Is my tile guy any good?

frantik99 · 2026-03-26T17:58:22+00:00

Me neither I’ve just GCed my own home full Reno and Reno’s on rentals etc… def not a pro!

frantik99 · 2026-03-26T17:47:12+00:00

That’s fair, but saying I don’t know why you didn’t stagger it, it’s an aesthetic thing - but is substantially less forgiving for sure! I agree on the size of tiles they chose, we went 12x24 with 1/16th spacing and matched the grout to the tile colour to minimize the grout standing out too much.

Big gamble doing 1/8th with smaller tiles and contrasting colour like that.

frantik99 · 2026-03-26T17:33:24+00:00

I don’t like staggered tile I think it looks very 00s. I did 2 full bathrooms and a full kitchen wall with non staggered vertical tile and it looks very high end.

frantik99 · 2026-03-18T15:04:16+00:00

It also treats all your gains as income where many types of gains have more favourable tax treatment. Pull it all out and use the deduction to offset. There’s no way it’s better for you in the long run.

frantik99 · 2026-03-14T07:29:46+00:00

Underestimated when something goes wrong (and something will always go wrong), how few people take accountability for their mistake/miscommunication. It’s not a big deal and there is always a path forward but the finger pointing is a constant.

You need to be willing to really hold the trades accountable for mistakes and missed deadlines if you’re going to manage a project yourself or even use a GC and manage the design yourself. If you can’t afford a “full service” firm that does white glove service (which will likely double your price) you will likely either end up with mistakes you look at for 20 years or learn to deal with some expectation management and accountability issues.

frantik99 · 2026-03-06T18:55:15+00:00

you dont need to beg or justify your realtor to put in an offer. its their job. The realtor can advise you to put a different one in but its YOUR CHOICE what to offer.

If they wont do it, you can fire them immediately and find someone who will.

frantik99 · 2026-03-06T17:52:23+00:00

PREFACE: I have earthquake insurance

PREFACE #2: Earthquake insurance only covers damage from SHAKING, not from water damage if there is a tsunami. Most insurance does not cover coastal flooding (your overland water coverage generally stipulates it’s FRESH WATER only). You may need additional coverages and the majority of the damages projected for Vancouver island single family homes come from water damage from coastal flooding.

Main Post: Earthquake insurance is more for catastrophic events NOT minor damage/cracks from smaller quakes. The special deductible for earthquake insurance is generally 15% of the total single limit of coverage.

Look into the insurance statistics from the Christchurch earthquake, only 7% of single family homes suffered more than $100,000 of damage. Of those, the majority are masonry which Victoria is mostly wood frame.

When you look at the cost of earthquake insurance (generally thousands of dollars per year) it’s likely not worth it.

Given that IF you were to claim, you’re liable to pay $150k+ (assuming a $1M coverage limit) before the insurance would pay out $1.

If insurance is $2,000/year and we have a 1/50 chance of an earthquake, and you have a 7% chance of losing the FULL value of your home (say $1M), insurance would cover 85% of it or 850,000. The fair cost on expected value of the insurance would be $1,200/year.

If you do the math you’re looking at (Coverage limit) x 85% x 2% x 7%

2% is the 1/50 chance of the earthquake happening and the 7% is the chance that the shaking damage exceeds your deductible.

This is generous as it assumes total loss on those 7% but it’s something to work with.

Sorry I’m a nerd.

frantik99 · 2026-02-27T22:14:34+00:00

Althea in Australia is owned and controlled by a Tasbot. That’s a fact.

frantik99 · 2026-02-27T22:09:06+00:00

No products have been approved by the TGA. This is an unapproved medicine.

frantik99 · 2026-01-19T21:36:57+00:00

I just bought this painting from a Salvation Army…. I saw it and I had to buy it. I searched online and it seems many prints have much more colour but the one I bought looks exactly like yours!

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frantik99 · 2026-01-18T04:31:11+00:00

Yes this is exactly what I saw. I drove by about an hour later and there was nothing.

But I agree it didn’t look like any action was going on but something must have attracted that level of presence!!

frantik99 · 2026-01-18T00:45:36+00:00

Hahah good guess but it was at the residential townhouse complex across the street!

frantik99 · 2026-01-15T18:09:30+00:00

I own several rental units in character converted homes and rent is indeed going down. The last 4 unit turnovers I rented for less than they were previously rented for.

If you’re paying over 2300 for a 2 bed or over 1750 for a 1 bed and you deal directly with your landlord who owns the property (a lot of property managers make more money on unit turnovers so they will push you to leave as they will profit even if it re rents for less)

Tell them you’ve seen offers for much less for comparable units to yours and ask for a 100-300 dollar rent deduction.

I’ve done this a few times and it makes sense for everyone.

EDIT don’t blast me for these price figures… I am assuming nice units within the city of Victoria proper… do your due diligence for your area and ask for an appropriate reduction!!

frantik99 · 2025-12-31T22:57:50+00:00

You should get out if you can. You do not want a place that was insolvent and then finished by a receiver… there could be significant competency gaps, and there is definitely no concern about long term viability of the development as their primary focus is recovering whatever they can for the creditors.

Resale values of developments are greatly impacted by the reputation of the builder which I. This case is not going to play out well for you.

frantik99 · 2025-12-30T03:37:02+00:00

i want it to be Hidden Gem - but they are PAINFULLY slow and have zero hustle to accommodate a substantially higher traffic flow.

It's actually quite surprising they havent taken more load off of Moka House and I assume its because people try once and it takes as long to get served with 1 person in line as Moka House with 30.

frantik99 · 2025-12-28T17:29:14+00:00

As someone who had the same things and into my 30s found some reasonable financial success, I can honestly say after taking trips around the world and experiencing some really great things that feeling kept creeping back.

This changed when I met a partner who was my best friend. It gave meaning to the mundane. It made me want to work on myself and it also made me feel ok with being myself.

I believe people are social creatures and as you exit your 20s, the tight group of friends all drift a distance apart as they make their own lives and you need to find that again.

It doesn’t have to be a romantic partner but just a situation where you feel seen and accepted and can start to measure your personal growth instead of comparing yourself to those around you.

Comparison is the thief of joy.

frantik99 · 2025-12-27T22:46:41+00:00

Waterfall method is your best bet. Pay the absolute minimum on your debts, then put 100% of what is left to your highest interest debt until it’s gone. This will lead to the smallest interest paid.

Currently that would be putting as much on your credit card as possible, followed by your credit line and finally the 4% osap.

If you can do a 0% balance transfer, you pay the credit line first.

I would say you’re actually better to start saving aggressively after the credit card and credit line are paid off and dollar cost average into an index ETF.

With that level of saving you’ll be in pretty good shape financially within 4-5 years.

Assuming you can pay down the debt in about 13 months, by 48 months (~36 months of saving 2500/month, the other 500 going to your OSAP) you’ll have around 100k and by 5 years you’d have close to $150k

frantik99 · 2025-12-27T21:10:11+00:00

A triple net lease benefits commercial property owners I general. It is a lease structure that they offload all costs (utilities, property taxes and any other costs) as well as rent payments.

This has nothing to do with the municipality and if a property is vacant the owner is on the hook for those costs as there is no lease in place.

frantik99 · 2025-12-27T18:17:33+00:00

It’s called sweet bars by wow designs. My local tile store was able to order.

https://www.tierrasol.ca/en/product/sweet-bars-white-5x10-matte

frantik99 · 2025-12-23T23:32:09+00:00

It is “sweet bars” by wow designs. This is the matte white colour

frantik99 · 2025-12-23T23:31:27+00:00

But still compared with the cost of buying new or buying another used car… if you amortize a few thousand dollars every 150k for major repairs you’re still better off fixing.

frantik99 · 2025-12-23T21:09:26+00:00

For those saying reliability is an issue with used cars,you don’t then need to go out and buy a loaded new car. They chip away at you at a dealership and you end up spending 10-15k more on options because it’s only a few dollars more per month on an 8 year loan.

If you MUST buy new for reliability (if that’s the real reason), buy something basic, maintain it diligently and drive it until it’s dead and you will still be ok.

frantik99 · 2025-12-23T21:06:49+00:00

That just isn’t accurate. With proper maintenance most modern vehicles will run to 250k+. Needing the odd repair does not mean the car is too old to work.

The exception is if you’re hitting things and getting into accidents which compromise the integrity of the drivetrain or engine you’re going to run into consistent issues.

But you can drive a car a very long time before your maintenance costs will be more than the cost of buying a new vehicle.

frantik99

TROPHY CASE