Hey everyone,

I recently got into rooftopping and this is the first time I have attempted a roof of a building under construction and this particular building is maybe 90% complete. I waited until dark (about 6pm) before heading in. I entered the plywood covered elevator and hit the 12th floor. The other guy in there gave me a funny look before exiting in the basement. With the elevator stationary I sat there clicking floor 12, 13, 14, and 15 (which did nothing). Suddenly the door opened and in came some construction workers who clicked floor 9 and 10. I had my earbuds in and acted zoned out. Floor 9 came and they stood there and stared at me. Up we went to 10 and one of them asked me if I was going to work because the elevator only goes up to 10 where the current construction is. I quickly apologized for being zoned out and went back down to 9 while realizing they were on their way up for the night shift. From there I took the stairwell up but at floor 10 I stopped when I saw this open makeshift door and heard construction banging from the floors above. After long a long internal debate with myself, I figured it wasn't worth the risk of being seen again and called it quits for the night.







So now I have a predicament. Obviously I cant get into the apartment too late at night. Even if I do get in who knows if the sketchy door will be open or unlocked (if it even can be locked). When is the best time for attempt 2? Between the end of the day shift (5pm?) and start of night shift (6pm)? (Day time is not an option) Is there a chance those construction workers are only there for an evening shift? Would it be worth it to just hang out away from view, in the stairwell for a couple hours if needs be? Should I come back with my hard hat, steel toe boots, and excuses next time? Should I wait until construction is closer to being finished or am I too late? Would you have just booked it up the stairs, past the construction door and hoped no one would be or would see you in the stairwell?

Thanks,
-Kent
Location: London Ontario

For me I only do construction sites late at night (12-4AM), and usually on weekends (Sundays). But then again I usually go on places while they're still accessible by climbing, which it sounds like in your case it isn't.

Posted by catdog23 For me I only do construction sites late at night (12-4AM), and usually on weekends (Sundays). But then again I usually go on places while they're still accessible by climbing, which it sounds like in your case it isn't.

This. If you go before 11 or 12, there's a very good chance there will still be workers. Sunday also makes it more likely you won't run into anyone. In terms of the locked door, depending on how near it is to being finished, there may be some other way of getting around it (holes in walls/ceiling), but your best bet would probably be just checking it often and hopefully someone leaves it open. (Or try leaving a sign on the door that says "DO NOT LOCK" and hope people obey it without question. =P)

Edit: Just looked through your photos again, and I'm very confident that with a loop of rope and a stick, you could get the rope around the door handle on the other side through those spaces in the railing, and then open it from the other side.

-or- you could ask if the site super if he let you take some shots from the roof. Fortune favors the bold...

This is why I take the stairs. Ten storeys isnt that much.

Sunday is a good idea, and Christmas is coming soon.

Yes, good tips folks! I may be over thinking the situation...
Also I don't know if you can read that but on the door it says : "ENTRANCE i̶s̶ ̶n̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ CLOSED"

Definitely take the stairs and aim for the less busy times if you can. I did one site at 2:30 am and not a soul was around. I stayed past my welcome and ended up having to dodge the morning crew that came in at 4:30. This was a Monday morning after a Sunday off. I bet if it was Sunday morning there wouldn't have been a morning crew.

Posted by HighOnHeights Also I don't know if you can read that but on the door it says : "ENTRANCE i̶s̶ ̶n̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ CLOSED"

That kinda looks as though someone scrawled it there after the fact.

That being said, that door doesn't have a lock on it! So don't worry about it being locked.

Definitely return in the wee hours of the morning - construction rooftops are really a worthwhile sight. Once you've done it once it becomes a hell of a lot easier to know what to look for the next time.

I'm guessing it might be harder to get inside the site, though, on a Sunday, holiday, or at 2 a.m.?

I think you did everything right, and with chutzpah; but if you'd taken the stairs instead of the elevator, you might have been more willing to keep going, and risk being seen -- for the first time, instead of again.

Probably wearing a hard hat, etc., will earn you fewer funny looks. But how wonderful that all you did get was funny looks! Construction sites are wide open to the bold.