Facilities at work told us we can’t have an RFID door reader because, “if you get one, everyone will want one”. Luckily we can pretty much do anything with the interior of our office and no one knows/cares.
What are the chances we can hide an RFID or NFC reader (or just antenna) behind the sheetrock or door and get consistent results?
This would be our own solution, so probably some cheap eBay/Amazon/AliExpress access control system.
Thanks!!
Can you get away with an Ultraloq UL1?
You might also be able to embed a long range reader in the wall but the paint might get dirty over time as you’re likely to rub your hand on the wall over that thing.
What I was planning on doing was mounting it under the trim–route out a small pocket for an xac v2 antenna and hide the board in the wall. I imagine you’d need the extra range of a flexem as opposed to a next or xem.
The different door handle isn’t a bad idea.
It would be nice if we could use our existing RFID work badges, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
My other idea was to 3D print a simple “Welcome” sign and cut a hole in the sheet rock behind it to route wires.
Still in the brainstorming phase 
I embedded a v1 XAC into the garage door molding. Didn’t even touch the outside. The only issue is the area gets dirty but other than that, no one would know there is anything there.
What flavour RFID system are you currently using?
What is your Maximum budget?
No clue yet. As cheap as possible is my motto
Probably about the price of that Ultraloq, but preferably cheaper, if possible
Does your office door have a window next to it?
If you can change interior stuff a strike plate connected to a controller and a reader behind a window would work nicely without changing the lock at all.
What we really need are photos of the outside of your office.
But that could also be a security issue. 
If you want to be able to use your same card, if you can answer this, we can narrow down your choices
Also, don’t forget to check out this ( No prices, as there would be little point )
The COMMAX CDL-100WL doorknob is a lot cheaper but the built in reader might be too obvious for your use case:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MR8MFVP/
Also, no-cut electric strikes are a thing and you might be able to find one that fits into the existing hole.
This is exactly what I ended up doing at my office and it works well. Went with an IOProx reader since that is what exterior doors use, I’ll sometimes have a bit of trouble reading my NExT through the window but 98% of the time it’s fine.