[Stoofa]

I have reason to believe that someone has been sabotaging my apartment building. They're doing it from the furnace room, which only people in my area of the building (me and one other tenant), the landlord, and the general contractor, should have access to.

I'd like to set up a little something so I can tell if someone has been in the furnace room. A line of baby powder won't work because the entrance to the furnace room is about a foot off of the ground, and the floor in the hallway and in the furnace room is very dusty and and has bits of cardboard and other debris down (we're in the middle of renovations, but no one should be in this side of the building until September to clean up the hallway).

Ideas? It can't be something someone would notice, it can't be something someone could easily replace to mask the fact that they entered the furnace room, and it has to be inexpensive and easy.

My landlord is away, but when she gets back next week a lock will be put on the door. For now I'd just like to know when someone has gone into that room.

Thanks in advance!

[Lucien21]

oooh James Bond style hidden camera's.

[Karmillo]

Or set up a spring mechanism that swings a 2 x 4 plank down on perp

[Jazhara7]

Putting fine dust into a furnace room might not be the best idea anyway.

Ever heard of dust explosions? It's the terror of every bakery in the world.

If noboy else apart from you is going to go through there, then put up a string. Don't make it too tight, and attach one of the ends only enough to keep it up, but not enough to make the person notice that there's a string there. If it's a slightly dark room, a black string should do. If the string is not very tight, the person will not notice that they pulled it down.


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[Melanie68]

*hee hee*

I'm not giggling at the fact some doofus is breaking into your furnace room but that you'll get the imaginations of everyone going around here.

I'll have to think on this one. Something will likely pop into my head at an ungodly hour (say... 3 a.m.) and then I'll be compelled to log on and share.

Although the string idea came to me straight away but Jaz already mentioned that.

If only you could borrow one of those little spider-like robots from Dreamfall!

[Stoofa]

Originally Posted by Melanie68

*hee hee*

I'm not giggling at the fact some doofus is breaking into your furnace room but that you'll get the imaginations of everyone going around here.

Can you think of a better place to ask for help on something like this? I figured you guys would love a challenge like this, the fact that it's a real life issue makes it more exciting!

So far this jerk has cut all of the cable lines (he did this yesterday) and unplugged all of the ethernet cords going into the router so now one had any phone or internet. He seems to strike when the landlord is unavailable. She's on vacation right now, and when he attacked the router she was away for the weekend.

I've thought about the string but I don't know...I'll have to experiment. The door doesn't shut very tightly right now.

[Huz]

Ethernet ports, you say? See if you can borrow one of those webcams that connect directly to ethernet and upload their findings to the intarweb. Busted.

Less technologically, the old hair-between-the-door-and-doorframe should work just fine.

[bulldog]

Originally Posted by Huz

Ethernet ports, you say? See if you can borrow one of those webcams that connect directly to ethernet and upload their findings to the intarweb. Busted.

Less technologically, the old hair-between-the-door-and-doorframe should work just fine.

the Ethernet is probly the best bet. That's what I would use. Good luck

[Lucien21]

If you only had a rubber chicken, a pulley and some cat whiskers we could build an elaborate mantrap.

[SakSquash]

Wait a second...what exactly are people doing in there that has you so miffed?

[Stoofa]

Originally Posted by Huz

Ethernet ports, you say? See if you can borrow one of those webcams that connect directly to ethernet and upload their findings to the intarweb. Busted.

Less technologically, the old hair-between-the-door-and-doorframe should work just fine.

Webcam is too obvious and too expensive for such a short term.

I tried the string in the door but the door is too loose to hold it. Bah.

Maybe I will try a small piece of white paper under the door, just a tiny piece of paper, and any motion of the door would cause it to blow away. The only problem with this plan is that MY door is right by the furnace room door, and my door opening and closing might blow away the paper. Hmm.

[Jatsie]

Print up one of those "Crime scene: do not enter" stickers that the police use, and securely paste it over the gap between the door and the frame.

Aside from being amusing, it might deter someone from entering, and if they do, it would have to rip thus providing the evidence you want.

[RLacey]

Sleep in the furnace room. Then you won't need any paper, hair or webcams to tell you if someone enters .

[Jatsie]

What if the intruder's Freddy Krueger?

I recall something connecting him to a furnace room in "A Nightmare on Elm Street."

[RLacey]

Then you should dress up in a hockey mask. Or something.

Having never seen Freddy vs Jason, I have no idea who won.

[SakSquash]

Neither of them did.

[Karmillo]

Actualy from what I heard of the end, Jason killed freddy so that means freddy was the first one going to hell so he ended up winning.


And I just realised, what use is all this string stuff? you already know someones going in there its who thats the question

[artwking4]

I saw this on CSI... coat the door handle with some paint mixed with motor oil to keep it from drying. When they grab the handle, they'll have wet paint on their hands, and they'll go to wash their hands. Then, in their moment of vulnerability, you murder them in some terrible, fiendish way.

Or use something like this so you can hear next-door to catch them in the act. You could probably find one for a couple dollars at your favorite Wal-Mart type store. The louder, the better.

[SakSquash]

Originally Posted by Karmillo

Actualy from what I heard of the end, Jason killed freddy so that means freddy was the first one going to hell so he ended up winning.


And I just realised, what use is all this string stuff? you already know someones going in there its who thats the question

Neither of them die.

[undeaf]

Why not just put in some sort of cheap voice recorder? If you want to increase your chance of getting them to make a noise, just put something heavy and hard to see on the floor.