NBN: CONNECTION SPEED AND LANDLINE PROBLEM

I changed my small architectural home office to NBN last Friday and it was a mess. Four days later and I have just sorted it out. In that time I have had to go to the Telstra shop for a new phone as well as Bunnings for cable and plugs. I have
had my internet slow down then fail completely and needed a 52 minute call to Telsta/Bigpond to get back on-line….and that was the easy bit.

NTD TO TELSTRA BIGPOND ROUTER ISSUE

I already had cable internet at my home office and so no new wires to the house were needed. What needed to be done was provide a point at which NBN could say “that is my equipment and from there on that is yours”. The way this is done is that a NBN box  (Network termination device or NTD) is put in and connected to the end of my cable and my Telsta router/distribution box which was only 6 months old was thrown away. A
new NBN ready Telstra ready one was then installed. I now have 2 ugly boxed to look at instead of one. This also means when fault finding there is one more link in the chain that can go wrong. Digressing now for a bit of a gripe about big business being stupid and inefficient….. I cannot understand why Telstra would supply me with a new router during the NBN run-out that isn’t NBN ready.... especially when the existing one was still working without problem, This
means that in 6 months I have thrown away 2 perfectly working pieces of equipment. Telsta to prove it is being “Green” does provide a recycling point that they can be returned to…. Mmmm does that make sense ???

NTD AND LAND-LINE PROBLEM

My problem was not so much the NBN, but the associated the land line. The copper telephone
system is turned off incrementally as NBN is run through suburbs. In 18 months
it will be completely gone. This means if you wish to keep your phone land-line
it now needs to through the NBN cabling system.

CONNECTION TO OLD PHONES AND POWER

The old phones ran on the 2 pair copper cable that used to come into your house from
the street and the old dial up and ADSL internet ran on it as well as your
phone. These wires were powered by a
bank of 50 volt batteries in your local telephone exchange which meant that if you
had an old phone you didn’t need to plug it into a power point and so it ran
quite nicely without fail through power blackouts. This was terrific in emergencies in the days
before everyone had a mobile. With the advent
of Cable the internet was faster and we
then had 2 distribution systems… one for phone and one for internet. Now we are
back to one set of cable again but we need power to run the phone, so during
blackouts or if your internet service is down your phone will not work.

NBN CONNECTION TO EXISTING PHONES MAY NOT WORK

Prior to the NBN I had an old wall phone and another from the 60’s that looks a little
like the bat-phone, plus a Telstra T-hub with 2 stations. The problem was that
they are not NBN ready and so was told I
needed a new NBN ready phone to keep my service working…..Simple? Not a bit …

NBN CONNECTION FROM NEW PHONE TO OLD  PHONES

My new NBN ready phone was plugged directly into the back of the new Modem and
(unexpectedly) everything worked fine. The problem was my other phones. The
instructions that come with the NBN and Telstra don’t say much about that. The
NBN guy just installs the NBN. He knows nothing about phones. After all the NBN
stops at the NBN box so he doesn’t have to…..

It is up to the user to make sense of the self-install kit their provider (in my case
Telstra) provides. OK, I’ll confess now,
I did 7 years with Telstra as a Tech back 30 years ago in the old pre-computer
world. Surely I was up to it?

I plugged the auxiliary extension lead into the back of the new phone and connected it
into one of my houses pre-wired phone-points and checked that I had dial tone
and that I could dial out. It turned out that I could receive calls but I
couldn’t get a ring tone. There is no point in having a phone if it doesn’t
ring. I had to check and see what the problem was. I plugged and unplugged
phones one by one to see where the fault lay. Even with everything unplugged
but the new phone I still didn’t ring. It looked like something was faulty somewhere in my wiring. It worked fine on the old system, but not the
new. I thought it may be due to cable length as I probably had hundreds of
meters of cable through the house.

I had 7 phone extensions in my house run with a birds nest of wiring I had added to over the last 30 years. I have raked
ceilings in my home and therefore no trafficable ceiling spaces, so I had run
the wires up and down stud wall cavities, behind plaster, through one double
brick part of the house, under the floorboards and between the roof tiles and
the sarking. I had also done things like
terminating 2 or 3 wires to one telephone jack and go off in multiple
directions …some of which were now redundant after swapping my office through 3
different parts of the house as each successive child was born and we needed
more room. The house is also on 5 different levels which adds interest to the
floor-plan but makes running cables a nightmare. It also makes tracing where the
various cables go a nightmare. I gave up after a couple of hours and decided to
start from scratch.

I went to Bunnings and purchased a couple of 15m
pre-terminated cables with RJ12 ends (like a computer cable but smaller &
with only 2 wires). I bypassed all my existing cable and ran the new one in and
I managed to get my 30 year old wall phone up and running as well as the new
phone. This was progress. I now had my
office phone and my extension in the house working fine.….

CONNECTION FROM NEW PHONE TO TELSTRA T-HUB FAILED

All I needed was to put a double connector onto the back of the new cable and connect in my T-hub
and I would also have a couple of hands free stations…. Perfect.....Unfortunately
plugging in the T-Hub killed everything. No phones would ring. Bugger….

I figure I can get by with what I have for a while and go out and purchase a new NBN ready
hands free system as my auxiliary phone. It is a pity my T-hub doesn’t work
anymore as it was the most modern phone I had in the house and I liked the
tablet and the clock. I have 2 working lines and will be content with that for
the time being.

NBN CONNECTION TO INTERNET FAILED

As for the Internet….at least it works.... Well actually it worked
then it didn’t…. then after almost an hour with an exceptionally friendly but
technically and linguistically challenged technician it worked again.

NBN CONNECTION SPEED SLOWER THAN I PAID FOR

I still have an open support ticket out with TELSTRA as the
NBN speed I am getting is rubbish….. I was getting around 30MB/s prior to NBN
and was paying $94 a month for it. Bigpond/Telstra promised up to 100MB/s if I kept on the same plan.

The moment I was connected to the NBN I was down to 22 MB/s. I could get that on a plan that cost half
what I am paying. I was told after another trip to the Telstra shop that speed
would pick up after another 48 hours. I waited and tested again. Still 22MB/s….
I inquired again and was told that it would pick up after 18 months…… So why
would I pay an extra $50 a month for something I cannot get?

NBN PROVIDER NOT PROVIDING.... LOOKING FOR ANOTHER PLAN

Ok, I have decided that I will look around for another cheaper plan as well as for a new
phone. Problem sorted…. Yes?....not quite.

I thought I had better check my recorded messages to see what business my office had missed while
my phones were down. I dialed my Telstra message bank and put in my pin…..
Guess what? Yep, it doesn’t work
anymore. It now tells me that my pin is wrong and to try again!!!!!

Builders Changes To Architects Drawings May Impact The Design

As the principal of a small Adelaide Architectural Practice I have dealt with many residential projects. As a project commences I commonly get asked by my clients if they should change their plans or details because the builder has suggested that they have a "better way of doing things" or because what is on the plans isn't "standard". This happened with a client this week. What sounded like good advice actually would have had a severe impact on the serviceability of the building as well as significant negative aesthetic impact. Small changes can have a large "knock-on" effect. A simple suggestion of running a roof at 90 degrees to what I had designed (in order to save a bit of timber) would have reduced the ceiling height from 2700mm to a mean and pokey 2400mm.... In addition the significant change this made to the front of the building would have required a new Planning Consent.  Due to my clients near miss I thought it may be a good thing to pass on the cautionary advice.

Do I Listen To What The Builder Suggests Or Just Insist They Follow The Plans?

Builders will commonly recommend lots of changes as you progress with the works. My golden rule is to always listen to what the builders have to say just in case you or your Architect has missed something. Do not assume that what is on the drawings is always the best way of doing things. Experience counts and if your builder has been around a while he may very well have some great ideas that you can take advantage of. The problem is that a Builders advice can come about for other reasons. Often a builder wants to make a change because it is their standard way of doing things and not because they have analyzed all possibilities. Sometimes this doesn’t matter & I let them go ahead…sometimes it does matter & there can be consequences and design issues far beyond the limited immediacy of what they have considered.

Builders May Not Place The Same Value On The Aesthetics Of A Project As You

In summary: Aesthetics are not usually the highest priority with builders. Cost and time-frames will often skew their opinions. The architect is usually the best person to answer the builders question as the architect has the greatest familiarity with the design intent & as such will be able to see if the Builders suggestion has any merit.  As long as you are fore-armed with this information and have a good think through what is suggested (including financial implications) before agreeing to changes you will have a successful build that ends up the way you planned it.

Country and Rural Home Design

I had an email from a potential Client today regarding the purchase of land for the design of a residence in Rural South Australia.  The questions asked made me think carefully about this subset of Architectural Residential home design. Although my Architectural practice is based in metropolitan Adelaide I have designed quite a few Country Homes over the years and as a result have an understanding of the issues that need to be considered.   Often my Clients do not know the extent of these issues (and the inherent additional costs involved) until after they have purchased the property and they are committed to the project.   This couple however asked the necessary questions before purchase and by reproducing my answer below hopefully it may be of use to others considering making a "Tree Change".

Letter explaining Costs involved in Country home Design

Hi Matt,

Designing and Building a home in Country or Rural areas is more expensive and time consuming process that it is for a similarly sized city residence. When the budget is insufficient from the outset the Design and Build process becomes a nightmare and relationships fray. It has been said that "Building a house can be more stressful than Divorce". Hopefully my advice below may help make this process easier. 

COST: It seems to me that whatever budget people have in mind the limits are always stretched. The problem is that a build will cost anywhere from 1k per square meter to 3k per square meter. This will depend on how grand your ideas are, how much work you do yourself and how much the infrastructure costs such as services and site-works are. This means you may be able to get a substantial home or just a small shack for your $300k budget.  It could be done for the cost you have in mind but it will not be easy.  My advice is that money will be tight and you will need to avoid expensive designer fittings and shop around for bargains. There are very nice tiles for $20 a meter that you wouldn’t be able to tell from the $100 a meter range. The $200 tap doesn’t look much different to the $2,000 tap. A few nice pieces strategically placed can have the same overall effect as the entire house having Designer fittings.

I would suggest anything sized over 160 sq meters of building would be severely pushing the budget limits unless you have good contacts or are a DIY wizard.

Cost to Design a Rural Home

MY COST: I have designed budget country residences for as low as 7k,  but considering  what your budget is and with the cost from a similar job to yours having just been finalised I would say my design costs  will probably be around 10k. You still need to allow for Engineering (up to 5k) and Council approval costs (around $1k including certifier). There may be other design costs involved such as Land Management agreements, CFS reports, Septic approval costs and civil engineering.

Cost to Administer the Contract for a Rural Home

If you wish me to administer the contract during the build it would be at my hourly rate (still 79 per hour GST inclusive). The amount I am needed on site depends on the builder you select & how good (and honest) he is.  Due to the country location, each site visit would cost you around $400… this is based on allowing for a one hour “on site” plus preparation time before visits and time for resolution of issues after. Due to travel time it will be the better part of a work day…. At least one site visit a week is needed for the bulk of the build and 2 or more when things are moving quickly. If the build goes well & lasts 4 months this would be around another 10k. If the builder isn’t experienced or try’s to cut corners and I find I cannot trust him I will be needed more often. I have just had one such case where around 20 hours a week was needed resolving issues the Builder had caused due to mismanagement, poor coordination and poor craftsmanship.

How Long is Needed to Prepare Development Approval Documentation?

TIME-FRAME: If you buy the land and decide to proceed with me the chances are that even if things go well  it probably will take 6 months or more from initial visit to the plans being finalised. It may take more.

I am doing one such project very similar to you at Clarendon. It also is on sloping land on a small rural acreage.  We are over 2 years into the project now.
Initially for the Clarendon project it was just the issue of the clients both agreeing to a design…. Probably 6 months.  This sounds simple but can be a protracted affair if both partners cannot agree on what they want. I can wait months between each design iteration while the clients sort out which way they want to proceed.

Once the design was finalised the owner had multiple issues with Council and needed a planning lawyer in order to get his application through. The client was very proactive and letters to Ombudsmen and his local member were sent, swaying Council in our favour with pressure from above.

This project had all of the usual issues associated with Rural living, such as septic tank applications and CFS compliance.  Due to the hilly site Engineering was difficult and subsequently cost more than normal. Twice during the project the principal Engineer left and a new person needed to be briefed. This caused delays and more costs.
In short we are now only days away from finalising the DA application now. The job was started in late 2012 and initially we had planned on the build being completed by the end of 2014. I estimate that this date will now be closer to 2017.

Summing up: What you wish to do is possible, but you will need to keep careful control of costs and not aim for too much. If you make the Design brief about your lifestyle and what you need rather than about the need to impress others you will be fine. 

Even the shortest  job will span at least 3 months. This means there will be hundreds of Client – Architect conversations, either  via phone or email.  This is no small investment in time and consequently a relationship builds between client and Architect.  For this reason I do not take on every job, nor am I suited to every client.  An informal meeting before commencing talking through the project is essential for both of us.  Once I have accepted a job I do the best I can for my clients…. often to the point of sacrificing my weekends and personal time in order to get the best outcome.  I do however expect the same consideration back.  Designing and building a house is a huge undertaking that requires commitment from all parties.
Subsequent to a successful meeting between us I would be happy to take your job on and depending on what my workload is at that time it is possible a month or so may be needed before I could start.

Planning Applications Are Supposed To Be For The Public Benefit

I learned years ago in my small Adelaide Architectural Practice to be pleasant and just do whatever the Council Planners asked…. They hold the power over a Development going ahead, being delayed or even denied. Logic doesn’t always play a part in it. Quite often they get it wrong, but don’t argue the fact…just smile and comply with their requests.  When I was younger I assumed that the local Council development plans were written for the Public good. When I studied Planning we were lectured on the evils of rampant development left unchecked and the benefits obtained by a structured and planned society. Adelaide itself was built on these principals. It was planned from the ground up which is  why it is one of the most appealing cities to live in the World. Government intervention and Control over Development ensures that standards of living are not diminished. The theory is good but unfortunately this gives Planners a huge amount of power.

Marion Council Development Plan Application Problem

Yesterday was going very well for me until I received an email from the Planning Department at Marion Council.  A planner had requested clarification of some minor issues for an upper floor residential extension I had designed. The request for clarification in itself was OK. This kind of formal reply to a Development approval application shows that the Planners are doing their job. Paper work is generated as all requests must be formally answered in writing. This means that jobs are justified and careers are forged.  Clerks get to file things and the systems cogs turn and everyone gets their pay at the end of the weekend.  I have been employed in both the Commonwealth and the State Public service when I was younger, which is why I am nice to Planners…. I understand the System and so can empathize (to some extent) with them. However one item in yesterday’s email raised my blood pressure. I reiterate below…
“The plans submitted to Council have printed slightly smaller than the specified scale. For example, the total building height scales at 8.45 metres, but should be 8.615 metres. Please provide two hard copies of all proposal plans, ensuring that they scale correctly.”

What???
I got out my scale rule and Checked. It was 1 to 100 scale which means that the difference noted by the planner should be about 1.5mm in total. Yep the new printer I had purchased last week had shrunk the drawing by 1.5mm. A “scaled to fit” check-box in the new printer driver had shrunk things just enough to be perceptible.  I quelled my initial reaction to ring up and lambast them for such a petty request. The drawing had figured dimensions on it anyway with a note saying figured dimensions to be taken over scaled dimensions.... & who cares or will ever notice a 1.5mm discrepancy????? A minute or so later & I steadied myself….She was correct and I was at fault…. I would remedy it.

Australia Day Planning Blues

I printed everything off and got to Council about 1 minute before 5pm  (I know It wasn’t 5 as a last song just started on the radio before the news) & the auto doors wouldn’t open.  It was the Australia day weekend and they were making sure that they wouldn’t work a second overtime. They were still serving someone at the front desk & could see me there standing waving my plans in exasperation. So I tried the front entry.  Nope…. also locked tight. 30 seconds later they were leaving like rats from a sinking ship….. I would love to see them work for a private company…. Public service? Public Dis-service more likely. REALLY ANGRY this time……
Anyway I will drop them in on Tuesday. Hopefully will have calmed down enough by then not to give them an ear-bashing about their crap service and pedantic incompetence.

The "Owner-Builder friendly" Adelaide Architect

As a budget priced Architect I do not often get to see the outcome of my work. Most clients come to me to save money and so go down the lonely (and stressful) paths of either "Owner Builder" or "Owner Project Manager".  This means that as soon as I have gotten them their Development approval papers they take on the management of the building process themselves. I just happened to be driving through the Northern suburbs of Adelaide a couple of weeks ago, on the way home from a site-inspection at Mawson Lakes, when I realised I was close to a project I designed a couple of years ago. As I was less than a minute away I decided to have a drive-by & see how the build had progressed.

Planning Restrictions Impact Design

The Port Adelaide Enfield councils Planning officers dictated both the materials and overall aesthetics for this house. The corner site was very tight as this is an infill block from a subdivision of an existing house into 2 blocks. The Generic brief from Council was to match the local stock of post WW2 contemporary houses as well as possible. The outcome was that these were not just guidelines bur quite draconian impositions dependent upon what the current planner liked. Originally we were told that as the local houses were also Tudor these stylistic details (including steeper roof pitches) were also an option we could consider. The planner I had been talking to moved to another council and our first design had to be scrapped. The thoughts of the new planning officer were that the model of the more modest cement and red brick bungalow was to be followed.This included restrictions in height of the second storey window sash type, brick and render colour.  I am still bewildered that Planning officers do not need to have any design training for their degree yet they can dictate their personal design preference to Architects and other design professionals who have spent a lifetime studying such things.

Post-Occupational Review of Architect designed house:  Manningham Adelaide

The Planners wanted a simple contemporary design to match the adjacent WW2 housing stock. The clients wished to maximise the dwellings size and I wanted to ensure that there was plenty of Northern sunshine in the back yard and living areas. A quick chat with the owner indicated that after being in the place 3 weeks it was going well and there was nothing that he would like to change. The build had gone well without any issues and a minimum of variations. Overall everyone was happy. It isn't a ground-breaking design but it works on all levels and once the landscaping has been done will fit in comfortably with the surrounding housing stock. Sometimes the more modest buildings can prove to be the greatest challenge. Council certainly made the task of designing this building quite a complex task.