Peering done, Soil Removal Needed

So today I was on deck to witness the peering for our new house. I had 52 peer holes which was amazing. The engineer was on site to check and I was ready to go. The smallest peer was 1.1m, the deepest was 1.7m. All up I ended up with 75.3m (lineal) of peering for our home. My tender allowed 50m2 so for anyone building a large home just be ready for the extra. I'll let you know the cost in the comments when I get that info back from Kurmond Homes.

This added to my soil removal problem to, 50 holes 1.5m deep is a lot of soil. I must admit I have a lot less then others so I feel a bit lucky, but some houses have had none what so ever. A friend of ours built and had 9 truck loads to remove. Kurmond charge $550 a truckload to remove soil so you could imagine the cost.

I've got maybe 3 truckloads to remove and I'm looking around for anyone who can do me a better deal or help me out from the community. If someone is worried about the cost to get rid of it, that's the easy part for me, I have a cousin who works on the weigh bridge at Eastern Creek so I can make that cost go away potentially but I'd need to check with him. It's the bob cat and truck which is the hard part.

I'm guessing 3 truck loads. This is what I have to get rid of.

So far I've got a guy who will do it all for $425 including getting rid of it. I may throw the cousin at it and might be able to shave some more off it. I'm still trying to see if I can do better. The fact I blog about it is also a bonus as I'm sure I'll generate the person a  heap of leads seeing my blog gets over 200 visitors a day now.

A few people mentioned today was this one of those "hidden costs" the builder didn't tell me about. Are you kidding? I've gone over my plans, my contract a million times. I knew this was coming, just how much was the unknown part.

Here's some pictures of the peering.

This shot just how big the slab is. She's a big home.

50+ Peers

Fibre to The Home - Jordan Springs

I thought I'd share some info in regards to Fibre to the Home at Jordan Springs after the info night last week. I was surprised to see so many people on the night with very little understanding of the FTTH network and what they had to do. Saying that this is new for Australia so I can understand the lack of push from builders and the little information available to Lend Lease also. Unless you were brought up around technology it can be hard to.

After receiving this information myself I now need to go back to Sentinel Alarms and have my quote changed. My original variation with them for example included a weatherproof casing for outside the house. A box basically on the outside of the house to put Opticoms ONT in it, basically a modem and backup power type thing. I discovered on the night that Opticom will install one when they come out to connect.

Jordan Springs is a FTTH community so Penrith Councils guidelines need to be followed. You're not allowed to install TV antennas and there's no Telstra or Optus copper cable in the area so connecting a phone at the moment is impossible. If your house is almost finished don't worry. Lend Lease a providing free use of 3G home phones and you're allowed to install an aerial now but you must remove it once the Opticom network is available.

The cost to connect the Opticom equipment is $330. Considering an aerial is $500 and telephone is $295 this is pretty good. The ONT installed by Opticom prepares you for Internet and phone, and comes with perfect free to air TV with no more aerial reception issues. It can also be used for perfect Pay TV.

Basically once it's connected you then ring up the different service providers to get what you want. You can find companies offering both phone and Internet packages, or sign up with a provider for each service you want. At this stage the Internet plans are a bit pricey but I'm assuming by the time Jordan Springs is ready there will be some more options and better pricing. Download limits are the issue at the moment. With a faster connection you will download more, simply by watching higher definition You-Tube videos for example. Saying that if you're just a normal Internet user then download won't be an issue, you can easily get a plan with 10-20gig download which should be enough.

Here's some of the current providers on Opticoms network. Click the links to see more. Exetel have some great prices already for Internet but I know from experience they can have network issues and customer service can be a bit worse. The issue with Internode and iinet (Owned by the same company now) is their uploads count to your download usage. Need to be careful with that type of plan.

-	Name		URL	Services
	Internode		http://www.internode.on.net
	iiNet		http://www.iinet.net.au
	iPrimus		http://www.iprimus.com.au
	Prodial		http://www.prodial.com.au
	Integral Energy		NSW Smart Grid Program
	Exetel		http://www.exetel.com.au
	Fuze Connect		http://www.fuzeconnect.com.au
	Foxtel		http://www.foxtel.com.au

For anyone wondering how to set-up their home, here's my minimum recommendations.

Pretty much these type of devices would be best with a wired connection. (wireless OK but you tend to slow the network down when streaming HD)
Smart TV's, Main Home Computer, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Blue Ray Player, Media Centre PC, Fetch Tv, Foxtel.

These devices could cope with wireless.
Laptops, ipads, Smart Phones, Tablets, Smart Fridges, Wii Console

Minimum Room Ideas

• 1 TV, 2 x Data to each TV point.
• 1 x Data, 1 x Phone to computer study.
• Optional - 1 x Data behind fridge (Future Proof)
• For Bedrooms I've left it, will use wireless connections as I plan not to have kids with gaming consoles in their rooms, just laptops or wireless PC's.
• To future proof install CAT 6 Cable.

* You may need to purchase additional hardware, like a switch or wireless access point in a tow storey home to connect it all like this. I plan to place a switch in my cabinet and star network it out from there.

INVITATION TO OPTICOMM INFORMATION SESSION

Received this email today for anyone interested on sorting out their FTTH connection. I for one can't wait to have this, and will defiantly be attending on one of the nights.

FIBRE TO THE PREMISES – JORDAN SPRINGS

This is an important message about the delivery of telephone, internet and television services for residents of Jordan Springs.

We are happy to advise you that Lend Lease has entered into an agreement with a telecommunications provider and Jordan Springs will be a Fibre Connected Community.  Telephone, internet and TV services will be delivered via modern fibre optic technology.  Traditional copper phone lines will not be available. 

The telecommunications provider is OptiComm Pty Ltd, a company experienced in delivering optic fibre in locations such as Oran Park Town, Middleton Grange, Springfield Lakes (Qld) and Blakes Crossing (South Australia).  The benefit of this technology is that the resident will be able to choose from a range of service providers for your telephone, internet and television.

The delivery program is commencing now and we anticipate that homes will be connected to the fibre within 6 months.  We are aware that you will have many questions about this new technology and the services that you will be receiving.   There are a number of options for this:

1.       OptiComm will be hosting a regular series of Information Sessions for purchasers. Sessions are currently planned for 6.00pm for 6.30pm start on

§  Wednesday 18 January at Penrith City Library Theatrette;

§  Wednesday 1 February at Penrith City Council Theatrette; and

§  Wednesday 15 February (location to be confirmed). 

Please contact jennifer.woodruff@lendlease.com to register.

Registration is essential as refreshments will be provided.

2.       Refer to the OptiComm website at http://www.opticomm.net.au

The Helpful Info – For the Resident - Quick Start Guide provides an easy explanation for clients and sales consultants.

You will be interested in the choice of service providers that are available.  To see who they currently are click on ‘Communities’, then ‘Check my address’, then ‘NSW’ and select an address such as Middleton Grange. This will show a list of Retail Service Providers that have a current agreement with OptiComm.  They will be available to residents after the fibre network is installed.

The section Helpful Info – For the Builder contains essential information relating to cabling compliance requirements for the builder, the electrician and the cabling contractor.

It is essential that your builder ensures that the appropriate equipment and cabling are provided.  We are contacting and referring all the builders to the website. In addition, OptiComm will be conducting regular information sessions for builders, their staff, their electrical contractors and cablers.  Please contact your builder to clarify that the correct provision is being planned for your home.

We are sure that you will soon be enjoying the benefits that this new technology offers.

Judith Field

Development Manager

Lake due in 6 Months - Photo's

Went for a walk around Jordan Springs today with the little one and the dog. The dog is sadly more behaved then the little one at times. :0)

The new sales and information centre is now open and you can even drive into it. Getting to my place is going to be much easier soon as they're already working on the road heading up to borrowdale and my cross street.

The sales office was packed with heaps of people in the offices and there were so many people keen to buy a block. To me the demand itself says a lot about where we're moving, people want to live here and it's obvious why.

With the sales centre now open you could get a feel for how the lake is going to turn out and I'm someone who can imagine what we're getting and I'm pretty excited now that I live in the first release. After talking to the ladies, they told me the work on the lake is expected to start in the next week or so with initial works and it's due to be completed within 6 months. About the same time we move into our new home. Lucky me.

I took some photo's for those who can't get out there.

We even have one of those water things coming out the ground.

This is the pontoon thing, lots of digging planned real soon.

Looking up from the lake.

My new home in the mornings.

Rock climbing and soccer was on today across from the office.

Looking into the new car park from the cafe.

All the offices were full.

Looking up from the lake, they have big steps for people to sit on.

Looks lovely.

We have a Loo

Not only a Loo, but a pretty fence to go with it. With the news our slab was starting next week I thought I'd head out and take a look. (I only live around the corner).

To my surprise the fence had gone up and the loo was on site.

On a side note - there's a special early bird sale for land this weekend, the first release for 2012. The new Jordan Springs Sales and Information centre will be open from 10am for those keen to pick up a bargain in a stunning area.

Slab Starts Next Week

Just a small update, not much happened last week but it seems while the builders might not all be back out on site this week they are in the office planning.

Just got word that the concreter is back on deck this week and my slab is booked in for next week. I 've been told to expect a call with what day so we can be on site.

We're also expecting a letter confirming our start date of construction along with some other bits and pieces.

Getting excited now. :)