Foo - I want to explore a abandoned building.

Downtown. What to bring. Safety, ect.

Your Ghostbusters gun.

Peanut butter and feathers.

Photo I.D. in case the fuzz shows up.

I'd also bring my pistol, but living in Montana that's a given.

Peanut butter and feathers.

I can't believe I forgot that.

Thanks Jon.

Cynaide pill, just in case the wrong people find you and you find yourself in for a long night... The best way to do it is to hold the glass capsule between your teeth, try not to sneeze.

I would bring a yellow evening gown and a 60's suit with stovepipe trousers. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GVE7lRZuFM)

Flashlight, chalk to blaze a back trail, ~ dozen nips for the winos.

I can't believe I forgot that.

Thanks Jon.

I do what I can, because I am a man with a master plan.

A camera.

I used to love exploring derelict buildings when I was a teenager. For some reason I found them very inspiring and made a few short films in them...

I'm inspired. I've got to find some derelict buildings! :)

Why would you do that? I rip asbestos out of buildings like that all the time. They are abandoned for a reason, and there isn't much to do at such buildings. Best case scenerio you find some toilet paper to steal that's been in a stall for 8 years. What's the big deal?

Check this out: http://www.infiltration.org

sleeping bag and camp stove

I did this ONCE last year back in Buffalo. We broke into an old grain storage warehouse on the water, it had already been half demolished. Nothing gets the old heart beating* more than creeping around the 7th floor and then almost falling down to the basement and impaling yourself on old rusty rebar. Take a flashlight, and wear dark pants. Not for when you inevitably get a gaping wound on your leg, but to hide the **** stains.


*by "old heart beating" I mean "scare the living bejebbus out of you"

Welcome to the fun world of urbex!

Check UER out, always good info and people there. There's always the chance that the building you want to explore is in the database. http://www.uer.ca

Bring heavy shoes, tough clothing, camera, flashlight/headlamp, extra batteries, water. Also buy a respirator with P100 filters. These filters protect against any asbestos that's in the building. Only get P100s, because other filters don't protect against asbestos.


Also, it's also good to have a pack of smokes handy to offer any vagrants that you might encounter. It's a gesture of goodwill, and they often have useful information about the building. It's also very important to show the homeless respect, and to respect their space and privacy.

What did the building use to be?

In australia torch is a noun, in america it's a verb...
http://www.pinballrebel.com/game/pins/ij2/shop/Eyeball_files/Kerosene.jpg

Enough money or plastic to post bail if the cops catch you trespassin'. Or to pay the co-pay at the ER if you fall through the floor and land 20-30 feet below.

In australia torch is a noun, in america it's a verb...
http://www.pinballrebel.com/game/pins/ij2/shop/Eyeball_files/Kerosene.jpg

:D

Also, it's also good to have a pack of smokes handy to offer any vagrants that you might encounter. It's a gesture of goodwill, and they often have useful information about the building. It's also very important to show the homeless respect, and to respect their space and privacy.

What did the building use to be?

First off, I'm too young to smoke.

It is currently a construction site, but no-body is there usually. It used to be a factory, but, like most ex-factory buildings, it is being made into a loft. I'm a photographer, but it will be harder to climb in with stuff on my back.

Seriously, is the building derelict ? If it is really poor, you could fall through a floor, etc.

LED Flashlight (high intensity), four sets of extra batteries
Clif Bars
Fully charged Cell Phone with 911 GPS
Surgical Mask
Can o' Glo Spray Paint
Portable Mini Breathing tank (optional)

Found a nuclear bunker in Kitchener? wft?

First off, I'm too young to smoke.

It is currently a construction site, but no-body is there usually. It used to be a factory, but, like most ex-factory buildings, it is being made into a loft. I'm a photographer, but it will be harder to climb in with stuff on my back.

This is a different scenario. It's not uncommon for renovation/new construction to be set ablaze, by accident by derelicts in the city, or on purpose by JD's in suburbia. If you're seen there, and some derelict or JD later sets the place ablaze, you may be wanted and held for arson.

If you're too young to smoke, you'd better not be too young to think through all the possible consequences of your actions, and just be prepared to take responsibility for them. Chances are, nothing happens. But since this is some developer's property and it's being renovated, the police may be more inclined to pass by more often, vs checkin' on truly abandoned property....

All I can say is use your best judgment, given what we've all brought to your attention. <shrug> Just remember that Juvey Jail ain't so bad. ;) :p

Mmmm.... urban spelunking...
couple years ago a friend and I got into the old Michigan central train depot in Detroit, many people go in there constantly, in fact when we went we weren't the only suburban folks in there checking it out at the time. It was just on a whim that we decided to do it or I would have brought my cameras. I got some cool shots of the outside of it with a Holga that I did for a photography class assignment, I want to get some of the inside but I haven't gone back yet.

I used to do this quite a bit, even to the point of exploring burnt up buildings....here's what you need:

Bandana or dust mask -- seriously, there are some nasty thins in the air sometimes.
first aid kit -- you never know what may happen, I've gotten cut on a few occaisions
cut-resistant gloves -- I never had them, but wish I could afford them with how many times I snagged my hand on stuff
leatherman or similar QUALITY multitool -- you might have to use it for something...whether popping open a botle of suds in the middle of a burnt down abandoned house, or to loosen up a door hinge that seized up.
flashlight with NEW batteries -- I cannot stress this enough, use new batteries....and if you use a non-led light, carry TWO spare bulbs (in a protective case)...having a light drop out on you sucks.
those lame little single-led kyfob lights -- for changing the bulb when your regular flashlight decides to piss you off
plenty of water and something to munch on -- if things go awry, you might be there a while.
cellphone/CB radio -- pick the best one for the area, and be ready to use it if you need help....poo happens.
a rope -- again, in case poo happens.

Worst I had was getting stuck in a room after my walkway in cracked enough to be too risky to use as a way back....I had to CB my friend who was exploring a nearby area to bring a rope (I forgot mine....)....I ended up rappelling down from that room to ground level.

I ended up taking a polaroid (this was before digital cameras were cheap) of us in front of the fireplace (we figured it was a fitting spot for a burnt down house in the countryside).

edit: you may also want to consider one of those head-mounted lights...it makes things so much easier when you have both hands to work with.

Watch out for needles left by junkies......

All your cycling gear - helmet to protect your head from falling rafters, gloves to keep splinters and bits of metal from cutting you, tight fitting jersey and shorts so you can get through tight spots, and your hard soled shoes so nails won't punture the soles. Plus if you get caught, you can always say someone stole your bike and you chased them in there.

Crumbs. One must be able to find there way out. :D (hehe, I had trailmix with me when I did a corn maze - we even cheated and couldn't find our way out. :mad: So I started dropping raisins (hate raisins anyway) to mark where I had been. Darn corn maze. :rolleyes:

Kudos for the cellphone/radio tips. I forgot that.

If you find a way in, make sure that if you tell people, to only tell the people you trust to not go in and vandalise it, tag it, graffitti it, set a fire, steal stuff, etc... Take only pictures, leave only footprints.

Some of the best photos I've taken have been in abandoned buildings and drains. They make awesome locations.

Multitools can come in handy, but be careful, because if the fuzz catches you in a building with a multitool/screwdriver/crowbar, it's likely they will consider them to be 'burglary tools'. This can make things pretty sticky for you legally speaking.

Surgical masks, bandanas and dust masks are USELESS against most of the toxic airborne stuff you might find in there, including asbestos. It's of the utmost importance that you get a mask with P100 filters. Lung cancer sucks, man.
http://g-ec2.images-amazon.com/images/I/21WczwyIRTL._AA160_.jpg
http://www.cleansweepsupply.com/pictures/standard/smmm3510.jpg

How much are one of those?

Multitools can come in handy, but be careful, because if the fuzz catches you in a building with a multitool/screwdriver/crowbar, it's likely they will consider them to be 'burglary tools'. This can make things pretty sticky for you legally speaking.


Usually they will consider the larger tools burglary tools...multitools they usually tag as weapons, unless the officer really has a grudge that day or one of the party members shoots off their mouth.

Reasoning is there is only so little that one can do as far as breaking and entering....it's a stretch to rely on a leatherman as a B&E tool. Now a pocket-pro folding hammer IS a B&E tool.

Being tagged as a weapon isn't that bad, aside from probably not getting it back...in most jurisdicitons a small knife like that is legal without CC permits (except some carebear jurisdictions, that try to make any knife illegal).


and if getting caught is a major concern to you, get some amber filters for your flashlight...it will reduce the noticable light output significantly.

Don't take ANY spray paint, glow in the dark or not. Chalk will leave a trail, but is much less likely to be concidered vandalism.

Do it! You might see something really cool.

When I was a kid (in 1970), I passed on a bike trip out to an old place on the Great Salt Lake called Saltair.

http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/statehood_and_the_progressive_era/saltair_exhibit/images/9.jpg

At one time, they advertised having the world's largest dance floor. They also had indoor bike races there.

http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/statehood_and_the_progressive_era/saltair_exhibit/images/11.jpg

By the time my friends took their trip out to see it, it was abandoned. They said it was a very cool place to wander around inside.

http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/statehood_and_the_progressive_era/saltair_exhibit/images/18.jpg

Then, about two weeks later, it burned down.

http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/statehood_and_the_progressive_era/saltair_exhibit/images/19.jpg

I wish I'd gone.