferUp pages did load. Treat prices as “seen in search snippets / product pages,” then confirm in the app before you drive.

FB Marketplace CL squat rack CL power rack OfferUp gym

Want this list refreshed? Text Alex “refresh the rack page” or ping Hermes. I’ll re-pull Marketplace / OfferUp / CL and bump the date pill.

Worth a look (as of this scrape)

Item	Where	Ask	Why / skip
Rogue Monster Lite squat rack	Lombard	$350	Real steel. Confirm safeties / J-cups in photos. If it’s a stand with no catches, only useful for squat unracking.[16]
Rogue squat rack	Crystal Lake	$450	Farther drive. Same check: catches or just J-cups.[15]
Ultra Fuego UF-896 cage, unopened	Wauconda	$219	Has a cage (so: safeties). Budget import. Gauge unknown. Fine at 50–135 lb if pins are actually steel, not chrome tube.[17]
Folding power rack, like new	Mokena	$350	FB Marketplace search hit — matches Titan/PRx used money. Open the listing in the FB app; confirm wall-mount hardware + whether spotter arms are included.[11]
Power cage, listed new	Mokena	$500	FB search hit. A true four-post cage with safeties is the “just buy it” answer if it fits the ceiling.[11]
“Squat rack 800 lb, light, easy to carry”	Chicago	$220	Light + easy to carry + 800 lb claim = almost certainly a flimsy stand, not a catch. Skip unless photos show thick uprights and safeties.[18]
Palatine small-footprint rack, 1″ solid safety bars	Palatine	SOLD ~$80–100	Exactly the right shape (36″ D × 46″ W × 79″ H, ¼″ plate, 1″ safeties). Dead. Use as a spec target if you weld plan 1.[12]
Gold’s Gym bench + squat combo	Skokie	$150	OfferUp related. Usually no real safeties. Bench-unrack only.
DIY squat rack	Roselle	$200	Someone else already built the 4×4. Inspect holes and joints before paying wood-project prices.

Buy filter: if it cannot catch a bench press, it does not solve the problem. J-cups only = half a product. Folding wall racks without a plan for short safeties + a real stringer = same.

New, if used is a miss

Buy	Ballpark	Fit
Titan T-3 folding	$375	Best $/steel. Add 2×10 stringers. Short arms for bench only.[8][19]
Rogue RML-3W	~$600+	3×3, keep-forever. Same spotter-arm caveat.[6][3]
PRx Profile	~$650+	Folds to ~4″. Gas shocks. Overkill unless the basement is also a guest room.[7][4]
Weld plan 1 (goalpost)	$100–250	Scrap 2×2/2×3 + 1″ pin stock. Fastest path that actually catches bench.

Irshad — snap these before we cut steel

Tap to check. Stays on this phone.

Ceiling height at the lift spot (floor to joist underside) Joist size (2×8 / 2×10 / 2×12?) and spacing (16″ or 24″ o.c.) Is there a carrying beam / girder, or only joists? Wall type: studs, concrete, or CMU? Stud spacing? Clear floor rectangle we can own (width × depth) Bench width and pad height Bar length (usually 86″ Olympic) and sleeve clearance to walls Photos: wall, ceiling, existing bench, any welding gear Landlord / HOA rules on lagging into studs or concrete

Design notes for the welder

Inside width between uprights: ~48″ (Olympic). Don’t go narrower than ~41″ or plates hit the posts on a dump.
Bench safety height: pin just below chest at the bottom of the press — typically 14–20″ off the bench pad, not off the floor. Measure Irshad on the bench with empty bar.
Squat J-cups: roughly mid-chest / high-shoulder standing.
Never cantilever a 24″ spotter arm off a wall hinge and call it a crash pad.[3][9]
If lagging a stringer: 2×10 or 2×12 across ≥4 studs, ⅜″ lag or structural screws into stud center, not drywall. Concrete wall: epoxy wedge anchors into the wall, not the floor only.

Basement rack brief