/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Second Stage: Bricks
The bricks will be cinder blocks a blend into the surrounding unfinished bricks of the building. The door will be fire proof and (more importantly) sound proof. I have little experience with brick laying, so I might need to practice this in a remote location before hand. Does anyone on here have experience with brick laying?

Third Stage: Utilities
There's a mop closet adjacent to the apartment area which I can draw water from and drain water to. I will hook up a water line underneath the mop closet's sink and run it back to my apartment. I will have a sink for my kitchen which will drain back into the mop closet's floor drain. I won't have a toilet in my apartment because of space restrictions, so flushing smelly sewage into the drain pipe won't be an issue

Fourth Stage: Cleaning
There's a lot of debris left in the storage from when the building was built. I need to haul out concrete blocks and other garbage. I'll put them in a backpack and make several trips. After all the debris is gone, it'll take several hours of scrubbing and cleaning to get this place in liveable condition. Here's an off hand picture of the sorry state that it's in now.

>The biggest challenge will probably be the door that is opposite the entrance to the storage closet. I need to make sure that it is locked while I am exiting the closet.

Are you locking it to prevent someone from catching you in the act of leaving your apt-under-the-stairs? Or what? It seems any mechanical contrivance you use to bar the opposite door will be very conspicuous. Can you elaborate?

Fifth Stage: Living
I'll continue being a part time student at my university, attending classes and racking up diplomas. I'll work out and shower at the rec center each morning. I'll also use the bathroom there and at other areas around campus during the day. In an emergency where I have to pee while in my apartment, I'll have disposable water bottles ready that can be thrown away the next day. All shitting will be done at the rec. There are already power outlets that I can plug my fridge, microwave, toaster oven, computer, etc into. Hell, there's even free wifi in the building. Provided my security system works, no one will ever know that I'm living in a closet under the stairs.

I take it needing a place to take a woman is not an issue?

>>324798
Yes, I need to temporarily lock it while entering/exiting the storage closet door so that no one walks in on me. I imagine drilling a hole in the opposite wall through which a brace can be quickly shoved and locked in place. After I exit the closet, I'll have to remove it and throw it back through the hole.

>>324801
nah, we'll go back to her place if that comes up. I don't really want a girlfriend right now anyway.

>>324804
>I don't really want a girlfriend right now anyway.

Somehow I suspect that isn't much of a nuisance for you anyway lol.

Look I am all about people downsizing, living within their means. Small foot print and all that. What you are planning though is trespassing and you WILL get caught. You will probably make the 5:00 news and then forever be labeled "that guy they caught living under a stairwell at the uni".

>You will probably make the 5:00 news and then forever be labeled "that guy they caught living under a stairwell at the uni".

This seems likely OP.

It's a neat idea, but realistically how are you going to carry materials and use tools to create your space without anyone noticing?

>>324810
The great thing about the location is that it's in a university building that strangers walk through all the time. If I'm ever discovered I'll just run like hell leaving all of my shit behind. I won't keep anything that would ID me in the room. I'll have to be able to grab the HD out of my computer so that no personal information is left behind on it.

>>324811
The only thing that can't be folded up and fit in my backpack is my mini fridge. I'll just wheel that in on a dolly, chill as fuck. No one's going to be like "holly shit where are you going with that fridge!?"

>>324811
>use tools to create your space without anyone noticing?

that definitely is the riskiest part of this whole operation. Luckily, I'll do all of that before I actually move in. If all goes well then I'm cleared for launch. If someone catches me tinkering with shit late at night then I'll just gtfo and abandon the idea.

>>324815
>The great thing about the location is that it's in a university building that strangers walk through all the time.

I should clarify that. I meant that this isn't some private office building where you have to swipe an ID card to get into. It's not so much like breaking and entering but rather staying and squatting.

>>324803
Can't you just work a peephole into your door design? That along with a motion in the hallway should do it for you. Also, post pics if you pull this off.

>>324820
Let's pretend that (at the very minimum) I open and close this door twice a day. That's 730 times in one year. It it takes 4 seconds to do this each time, that's 48:40 of exposed time each year.

Eventually (if not frequently) someone will open the opposite door exactly as I am opening mine. I can't take that chance.

I like your idea very much, OP.
How much space do you have at your hands in there?
I think you could just put a board in front of your project to hide it while you are tinkering. The question is also, who do you get shure the janitor does not lock the door and thats it?
Maybe you could use a chimneydoor (sorry, i'm not native with english but picture related) for the entrance to your shelter.
How about electricity?

forgot picture

OP, what's the point of that ?

I think I detect a hole in OP's plan.
The janitors are going to notice that there are suddenly a few more bricks near the staircase. They work there and have worked there for a long time. That's the thing that caught my attention first anyway.

Funniest thing I've seen in a while.
Wear like a maintenance uniform looking outfit while you do it. Add a fake mustache for lulz. Nobody will be suspicious of you working.

you think the university is going to find your pad and just say "oh gee we didn't catch the guy living here, let's just tear it all down and forget about it"? if you're not in it when they find it, they'll stake it out to catch you. you'll be lucky to just get expelled.

you'd be better off spending all this money on a real apartment or dorm room.

>>324829
The apartment will be very small. The only proper term for it would an "Ultra Mirco" apartment. I took some measurements when I checked it out, pic related.

It's about 75 sqft, without any lofting available. Most houses in the tiny house movement have about 90 sqft, but they also have a loft to sleep/store stuff in. I'll post hand drawn floor plans next.

>>324833
I want to live on as small a budget as possible while continuing my education indefinitely.

>>324834
It's more of a storage closet full of unwanted, dust covered items that don't belong anywhere else in the building. It isn't used often.

>>324835
I'll definitely be wearing construction contractor apparel when doing most of this. "Don't mind me, just doing generic construction stuff."

>>324839
great point. I'll have to find a way to know if anyone has entered the storage closet area while I was away. If I was somehow caught and handcuffed, I'd probably say that I was doing research for a book that I was writing on how to be successfully homeless. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary in a hippy college town like this. And yes, I will be keeping a journal of my experience building and living in it. I'll call it "Pro Hobo" or something weird and sell it under a pseudonym if I ever return to a normal life.

>>324849
It seems a stupid idea that going to cost you some amount of money/time which will be wasted when your definitely caught.

Having said that, I’m curious to see how it goes.

>>324854
It's in a closet that no one uses. How am i going to be caught?

>>324857
Dunno, but I’d bet significant amounts of money that you will

>>324849
>I want to live on as small a budget as possible while continuing my education indefinitely.
So you want to live rent free with no utilities and be forever a student?

If you don't get caught during the initial construction phase, which you probably will you will get caught eventually. You do realize that public institutions such as schools, universities, hospitals etc. all undergo annual inspections right? Think someone isn't going to see a wall where one isn't called for in the prints? Know why they inspect every little nook and cranny in said buildings? Potential fire issues for one. Any change at all has to be inspected and signed off on with the appropriate permits. Not only are you risking getting caught to save a few bucks but your also putting the property owners on the hook for any code violations.

Sounds to me like you need to get your head out of the clouds and just get comfortable with the fact that your gonna have to pay rent somewhere, just like everyone else.

This seems like it could be accomplished. I would suggest that you do some more research on the building first, and maybe the campus in general. You are going to have to find 'door/hatch/panel' that matches the rest of similar items on campus. Might I suggest you apply for one of the sudent-financial-aid job things like 'janitorial' or something... failing that, get a part time at the janitorial company that cleans campus. You probably can make this work... but you really should have more than one area you can head to. Suggestions: when you do put a door/hatch in... that it be semi-concealed... and that you use a drop in bolt from the top which falls into place from gravity.. and that you use a magnet on the outside of the wall to lift it to hatch can open. (make it openable at all times from inside.) It will seem locked/sealed at all times this way... Your going to need airflow (at least a little.) Stash a big text-book or something in the closet on a back shelf or something.

(cont..)
If anyone sees you exiting the closet, or entering... and confronts you about it... just say you stashed a book there earlier because you accidently brought it and didn't want to lug it around all day since you have back problems, and don't have that class. (There are dozens of variables here... you could say its a cpap machine, or something related to a disability that you stash, people tend to get uncomfortable giving people a hard time about a disability that they don't understand.) Laundry is probaly going to be a slight issue.... although you say there is a sink... so... eh maybe. A fridge is a stupid idea depending on how noisy the area is.. the motor vibration kicking on and off would be detectable. Your going to have to be quite careful not to cough, sneeze, etc. You may as well put up wireless cams if your already going to put a computer in there. If there is wi-fi, maybe there is already a camera network you can get into with some social engineering. Questions: Does this building have 24-7 access to all? Or do they flip motion detector alarms on at night? Or patrol it with security or anything? Just curious what your gameplan was for access and egress afterhours is.

>>324870
>you do realize that public institutions such as schools, universities, hospitals etc. all undergo annual inspections right?

i knew OP would get caught, but i didn't even think about this.

This idea is dumb. I lived a dorm room on campus for a full year without paying by simply occupying a vacant one. The floor had an RA room at the end of the hall but for some reason they used the center dorm room for the RA and didn't occupy the one that was out of the way. Just got the key from the front desk when a friend was working there.

I also lived in a dorm room rent free for a semester freshmen year because I "moved out" on paper. Once they checked that I left, I moved back in. Just got some guy at Ace to copy the key for me.

>haven't been on /diy/ for about a year
>just checkin up
>this thread is at the top of the front page

>>324955
I did something similar. I lived in dorm for a semester in a uni I was attending. Then I got academic suspension. The next semester, while not attending the school, I lived in a dorm room with two of my friends for free. I didn't even try to hide my being there because either no one cared or they had thought I was still going to school. The RA lived right next door and was aware that I was always there, but he didn't do anything. We shared a bathroom with suitemates (not the RA) and they probably knew what I was doing. As long as you're not disturbing anyone, people didn't care. My friends across the hall also did this for someone else doing pretty much the same thing as me. For a while we had four people living in the two person room. The only time I was questioned was from campus police because they knew I was living in a different dorm building the previous semester. I just told them I switched, and they never checked or anything. Keeping my student ID was obviously a good idea.

>>324955
>>324967
I think you guys had a better chance of being caught than I do. No one expects some dude to be living in a closet under the stairs.

>>324887
>>324889
great idea about the book/handicap excuse

>>324896
I won't begin construction of this for probably another nine months. Three months ago I put a piece of tape across the closet door and door frame. So far, the tape hasn't been broken which means no one has gone in there. We'll see what happens in the next nine months.

>>325161
that's drawn to scale. Each pixel = 1/4 inch.

The door will be 30" wide, not 36".

>>324967
>>324955
>>324955

What. When I was in a dorm, there were monthly room inspections, always unannounced and thorough.

>>325171
they probably couldn't tell that there was a third guy living there. If he slept on the couch the only give away would be subtle things like three toothbrushes on the sink. I'm thinking about heading over to the building right now and checking on the strip of tape I left there. I'll be back in a few.

>>325161
Just passing through and I saw your diagram, you may want to make sure to cut the wires on the speaker/beeper/buzzer on the microwave/toaster oven, they might give you away. Also consider reading the Diary of Anne Frank (seriously), might give you some tips on inconspicuous living.

Where do you currently live?

What state are you in OP, I live really close to a major university.

>>325205
>>325215
sorry man, I want to stay as anon as possible on here.

>>325199
but that would void their manufacturer's warranty! I'll def read that book, good idea.

>>325222
I didn't mean live as in location wise. Just like what kind of place do you live in now. House, apartment, etc?

>>325222

Ok, give me 5 States. And I'll tell you if I live in one of them? 1 of them being where you're at obviously. I was going to offer to help you if you somehow live around the block from me.

>>325223
typical college apartment

>>325224
nah, i don't need any help. I'll be sure and keep updating /diy/ as the project move forward though.

THE NIGHT HAS GONE QUIET, NOW OFF TO THE SECRET STAIRWELL!
>checking if tape is broken
>taking better pictures/measurements

This is kind of impromtu, so the door that I normally prop open before hand won't be. There is about a 50/50 chance that other doors will be unlocked though. Be back in < 1hr!

>>325171
>>325178
We didn't have room inspections. All my possessions were in a backpack and I always put them back in there if I took anything out so none of my stuff was laying around. It was my boyfriend's dorm, so I slept with him in his bed.
>>325154
Yeah it all depends on the situation. My uni was pretty laid back.

Your biggest enemy will be maintenance men. I know when I was in charge of maintenance for a wing in my old high school (I was a student at the time, actually-- complicated situation), I came to know every damn thing about the place, and I'm sure anybody else in a similar job would too. The motion detector would be noticed immediately, not to mention the fucking wall that wasn't there before.
You have about a 100% chance that a maintenance man will notice the new construction and start making some calls to see who had it put in. Coming up with nothing, he will certainly force that door and see what's up and probably catch you masturbating, too.
You may be able to get him on your side, though, money and beer has been known to improve these relationships. But I wouldn't count on it.

>>324870
Inspections? Every nook and cranny? HA! As if. I couldn't tell you all the glaring issues I've seen in small out of the way places like OP's place that have clearly been there for decades. Doesn't make you any safer, though, see everything else I just said.

>>325243
op you back?

take more pics?

>>325161

>sink

Are you a plumber?

I like the idea OP, but it's too conspicuous. Anybody who works there is going to notice that something's different when they go by. You get used to the way shit looks when you're moving around work, even if you know that you're never going to be touching that corner.

We had a similar under stairs area at one of my jobs, I went past it maybe once a month and I'd have noticed for sure if it had just been bricked up one day. Unless you're pals with the janitors, it's not gonna fly.

>>325283

"Fucka da police, I'ma mario!"

Few things I was thinking of OP

Can you take some more pictures for us as well as show or explain the water/power situation? Lines running in and out of the area would be incredibly obvious. You might want to start practicing brickwork and see if you can get a nice weathered look or make it match the staircase area.

Really I think having the appliances in there with you is excessive and unnecessary, more risk and takes up alot of space. If anything have a little cool box or something. Does your rec center rent out lockers at all? You might wanna keep your small toiletries in there to avoid carrying them back and forth, as well as a possible small supply of clothes. Anything to eliminate more trips in and out of your wall hole.

Also try out to see how well you get the wifi signal down there. If you really want to be anonymous/semi-anonymous down there with a harddrive you can 'take' just use a laptop all the time, or use a desktop and boot from a USB. Most modern motherboards are able to do this now, and if you have 3.0 it's pretty good.

Also can you take more height measurements? I think in your bed setup you might not be fully considering the thickness of bed and space between that and lower side of stairs, as well as if you have a book case you'll need to have one end of it be staired as well?

>>324801
what girl wouldn't love to climb into this rape dungeon looking hole in the wall? haha

But this is a wicked idea though good one OP

Well, i learned a lot from the last trip. The most pressing matter is that there are giant fucking stone slabs stacked against the wall that I'm not sure even two men could lift together. I have no fucking clue what I'm going to do with them. At most, I can slide them across the room. I though of stacking them in the storage closet outside my door, but i don't even know if I could lift them up! Here's a picture of one of the smaller slabs which I brought home for closer examination. It's the heaviest kind of rock I've ever felt, which might explain it's purpose

>continued

It appears that a lot of the items in this closet are a part of the university's printing press, a part of the school of art. I just got back from the expedition and haven't had a chance to research anything yet, but hopefully the printing press has been made defunct with the advent of modern printing and digital design and now all of this shit has just been carelessly dumped here. If that's the case, they won't notice if I throw some of it out or move it around. There were templates for extremely old looking advertisements wrapped in old timey newspaper. The ads looked like shit straight out of AMC's Madmen.

>continued

I'm going to assume that the stone slabs were used as weights to press shit down or something. They are heavy as fuck. Some of them had mirror image copies of what ever they were advertising on them, so they must have come in contact with the printing paper at some point. Here's a picture of the rows of slabs that need to be moved if I were to live there. They're impossible to pick up alone. Only option would be to slide them.

>>325314
Maybe slabs could be used in wall construction or as a facade or distraction?

>>325314
here's a close up of the slab in the lower right of the last post's picture. It's some kind of cigar ad for "successful men"

Op u there ?

were you the op of the thread i posted this in?

>>325314
The slabs are used in lithography - they are the printing plates. That said, it's a pretty outdated process these days.

There were "Tam O'Shanter Hone" sticks which I guess are meant to sharpen and polish tools with. They were made in Scotland and wrapped in newspaper from the 1940's. The newspaper has ads in it talking about hearing machines so the deaf can hear air raid warning sirens. Here's a pic looking from just inside the storage closet door towards where I want to build my brick wall. There are felt screens stretched like canvas on frames made out of two by four. I'm going start investigating whether my Uni's printing press still uses this shit.

>>325321
Hi OP

Those look like metal stairs, maybe with concrete tops?

Have you considered what it will be like with people going TUNG TUNG TUNG TUNG TUNG up and down those while you try to sleep directly underneath them?

Before you go to all the trouble

>>325318
Whoah! If I could get that to work, it'd be great camouflage for the door! I'm just not sure whether it would blend in well enough. It's worth a try though. I've posted this idea here once before. I must have left the thread before you had posted that.

>>325317
Still here, kind of flying by the seat of my pants though. A lot of new information is coming in, I appreciate all the advice.

>>325320
Lit Hog Rap Hy, you say?

Just lay the big slabs flat on the floor side to side as if they're part of it.

Hell if you're creative you could use them to build impromptu furniture, a bed even.

>>325331
That'd be a big waste of space though. I was planning on using every nook and cranny as storage. Laying them on the floor isn't an option because the ceiling is already so low that it hovers a half an inch above my head. Wearing shoes makes my head bump against it, unless I slouch. I'll re draw the blueprint to show how much space they're taking up right now.

There goes my mini fridge, pantry, closet, etc.

At least half of them have to be removed in order for me to have enough room to live in.

find out who owns the slabs and tell him to get them off your property

OP why do you even need so much room?
All you need is a place to sleep and dump some crap.

Asumably there are common rooms and what not where you can store food, cook food, get water, do washing at 3am.

I know my uni has at least one common room in every building, I often walk in to random common rooms when I need to cook something or am thirsty.

I suggest you narrow down your space to just being a bed and some storage, and spend as little time as possible in there. You can spend the rest of your time at other places around the uni.

>>325346
>All you need is a place to sleep and dump some crap.
I don't want to be -that- homeless. I'm looking at building a permanent dwelling here.

I'm going to bed, but I'll check this thread again tomorrow sometime. Thanks again for all the help guys.

>>325352
Ah just missed you.

I don't suppose you've got any pictures of these old newspapers you mentioned here...
>>325321 ?

They interest me. Good luck with this.

>>325277
>not to mention the fucking wall that wasn't there before.

This. This is such a retarded idea, just buy a van.

>>Company Graphic Chemical
>>Address 732 North Yale Avenue
>>Villa Park IL 60181
>>US

Murricans can tell me what state this is from?

Why do you need to lay another wall to your shelter? Why not use the door that is already there, it would not get anyone suspicious. You could just replace the lock with a new one, so you could be onlyone having a key to your "cave"

Make sure theres enough ventilation so that you dont suffocate there, its a small place after all. How about electricity and fire safety?

>>325374
Buddy, learn to use google and maps. Not even American, but IL = Illinois
The address is 15 miles outside of Chicago

>>325374
>>325378
>>325352
>>325335
lol looked that adress up in Googlemaps and found this.http://www.google.com/recaptcha/api/image?c=03AHJ_VuuWUhERulebim5JdJk4g3tqiYwJM5l5dNscQ_EqXFuyz
mJxxbpiNMYj46HUY8SZjmM2salZl3urUnhR7YcFIgnH_oFNMLBwB4Phhd9jRI69M-bSN6a1g5qzp_O_Neuvwdd1OLZqAhfT4EBLI
ntDZ7s74CXyIaO-T5ZOvla_tqZBC501mJpHDLEL6CRwIaNqYk89yIAz

OP are you a hobo currently?

OP you could just build all your stuff then wait for another year to pass and see if anything has changed / anyone has noticed before you live there.
Just to make sure you won't be catched

>>325387
>won't be catched
>catched

Asian/Indian detected.

>>325393

What was your point detecting asian/indian in this topic? Were trying to detect this hobo, if anything.

I get more of a person about to be kicked out of school for fucking off on his scholarship and needs somewhere to live so he doesn't go home in shame to parents.

I was really hoping OP was on the coast and got swept away, but then again this is such a stupid idea I didn't bother to read his whole last thread.

This reminds me of community when quan was secretly living in a janitors closet for a semester.

>>325468

>Senor Chang.

Then in the air ducts. Yeah, with Annies Boobs.

OP can you answer these questions?
>>325297


Also I think you're confusing people with the talk about the closet. I think people are confusing the closet with the underside of the stairs? You might wanna do a better diagram also possibly detailing the size and location of the closet.

I think you can do better than this.

You could try take a sledgehammer to the slabs, break them into little pieces and take them out slowly.

Or go to the gym, find a roid monkey and offer him some money for help

>>325381

Thats where the printing company was not where he will or does live right now you idiot.

>>324889
Effing amazing thread BTW, still going through it. One issue with use an excuse such as "i store my books in here" is that other people might jump on that bandwagon (might consider a difference excuse)

As for the janitors. it would be interesting to find out how often that area is entered. There is probably a tactic you can use to see if anyone enters that room.

He said he put some tape on one of the doors to see if anyone enters. But, he hasn't mentioned if the tape was still there

>>325878
yeah I really wish op would come back and post more

Op you're crazy. I like it. Just a thought, get a super part time job as a janitor in the building. Boom..all problems solved.

http://laughingsquid.com/artists-build-a-secret-apartment-inside-providence-mall/

parking garage seems like a good idea....

OP, do you live in Kansas, Montana, Iowa, Kentucky, California, New York, Maryland, or Texas?

YES OR NO. I just picked a bunch of random states, and I live in one of them.

This thread reminds me of a story I heard from my sister:

>went to MIT
>loved to explore campus
>shit like old service tunnels between buildings.
>steam tummels (sometimes)
>basement storerooms
>liked to look for old, random crap
>especially stuff marked "DEACTIVATED MIT PROPERTY"
>which basically meant "Free, trash!"
>was down in a basement with boyfriend, lockpicking buddy.
>looking at old crap, find nook with 1ft wide opening.
>squeeze into the space, find:

>>325974

>a mattress
>some neatly folded clothes
>a few books
>a big wooden desk, to big to fit in through the opening.
>everything looks clean(ish), new.
>they decide to GTFO
>never reported it to campus police
>the part that bothers them the most, to this day:

>>325976

>How the hell did the desk get into that space.

They claim it was a very sturdy desk, and have no idea how it could have ever fit through the opening.

>>325979
Maybe they build a wall too, after they moved the desk where it should be. Or they simply took it apart and IKEA'd it back together inside the space.

Why don't you just stop being a stupid ass and buy a van, turn it into a little camper, and live in that? One time buy, hook it up for around 1000 dollars, and keep it off campus a little.

This thread is complete autism. Let me help you out.

-Don't invest that much time in your current plans OP, its not practical.

1. If you really don't want to pay. Be a vagrant on campus. Same thing that you want to do right now, but you can get away with it. Get a large backpack. DO NOT BUY ANY BOOKS that you can get from the school library, you don't want to carry them, minimize your load. Scout out your campus, and find good spots to hunker down in. One skill you need is picklocking (or bump key), and you will be able to live in comfort. Whenever night soon approaches, go find an empty building, almost all of them are left unlocked at night. Go in the building go to the second floor. Find some janitor closet, electrical room for the building, or maintenance/utility room and make yourself at home after you work the lock open. Some of them are the size of a large room, some the size of a quaint closet. And some of these maintenance closets are only touched once a week, if even that, by workers. It'll be insulated, warm, quiet, and dry; lay out your sleeping bag and plug in your laptop. Make sure to wake up at 5:30 to avoid the onset of people starting their day (including janitors). During the day, you spend your time at classes, library, etc. At night, you pull a minecraft and find your aforementioned chosen spots to hunker down to avoid creepers and nasties. One other spot if the weather is clear, is to go to a stairwell, pick the lock to the very top exit leading to the roof and campout for the night. Keep your stuff in a black plastic bag, just in case it instantaneously starts pouring, so your stuff is safe as you make your way back to dryness. Be creative, it'd be easy as fuck to do this.

2. My gf lives in a small apartment which costs $300 a month. Not that much, could just get a job to pay it off.

OP, I assume you are studying at university or college...

If you are studying towards a good career with job opportunities, then you can borrow against your future earnings to pay for a basic student apartment, and pay that loan off within a few years of graduating.

If you are studying towards a degree that does not have the prospects of a career capable of paying off student expenses, then ask yourself: why are you studying towards that degree? Either switch to a more practical degree, or drop out and train for a trade.

>>325956

Those two guys are cute.

>>326068
being an alumni under a mountain of debt for 5 years without being able to dent it...

this man speaks the truth and I can't believe I was so naive to borrow against my future on a fucking liberal arts degree. Don't make this same mistake. It doesn't matter how much the degree "speaks to you" or interests you. You go to college to get a job, not to be entertained.

>>326068
>pic
>trick is to look unemployable

No, you don't even need to do that. The companies you try to apply to will do that for you,

>PERM Fake Job Ads defraud Americans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCbFEgFajGU

>>325371
>>325352
(pic related)

>>325979
>mit
They were probably smart as fuck engineers. Surely they took it apart and put it back together.

>>325973
I'm going to guess Kentucky but why the fuck don't you just say instead of playing them stupid ass faggy games

>>326098

Not the anon you replied to but my guess is that OP is reluctant to say where he's from (I think he said that in a post somewhere in this thread) hence the game. Or the anon you replied to does not want to say which state he's from.

>>324791
It is not hard. Controll every brick with a spirit ruler. Try to use the same amount of mortar on every layer. Also put a sheet of nylon on the floor because of the stains.
Pic related everything you need.

>>324788
Why can't you live in a van down by the river like all the other wierdo fucks?

The thread came back with a vengeance. Very nice. Pic related, I posted it in the last thread.


Don't really see why you're overthinking this so much with crazy locking mechanisms, tons of shelves and shit, building a wall, and other general ass hattery.

Here's what you need:

A box for your food and water to keep rats out.
A place to sleep.
A place to sit when not wanting to lay down.

I know how you could set up your house and never have anyone recognize it for the shelter it is even if they went in there while you were out.

-Drill two holes and put in anchor pins for your hammock to be stretched diagonally across the room.
-Use rollers to move the slabs and everything very tightly into the elbow of the room, underneath the stairs, making the entire front area open space without having to dispose of school property.
-Put a beanbag chair in there in the corner of the "L."
-Make a small box for your water, food, clothes, and a hotplate stove.
-Build a small stair block on the inside side of the door, and a fold down stair up, to pull down and give you the leg up from the other side, thus vastly reducing the in-and-out time and eliminating the need for ridiculous locking mechanisms.

Carry your laptop and hammock in your backpack, keep the box closed and unassuming, and move the beanbag chair into the 'junk' area underneath the stairs, out of the line of sight of anyone opening the closet to peek in.

>Just a box, and some stairs, and an overhead light.

Inspectors could come through and not think anything of it. Even someone going inside would see only junk including an odd beanbag chair that says 'property of the art department' or something on it.

No fridge, tons of shelves, or microwave, but you have everything you absolutely need.

>>326148
That's cutting it awfully close according to what OP wants, apparently a "permanent" space. It's a great backup though. I'm sure he wouldn't be too keen on the whole vagrant thing.

>>324858
second

>>326063 spaced

If you really don't want to pay. Be a vagrant on campus. Same thing that you want to do right now, but you can get away with it.

Get a large backpack. DO NOT BUY ANY BOOKS that you can get from the school library, you don't want to carry them, minimize your load. Scout out your campus, and find good spots to hunker down in.

One skill you need is picklocking (or bump key), and you will be able to live in comfort. Whenever night soon approaches, go find an empty building, almost all of them are left unlocked at night. Go in the building go to the second floor. Find some janitor closet, electrical room for the building, or maintenance/utility room and make yourself at home after you work the lock open. Some of them are the size of a large room, some the size of a quaint closet. And some of these maintenance closets are only touched once a week, if even that, by workers. It'll be insulated, warm, quiet, and dry; lay out your sleeping bag and plug in your laptop.

Make sure to wake up at 5:30 to avoid the onset of people starting their day (including janitors). During the day, you spend your time at classes, library, etc. At night, you pull a minecraft and find your aforementioned chosen spots to hunker down to avoid creepers and nasties.

One other spot if the weather is clear, is to go to a stairwell, pick the lock to the very top exit leading to the roof and campout for the night. Keep your stuff in a black plastic bag, just in case it instantaneously starts pouring, so your stuff is safe as you make your way back to dryness. Be creative, it'd be easy as fuck to do this.

>>325314
Just take a big hammer and smash them.

>>326148
No need to carry your hammock all the time.
I don't believe it is suspicious, if it is only hanged in in one anchor.

I spent some time working as a night security guard for a local university. Shitty job I know, but paid the bills back then. Anyway, part of my job was to patrol the buildings, this including checking stairwells, roofs, etc.

My patrols were done hourly and we had multiple guards on that campus 24/7.

I never found anybody camping in stairwells, but there was one incident where a mexican built a little campsite in a small patch of woods on university property once. Had to call the cops, write a big ass report about it, notify the uni officials and get maintenance to dismantle it.

There were a lot of times where I found students sleeping in chairs or sofas in various buildings. Generally I just had to wake them up and tell them to leave.

Just because the stairwell is dusty ancient storage doesn't mean that somebody else doesn't walk by and look at it from time to time.

tl;dr This is a bad idea, somebody will notice.

>>326202

Hammocks pack up into a very small ball, so it would occupy a single pouch of a backpack.

So, did the OP find anything on his recon-mission or did he just bail out of this thread?

>>325979

they disassembled it, brought it through and reassembled it. easy mode. mit students have done that to a car before except they put it on a building so a desk isn't a stretch

>>326604
he probably got arrested

>>326707
http://hacks.mit.edu/Hacks/by_year/1994/cp_car/

Awesome idea OP. I have a question and a suggestion.
What will you do for a mailing address? get a PO box?

Why not try and find/make a "DANGER:ASBESTOS" sign to put on your door, that should put 99.9% of people off snooping

>>326810

Lol... If anyone in the staff looks at your sign it reads:

CHECK THIS CLOSET OUT, HERES SOMETHING REALLY WEIRD GOING ON

>>326829

This. "DANGER: ASBESTOS" type signs don't go up unless there is active asbestos removal/encapsulation going on, in which case it would also include a big "KEEP OUT" and possibly mention the PPE required to enter the area. Putting one up would draw a lot of attention.

For buildings which contain already encapsulated asbestos there's just a notice on the door that the building contains safely encapsulated asbestos. Those notices aren't giant WARNING! DANGER! signs; they're somewhat lower key, permanent and on an older campus would be on practically every building.

>>326063
http://campusprogress.org/articles/living_in_the_library_for_real/
some guy lived in a library
you could probably shower at the gym, only have a few pairs of clothes, and live out of the gym plus another building that is either open 24/7 or isn't cleared out very well

>>325312
what college you at? elmhurst?

anyone think about the smell of anything cooking (microwave or hot pot)? whole stairwell is going to smell like whatever he cooks... if that doesn't cause someone to open the closet door and see WTF is going on then........

>>326829
>CHECK THIS CLOSET OUT, HERES SOMETHING REALLY WEIRD GOING ON
>DANGER:ASBESTOS


How about a sign reading, "Warning: Gospel Music"?

What if.. OP is.. Harry Potter?

or thinks he is harry potter, just waiting to get picked up for hogwarts

OP is making too many assumptions.

OP,
Try a prefabricated concrete wall. PIC related. You'll need some friends to help bring it in and set it, but you won't be laying block for a day.

>>329003
Forgot to mention...
Make it to size and then camouflage it up good. Haul it in, level it in place, and epoxy caulk the fuck out of it.

Some of that printing press stuff may be valuable to an antique dealer I recommend Taking samples of the things you find to be apraised, and if its worth anything begin selling in bulk.

dont you think the universety staff would be like, "hey where did this Door/Bricks come from?"
like, I hope this is a joke..

>>324857
its a fun idea but you will be caught because unless the janitors a completely retarded they will notice a bricked up stairwell

think about it for one second,
>your a janitor
>your kingdom is storage cupboards and places no one goes
>you patrol the building constantly tweaking and fixing things
>you get to know the building better than anyone else barring security
>a brick wall crops up suddenly which has no planning permission, formal signatures from site officers, no health and safety paperwork was filled out or money paid to independant contractors... its very suspicious. checks are done
> they find OP and the caretakers joseph fritzel his ass

I teach at an art school and lithography stone are STILL used and very expensive. Every one of those stones can be used until they are very thin. You grind off the surface and re-use. I assure you that sooner or later someone WILL come looking for them. more than likely once a semester like we do. FYI we keep all of our stones in a closet and assign them to a new student each semester. The extras stay in the closet. YOU WILL GET CAUGHT. LOL LOL LOL

All this talk of janitors can be easily discovered. OP suggested some months of observation. This observation should include a hidden camera under the stairs, if it can point to the adjacent door it would be better.

OP mentioned electricity so maybe he can hide the cords or use batteries and exchange them from time to time. Use those low-res microcameras, they can last quite some time on batteries.

>>330069
How the hell do you guys move those slabs?

>>330069
That feel when OP puts these stones up on eBay and get a dorm room with the money.

OP while I feel that you are the sort of hero this board needs and deserves this will never work in a million years.

I admire your youthful energy but with youth comes naivete. Some janitor will find this within a week and you will be facing criminal charges that will haunt you for years.

Especially in this day and age with the ease of internet lookups some potential employer will see your arrest for this and look no further. He/she will toss your resume in the trash and move on to the next of several hundred applicants.

>>330560

i would be impressed by op if i was going to employ him

>>330561

As would I IF and that's a big IF I knew the particulars.

I run background checks on potential employees or people I do business with and never any deeper than the arrest report.

Doesn't even matter if they were convicted or not. When you are screening fifty emails a day you don't have time to look into each persons particulars.

That's just the way the world works.

>>324799

OP you are a cheeky kunt I like your idea

>>324811

Better yet do it during the day with construction type wear on. (Assuming no officials pass through this place, if a student sees someone vaguely dressed like a tradie working with bricks and shit they're not going to take notice.

>>325161

OP Id say go for it, you've put alot of planning into this and it sounds like it will work. And whats the worst if you do get caught?

Honestly sounds cheesy but #yolo

>>330586

The worst? Arrest, booking with strip search, mental health evaluation, jail time, criminal record, kicked out of school.

>>330588
>strip search
You act like this is undesirable.

>>330561
Yup, right up until you found him squatting in your basement crapper.

>find building in which it's hard to judge the dimensions of the rooms inside
>particularly an older or abandoned building where the people who know the layout are long gone or the people (if present) don't know the building well
>find an unused/abandoned closet, small room or bathroom
>take the door down
>take the frame out
>patch the drywall and paint it
>put a potted plant or some old equipment/debris in front of it so it doesn't stand out
>You now have a room that doesn't exist except for some old blue prints that nobody will look at
>Just be careful of demolition crews who might bring the building down in your sleep or contractors making expansions/renovations.

I don't think this is likely to work, but for the love of God, keep us updated OP, even if you end up saying "fuck it, I'll get an apartment" in the end or something, I'm intrigued.

Yeah this is the most awesome shit I have seen in a while. Try to post this somewhere OP.

This project is going to cost more than living in a dorm.

this is an epic thread OP, I wanted to do the same thing for the longest time after reading about that guy who did a similar thing in a parking garage and got away with it for 5 YEARS...

>>325345
>>325345
My fucking sides

>>330814
OP I am guessing open abandoned thread long ago after realizing what a shitastic idea this was.

What are you doing for lighting?

I work at a University. The maintenance guys know the university better than anyone and will be the first to notice any changes. They will question what they see. And if they see construction work they will want to know what is up because it should be on their roster & they "don't want to get stuck cleaning that shit up". Also campus security... Bored as fuck making rounds at 2 am would love to investigate Any new sounds that they've never heard etc etc... Not saying its impossible but you will most likely get caught before you move in. You should try getting familiar with some of the security/maintence people if your going to have A real chance!

That said if you get to the point of move in and are their for a few months you will probably will get away with it like the guy who spent 5 year in a parking ramp. Enjoy the indefinite education man! I'll so be checking back.

this thread will be impressive if he can pull it off

would suck if you were snoring and a dorm cop heard you lol

might want to invest in some kind of soundproofing

OP, i hope you do this, and i hope this works for you, the very ideo that you might actually live, essentially for free, rack up them diplomas, i hope you go somewhere, you sound smart, i would suggest you get a storage cellar for all your extra stuff

OP, you're taking the hardmode approach.

easy mode without getting caught would be to create a fake/counterfeit school poster, and hang it over whatever nook or cranny you decide to live in.

Obviously not in a high traffic area, but it'll do the trick at the bottom of the stairwell...

Not to mention, it won't be scrutinized like a fucking concrete wall would be (during a building inspection)

keep us updated, i love reading about crazy squatting shenanigans

>>331283

As if anyone could keep a secret nowadays.

>>330246
We move them with a cart. The stone is porous and not as heavy as one might think. They're heavy but one person can pick them up. Bigger ones we use a dolly and students LOL.

>>325161

ROFL this is halarious. best of luck to you sir

>>327130
Maybe University of Illinois at Oakland Terrace? Idk man, I live in Illinois though lol

OP, I support your initiative. But I am surprised how many Americans are negative regarding this initiative. They sound like pussies. I'm an IP lawyer and I'd hire you if you told me this story and executed it successfully. Well, best of luck, OP.

Also does anyone know the background of this image?

Why is there a bricked wall under the stairs?

So, why hasnt our OP answered to this topic in a week? Was he caught on his surveillance mission?

>>331698
Some dude lived in a mall parking lot for a couple months or something

I dunno if this has been asked yet, but are there no cameras in this building? In my experience, they sometimes tend to put them around stairwell doors. It's a good way to keep an eye on the comings and goings of people inside the building. It may not seem like a big deal, but how long until some security guard notices that you enter this stairwell, and don't leave till hours later? They may not know what you are doing, but it's enough to get people suspicious, and that's all it takes to muck shit up.

>>332290
Yeah, a couple students from the Rhode Island school of art took up residence in a corner of a parking garage very similar to OP's place. They'd built a wall and put in a door. They were eventually discovered and thrown in jail.

I'm guessing you mean the back area of the closet/stairway. I would check the closet to see if it has any recently dated materials ie soaps, brooms,etc... if not and if maintenance doesn't go there often, move the blocks to where you want the wall and see if you can make a temporary wall with them. Then over the course of a month or two, scout out the rest of the campus for building projects and such. When a new project starts, get a nondescript paper with "leftover/replacement blocks" make it look official without signing anything, and slowly add "Piles" of cinderblocks in front of said wall. Make an "uneven, fully stacked pile of cinderblocks with only the backportion fully mortered/the front liquidnails and segmented dull nails. Make a door from a spring loaded ceiling ladder kit, use the cinderblock cutout idea, making sure to not have it be immediately obvious. Just slowly pile the bricks up from back to front, if in your "uniform", add credulence to the placement of leftover bricks by saying the faculty person responsible for too many bricks wanted to keep them as replacements/ keep from getting in trouble/ yada yada. Try to keep it quiet and not a big deal to you.

Get a sheet of insulation board, spray paint in faded fashion old markings for asbestos particle board, and use same excuse of I was told to put it here, will hide the full brick wall effect, will give you warning if they start "removing" extra bricks/ jigg is up. I would personally look for a unused corner with no closets myself. Power is easy to get, Closed Cell memory foam, bricks, and particle board for more permanent furniture, slowly build up and improve on over time. Keep a bucket with industrial strength air cleaner in the pile of shit in front. If asked to move the stuff you are bringing in, move a little of it "wander off" and start up again in another location with more annoying, stuff, do a couple times, make a couple false leads, settle wherever there isn't attention or people traffic. And remember to walk past your hiding hole every other time at least to keep people from associating you with that area.

>>330762
yeah but how do you leave the room?

This is what I'm thinking, though you will have to start saving for the fine. Otherwise you'll not be able to get your degree while going there.

use a counter weight made from some blocks and two pulleys. Make sure it settles down lightly on some foam while still hanging slightly. Make the door from segments of stiff metal panels, put together behind the "pile" of bricks. This will be the weak point of construction, but if you manage. Will be pretty good at hiding said place, and as long as it doesn't scrape the floor, shouldn't be easily noticed.

Try to get janitorial job at night, bonus for hanging around at night excuse, getting money, good sob story for living in "squallor",
and will allow you to really know the area.

This is epic. It is people like OP that push the boundaries of possibility. I hope you get this to work and report back.

>>332249

Probably this. I am thinking he was either a master troll or just very,very naive.

I keep updating the thread to see if OP will update on this, but as a week passes, either OP is a faggot or he's getting major progress done.
>*Calling OP.....OP please respond to your thread... OP to his own thread please.*

>>332504

>some guy too lazy to get a real job and wants to squat is pushing the boundaries of possibility

Christ 4chan has some warped people..

>>333679
Been following as well.

Lost hope.

OP is a faggot

>>333703

Yeah its a pretty bizarre idea that would never work but nevertheless I admire his youthful naivete and ambition.

If my projects take off I would look for apprentices like that. Use my experience and hard knocks experience to mold a young ambitious mind like that.

Before they got locked up in country and had to make new 'freinds'.

Op... I'm very sad that you turned out to be a faggot. I had high hopes for this.

This thread reminds me of Bart Simpson trying to get Martin to build him a coconut Nintendo when they were on a deserted island.

Just reading through this thread I'm intrigued. Come back OP. also he was not being cautious enough though with his plans.

just read trhough the whole thread.
Op won't come back.
Idea is awesome, but as many people her pointed out, It wouldn't have worked anyways...

the new wall
the sounds
the smell from op cooking something
etc.

If OP comes back, her is my advise:
Build the new wall now and see what happens. You said you wanted to wait 9 months anyways.
And use the allready build and painted - wall idea, which can just be placed there in a few minutes.

I hope OP gives up on this. I've hoped he'd get caught for weeks now, but ce'st la vie.

just build the wall, and leave it for awhile to see what happens.
At worst it gets taken down, and you could just use it to store things or hide out if you need to.

Mason here: (for those of you that dont know what that is, thats a bricklayer)
Laying CMU is fairly easy but making it match the existing work may be a little difficult. What color are the CMU that the school is built out of, because around my area, we never use simple grey blocks. CMU blocks arent very cheap either, they are, depending on the unit, 2 to 3 bucks a piece. Now bricklaying is a lot harder than it looks. The whole key is to be gentle and be precise. While laying a block, you should never tap it into place by hitting the face. always hit the top, and always have a hand on it to direct where it needs to go as you tap it into place, dont push down with the hand you put the block on the wall, you will really irritate yourself. Take a 2x4, and screw it onto the wall 8" from where you want the face, and make sure its plumb. now you dont have to plumb your wall one time while building it, build to the 2x4. Jointing the work is easy, you need to nget a jointer to match the existing, either get a round tooler, or a rake jointer. Take a pic of the existing and I can tell you what you need to do. I might be able to help you with what type of blocks you need, and where you can get them from if I had a pic of the existing. Color is the biggest issue.

>>334854
mason!= brickie on the right side of atlantic.

>>334872
by right i am guessing you mean east.
yours,
a geographer

>>325161
I suggest putting a tarp or something on the underside of the stairs so you don't get dust falling on your bed when people use them

>>334901

OP's stairs have closed structure, but he wont be coming back to this topic, so dont worry

I'm not gonna knock the idea since this is /diy/ and it's still a project to have fun and think about, but I gotta say this passes the line from being fun or practical. I would work or try to gain trust and freeload or couchsurf or indulge in whatever criminal practice to get some money but the whole living in the wall thingis a little too far, not to mentioned I'd want to actually sleep, not worrying about getting caught or forgetting my locks or freaking out over every little noise.

OP you are a retard, just find an unoccupied student house and squat the fuck out of it. Unless he's renovating the property, the landlord will visit like once every couple of months to collect mail etc. Most bedrooms in student houses have locks, so it's just a case of picking one open and then locking it again on the inside (or just changing the lock). Landlord wont bother opening and checking all the doors if he thinks nobody is occupying it. Keep all of your shit in the bedroom, including toiletries etc. Assuming you've always got your laptop/valuables in your rucksack, you can leave at a moment's notice and just squat elsewhere. You will never look out of place in/around the property either, but obviously keep the blinds closed. Also the utility companies won't cut off your water/electricity for like 4 months, giving you plenty of time to find a backup if shit hits the fan.

The idea of creating a gay little harry potter study tent under the stairs to avoid paying rent is retarded. You also have more rights as a squatter so surely it's a better option. If the idea does not appeal to you, you can always whore yourself to old men on craigslist

Saved from the last page...

OP, though all of this sounds fun, high chances you will be caught. When I was going to college, I did not have the means to support myself. So I lived in this wooded area close to campus. I used a lot of wooden crates to build the frame work, then took that expanding foam in the spray can. Filled the gaps up so wind and shit would not get through. Then put some strong camp tarping on the outside. I had a small energy bank that I powered up with a lil home made wind turbine (Only cost 15 bucks to make) I was able to run my appliances I needed through using that. My small place had windows. I was lucky enough to get wifi from my place too. I lived there for two yrs. Each day I would improve more and more.

I always try to take a dif path into my area every day. One thing I would do to cover my train up was to use HUGE potted bushes. I would pull the brush away, move the plants over and over, put them back into place.

I really miss that damn place some times.

>>337526


wooden pallets**

mfw this thread is still alivve

and one day while opy is inside asleep ...the men come and stack tons of bricks or blocks up against the door/front of opys hole ...and forever after he becomes an urban legend...and it is known as the haunted stairway

>>337526
How could you possibly not get caught? How would no one call the police and say "hey there's some homeless guy living in the woods near the school"? Genuinely curious.

>>337625

This.

I used to beach bum in Hawaii during the winters and it never ceased to amaze me how people will hate on what they perceive as homeless.

I would have a nice clean spot set up in Hell and gone and some asswipe would come out there and trash it.

If I found myself needing a place for free I would probably just dig a hole in the ground, waterproof it and hide the entrance.

>>337526
>>337625
Like this guy, Im curious as to how you got away with that.

Also, where is OP? Extremely interested to find out how this project went.

I wish you well. Really you should become the janitor. Then all your problems would solve.

Can you be a janitor and a student at the same time?

>>340313
oh yea

Curiosity Bump

Are you the OP that posted about building a little cubby-hole hiding spot underneath a stairwell on some unused building a month or two ago?

you are so intent on doing something you'll get caught with before you even finish. reason: universities have a shit storm of hidden cameras everywhere. they'll notice you not leavin or bringing a stockpile of shit. they probably won't think you're building a room but a fuckin bomb or something and not only expell you but beat the shit out of you in the process

>>326090
i want

So, where is this thread going? Where is OP.

CLANG CLANF CLANG CLANG

u hear that, OP?

That's the sound of heels on the steel stairwell above your head at all hours of the night.

bump to the sky. come back OP

Scout out camera's, generally only around heavily used area's. Scout out building projects and little used spaces, area's. Find area like what op found minus janitors using it. Build wall with hidden door, making sure repeated use doesn't reveal location. Have a potted plant or some sort of plausible student project in the same area i.e. effects of potassium nitrate on the growth of fishweed. This covers up reasons for going there all the time and gives you a project for your degree. Try to get janitorial job, though its likely union. Make all furniture in said room out of cardboard and make it all foldable. This is useful for constructing it elsewhere and for easy moving and removal/ breakdown for hiding. The university has probable had something like this occur before, check out what happened to this person without making your interest known. Study, party, work, work on "project", DONT TELL ANYONE WHERE YOU LIVE. Act like you live in the library or something. Good cover is close to how it really is, but slightly off. Almost all universities have pools and said pools all have showers. Usually free to students, just don't take too long a ones or they'll start charging money. Food from all the clubs, groups, events, and wildlife might hold you over for a while. If you have woods, not gardens(patroled like a prison because of all the RAPISTS), or abandoned buildings(only if its not in view of cameras/ public. Start converting that space as well. All of this is ILLEGAL, but if you pull it off, and get a degree without ever being caught. Might be able to use that in your Resume...