Layout of a home gym

[sesq]

I am planning a gym for the house as I find I am having a harder time coughing up the commute time to the local gym (two preschoolers, busy gig). I am a late learner to the lifting world, but at age 36 hooked in with some great guys who taught me quite a lot. Since I always had spotters I am not that familiar with all the uses of a cage, but I know enough that it is the center of home setup w/o some one to spot.

The proposed room is 15 x 13. I use a bike and my wife use a treadmill, so the cardio stuff is already in the basement (thought we'll be shifting rooms around). I am planning to add a cage, a bench (either FID or 0-90 degree), oly weights + bar, and either dumbells as a set or adjustable. I can't believe how much they cost once you go over 50 lbs. The guys I worked out with did more db's than bar exercises (nagging injuries), so I am more comfortable with dbs. I was up to about 75 lbs on many of my presses. I'd want a set or adjustables to 90 or 100 lbs.

Since I am not used to using a cage I am not sure how to orient it. I am allocating about 9 x 13 of the space to weight training (6x13 to cardio stuff). Option A assumes that I do not need a lot of space on the sides (except loading and unloading bars) and maxs the free space for moving around, using a ball, floor exercises, etc. Option B assumes you need a bit more breathing room along the sides. What would you do? Is there another way to go?

(oh, and I'll probably add more mirrors closer to either cage location)

Thanks for any input. Sorry for being so wordy.

[Mitrovski]

I would say it would be best to have at least a foot or so of free space past the bar on each side for loading/unloading weights, and moving around. with that said, I had about 6 inches of room at my old house and it was a minor inconvenience. I also put a hole in the wall that I had to patch up thanks to a 45 sliding off and popping the wall on the way down. (This was my fault though, I was moving the j-hooks up one side at a time with a loaded bar on them)

[Kodokan]

Out of your two layouts I would be happier with option B. I've redone my garage setup many times because I didn't leave enough room around the rack to change weights. It's also ideal in my mind if you have enough room to pull your bench straight out of the cage for a quick change between squats and bench...but maybe not that important to everyone.

[sesq]

Thanks for the replies fellas. I allocated 9' to the weight area since some one suggested that they liked at least a foot to load the bar (assuming a 7' bar). In option A I could probably cheat and extra 6" or so since the adjacent piece is just the back end of the treadmill. When I think about loading bars in the gym I pretty much stand in front of them and use two hands to guide plates on (at least the 45s). So, I guess B is the best answer for lifting. Not sure if my wife will lobby for as much floor space as possible for whichever yoga/pilates video she might be using.

I would think I'd be able to roll the bench out in either layout, but I haven't bought any lifting gear yet, so I guess I can play with it when the time comes. I like to plan as much as possible.