Sneaking In

[ckatt]

Can anyone think of a more interesting way of sneaking into a building than through an air vent?

This is assuming one can't use disguises or stolen keys.

 

[BAYLOR]

Yes, Box yourself up in package have the postage already prepaid on the box and mail yourself to the building you want to get into.

 

[JunkMonkey]

Presuming a tall building (do smaller buildings have air venting systems big enough to crawl through?)

Off the top of my head...

On to the roof (Basejump? Zipwire from taller building? Climb up the outside? Jetpack?) and gain access to the lift (elevator) winding gear?
On to the roof (some of ditto) and gain access to the window cleaning cradle - down the outside and into a window left open by an accomplice.
Ditto but abseil down the outside (or use fan descender).
Hide in a car parked in the underground car parking till the day shift has gone home.
Tunnel in from the conveniently huge sewer that runs beneath the building.
Ditto bank vault next door. Builders of the target building figure the bank vault is safe so why go to trouble and expense of making intruder alarms etc next to it. No one thought that anyone would want to break OUT of the vault into the building.
Start fire alarms off in building (timed smoke bomb left earlier or by accomplice - or delivered by courier at time when no one would open it till the next day) intruder (in firefighting equipment - full face anti-smoke masks disguises features) enters building with firefighting crew... hides inside and doesn't leave when they do.

 

[Alex The G and T]

If you wear a lab coat, carry a clipboard and an attitude like you know what you're doing; you can walk into anywhere.

 

[Snicklefritz]

Saw an interesting trick on tv the other night. Guy tied fishing line to the outside handle of a door and then hid (was either in bushes or around the corner of the building.) When somebody came out the door kept just enough tension on the line to keep door from closing completely. It worked because door opened outward as most do and the person leaving had no reason to look behind.

 

[Swank]

Swing over from a neighboring and taller building.
Smuggled inside a carpet roll (Cleopatra Style).
Fired up from a pre-calibrated bungee slingshot off a mobile crane truck.
Car accident breeches the lobby.

 

[Snicklefritz]

If you wear a lab coat, carry a clipboard and an attitude like you know what you're doing; you can walk into anywhere.

That's sort of a version of the old "we came for the piano" trick.

 

[therapist]

Wait until September and park a foodtruck nearby, run by a lovable Nepalese family. The food is incredible, and way too cheap. After a month, everyone in the target building knows of this truck, and eats there regularly. Then, since October 23rd is coming up, the Nepalese family begin hyping up Bijaya Dashami (as it's the biggest Nepal Holiday). The Nepalese family is excited about it. The building workers are starting to talk about it.
Finally October 23rd rolls around. And you sneak into the building through an air vent.

 

[THX1138]

The back door is already unlocked, or the lock is broken to begin with.

 

[C.Robin]

Underground tunnel.
Apply for a job, come in, never show up for the interview.
Invent a device that will allow you pass through the walls.

 

[HareBrain]

It worked because door opened outward as most do

Not to drag this OT (he said, dragging it OT) but do they? Almost every door round here, on homes or businesses, opens inwards. I had to take note of this because I wrote a scene in a book which relied on the door opening outwards, and I then worried it was unrealistic.

 

[CupofJoe]

Not to drag this OT (he said, dragging it OT) but do they? Almost every door round here, on homes or businesses, opens inwards. I had to take note of this because I wrote a scene in a book which relied on the door opening outwards, and I then worried it was unrealistic.

If they are Fire Escape routes I think they have to open outwards. So if, in a panic, a lot of people try to leave through the same door at the same time, they don't have to make room for the door opening it. They can just push it open.

If it is a big office building or similarly sized facility, it might well have a service entrance/loading bay you could use.
We use card swipe access at work and a problem is that people can walk in behind you when you swipe in and don't check that the door is fully closed before you walk away.

 

[Astro Pen]

Indeed, what movie makers and writers have a tendency to ignore, for dramatic convenience, is that ventilation ducts get progressively narrower as they fork toward their individual destination rooms.

 

[Elckerlyc]

Be sure to hide somewhere inside while the building is still under construction. Bring water.

 

[Wayne Mack]

Not to drag this OT (he said, dragging it OT) but do they? Almost every door round here, on homes or businesses, opens inwards. I had to take note of this because I wrote a scene in a book which relied on the door opening outwards, and I then worried it was unrealistic.

For safety reasons, many businesses will have doors that open outward. This allows for escape if a crowd is pressed up against the door. Of course, the problem is that the hinge is now on the outside. Removing the pins from the hinges is an easy way to bypass the lock on the other side. The Basics of Swinging-Type Egress Door Operation | NFPA (See Door Swing Direction, about one-third of the way down.)

 

[Christine Wheelwright]

Yes, doors in major public buildings should open outwards:

Ringtheater fire - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There is a contemporary etching from the Ringtheatre fire which shows what can happen. It is quite gruesome so behind spoilers.

Spoiler

 

[HareBrain]

Thanks all for answering my question. A lot of shops round here do have doors that open inwards only, but I think that must be because they pre-date considerations such as fire exit routes. Larger, more modern ones have doors you can push either way.

 

[JunkMonkey]

Not to drag this OT (he said, dragging it OT) but do they? Almost every door round here, on homes or businesses, opens inwards. I had to take note of this because I wrote a scene in a book which relied on the door opening outwards, and I then worried it was unrealistic.

I think I'm right in saying that exterior doors, even of domestic buildings, in a lot of colder, near polar countries open outward. Simply because the harder the wind blows the tighter the seal around the door becomes. A loose fitting door is blown shut rather than open - thus reducing drafts.

 

[Yozh]

Depending on the construction of the building, the walls/roof may be weaker than the doors, and less likely to be fitted with alarms/cameras.

There was a string of office burglaries in Washington DC a while back where the burglars would scope the building for a place to hide, then at night just bash/cut their way from suite to suite through the flimsy interior walls. Security cameras in the hallways showed nothing.

For an exterior wall, if it's a sawable material like wood, sheet metal, or cheap cinder block, maybe go there the day before as "contractors" and make some cuts in the wall, lean a board against it and leave to get "more equipment."

 

[Biskit]

You can tell that this is a writer's forum. Questions like how to hide a body or sneak into a building not only happen without causing any alarm, but also demonstrate that a lot of people have given these topics some thought.

(Now bookmarking this thread for future reference.)