Chorus UFB microduct location & suitable conduit

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nickb800

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#153853 9-Oct-2014 20:30

Hello

My parents have had Chorus UFB installed down their street (Kapiti) and I'm planning to get everything in place for them while I'm on holiday there over Christmas. I live in Christchurch so won't be able to be there when it is installed, so want to get as much sorted out prior. I've seen the UFB install horror stories, and they're happy in paying a bit out of their own pocket so that the free install goes smoothly. It's a virtually brand new house and they spend a lot of time working on the garden, so keen to avoid a SkyTV-style install or damage to their plants. Note that they aren't in a rush to get UFB installed, but I want to make them ready for it while I have the time. Internally I have sorted them with structured cabling etc.

Questions:
1) Chorus have left 2x microducts at the boundary of each property in the street, coinciding with the existing Chorus copper grey pillars. The problem is, that my parents are one of three houses served off the one grey pillar.
Can Chorus easily add a third microduct at this point for them?
There is a Chorus copper pillar at the other end of their boundary, which only serves one house, but has 2x UFB microducts, so I'm guessing that the network designers have planned for my parents to be served off this point. It would be easier for us if they could serve UFB from the same point as we are currently served copper and use the existing Chorus copper conduit lead-in (laid recently with fibre in mind)

2) If it is unlikely for Chorus to lay a third microduct to my parents Chorus copper pillar, then plan B - UFB served from the other end of the boundary, and new conduit laid. I would like to lay the conduit through their garden myself:
Will Chorus be okay to feed fibre through standard white 32mm conduit (sweeping bends of course) or do they insist on green?
Can I run the conduit lead-in along the (public) grass berm parallel to our boundary for a bit, and then turn towards the house; or does it need to enter our property as soon as practicable?

I've got the Chorus urban service lead-in guide, but can't quite find these answers in there.

Let me know if this doesn't make sense, and I can draw up a map

Thanks in advance
Nick

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Biddle Corp

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#1150928 9-Oct-2014 20:39

Now sure what architecture they're on but the pillars will have multiple tubes in them. The number will be labelled on the outside.

They're not going to add a 3rd pillar, because by the sound on your post (and obviously without photos it can't be confirmed), there more than likely isn't actually an issue.

richms

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#1150929 9-Oct-2014 20:39

Just get the order in before the other 2 houses off that pillar order fiber then?

Richard rich.ms

nickb800

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#1150936 9-Oct-2014 21:06

Thanks for the replies guys

sbiddle: The reality check is a good point, I am jumping the gun here.

I've included a photo from civil works below, with a black and green 10-20mm microduct coming in from a ~60mm (horizontally bored) duct on the right. Presumably the black and green ducts will be put into the ~32mm conduit, which leads from footpath (right hand side), through the berm, and up to the existing copper pillar (off to the left hand side).

You could be right that they are using a pillar based architecture. My un-informed thought was that the 2x microducts look awfully similar to the Enable Chch architecture, which has 2x red microducts left at each boundary and burried, which has lead to my concern. Admittedly, the 2 Chorus microducts look a lot thicker than the Enable ones, so I may happily be wrong

richms: The thought did enter my mind, and I'm not opposed to playing first-in-first-served, more concerned that Chorus wouldn't let that happen, and say that we had to be served from the further away point and require extra ducting

InstallerUFB

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#1150970 9-Oct-2014 22:20

Hi Nick

If the Ribbonet single way ducting is on the wrong boundary to match up to the existing conduiting to the house then this can be moved at the time of install from the existing tap-off to the one on the other side ( depending from which way the 26way feeder ducting is feed the exiting tube is either rejoined @ the old jnt and then cut and joined to a new single way @ the other boundary or the tube is left cut @ the original and again the tube is joined to a new single way @ the other - I hope this makes sence.

Each tube is pre-assigned to an address - normaly the tubes are not swapped unless there is a problem installing on them (then they might be swapped around to complete the install while the faulty one is fixed for the other adress to use) - not just because they had originaly been installed on the 'wrong' boundary.

It should make no differnce if the ends of the tubes have been buried or they have been installed in a pedistal or handhold.

The rework of the communial network is organised through the 'Scopper' when they come to do a site inspection and prove that the conduit/microducts dont meet up on the same boundary.

'tely'

nickb800

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#1150972 9-Oct-2014 22:30

Awesome, thank you InstallerUFB

nickb800

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#1586479 5-Jul-2016 15:11

So the day has come - the scoper visited today. He confirmed that 'our' microduct was installed at the opposite boundary to our Chorus copper pedestal AND dismissed any possibility of a network redesign.

They want to shallow bury (200mm cover) a microduct - which we have dismissed as it runs through the garden and leaves us liable for damages caused through garden maintenance.

I would really appreciate it if anyone from Chorus can help me here to encourage the scoper to implement a re-work of the communal network. @InstallerUFB ?

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DarthKermit

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#1586501 5-Jul-2016 15:57

You can't officially buy the green Chorus branded conduit, someone at Corys told me they can get a $20,000 fine for selling it to joe public.

The likes of Bunnings sell 20 mm white pressure pipe in 6 metre lengths. This is exactly the same diameter as the Chorus stuff. You can also get sweeping bends in the same diameter, and joiners.

I wouldn't trust the install guys to put it in a conduit or to go deep enough even if they do. If you're prepared to do the dirty work yourself and dig your own trench, put the conduit in with a draw string then you can at least know it was done right.

RunningMan

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#1586505 5-Jul-2016 16:01

nickb800:

I would really appreciate it if anyone from Chorus can help me here to encourage the scoper to implement a re-work of the communal network. @InstallerUFB ?

Try @Chorusnz too.

InstallerUFB

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#1586532 5-Jul-2016 16:55

RunningMan:

nickb800:

I would really appreciate it if anyone from Chorus can help me here to encourage the scoper to implement a re-work of the communal network. @InstallerUFB ?

Try @Chorusnz too.

from my end I can only comment on what is possible - sorry buts its up to the local installer & chorus reps and yourself to come up with a final solution

nickb800

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#1586558 5-Jul-2016 17:54

Hopefully @chorusnz can provide some relief

Satyr

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#1588558 8-Jul-2016 23:13

Run your own duct from the microduct drop off to wherever your internal wiring exits the house. wont take long if its grass and at least you know the cable will be secure in a duct rather than just direct buried ruggedised micronet.

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richms

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#1588559 8-Jul-2016 23:17

Satyr:

Run your own duct from the microduct drop off to wherever your internal wiring exits the house. wont take long if its grass and at least you know the cable will be secure in a duct rather than just direct buried ruggedised micronet.

So do their job for them? No, get them to install it with the existing counduit as its not your fault that the street side was a mess so you shouldnt have to suffer the mess in your garden/lawn as a result either way.

Richard rich.ms

Satyr

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#1588564 8-Jul-2016 23:37

richms:

Satyr:

Run your own duct from the microduct drop off to wherever your internal wiring exits the house. wont take long if its grass and at least you know the cable will be secure in a duct rather than just direct buried ruggedised micronet.

So do their job for them? No, get them to install it with the existing counduit as its not your fault that the street side was a mess so you shouldnt have to suffer the mess in your garden/lawn as a result either way.

I'm just saying if they want it done properly and this century that's the easiest solution. Chorus already offered their solution which was to direct bury it at 200mm depth.

nickb800

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#1588641 9-Jul-2016 09:29

Yeah you guys have both pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Apparently the scoper got a more senior guy to turn up later, and he said the 'he'll see what he can do' but didn't sound very hopeful.

I'm more than a little pee'd off given the amount of work that I've put in already running draw cords that should've made this one of the easiest fibre installs ever.

I wonder how common the issue of putting the microduct on the wrong boundary corner is? At my place in Christchurch I dug a trench and had Enable lay their microduct in it prior to the network build in the street. This was along the same route as my Chorus copper lead-in. When they came out to mark the network build, they were going to run it to the opposite boundary corner, which would have required cutting the driveway and trenching the width of the property to join up with their own lead-in. Fortunately Enable do take phone calls directly, and I managed to reach a clued on person who altered the design/markings before the network build began.

Satyr

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#1589008 9-Jul-2016 22:11

nickb800:

Yeah you guys have both pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Apparently the scoper got a more senior guy to turn up later, and he said the 'he'll see what he can do' but didn't sound very hopeful.

I'm more than a little pee'd off given the amount of work that I've put in already running draw cords that should've made this one of the easiest fibre installs ever.

I wonder how common the issue of putting the microduct on the wrong boundary corner is? At my place in Christchurch I dug a trench and had Enable lay their microduct in it prior to the network build in the street. This was along the same route as my Chorus copper lead-in. When they came out to mark the network build, they were going to run it to the opposite boundary corner, which would have required cutting the driveway and trenching the width of the property to join up with their own lead-in. Fortunately Enable do take phone calls directly, and I managed to reach a clued on person who altered the design/markings before the network build began.

As an ex installer it happened all the time. It was about 1 in 20 jobs where the drop off was in the wrong place or didn't exist at all. It mostly happens with shared driveways or corner propertys where they've left the microduct on the wrong street or they are one or two microducts short for the amount of houses down the driveway

A few of the jobs that I had that eventually got done because they didn't have a microduct, either involved digging down to the clam-shell, which is where the single way microducts branch off from the main 26 tube ribbonet running down the street, and adding in an extra drop off to the correct boundary location.

or blowing a multicore fibre down a single ribbonet tube and installing a green pillar at the boundary with a FAT inside the pillar which you can then splice up to 8 customers connections to, this saves having to do a bunch of digging etc

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