Holmes on Homes
April 1, 2007 by Rick Anderson
I’ve pretty much given up on good information from the TV Networks. DIY is not very good, mundane information presented Sesame St. style. HGTV . . . . sheeesh . . . where to start, it wasn’t very good to begin with and has gone steadily downhill, and has for presentation, well . . . it makes Sesame St. seem intellectual.
The 3rd channel in this bunch is Discovery Home, not much here either. Maybe even worse, if that is possible. However there is one program on DHome that has caught my attention . . . it’s Holmes on Homes. This guy; Mike Holmes, seems like my kind of guy. From their website:
Please keep the premise of the show in mind… Mike rescues homeowners who have been ripped off by contractors or have been left with a job that wasn’t done right the first time. This does not include, Do It Yourself projects gone wrong, renovations done by previous owners or problems related to a lack of home maintenance.
Mike seems to have a lot of integrity, he acts and produces work professionally. He goes beyond the basic code standards. He’s a do it right, use the right tools, be proud of your work, respcect the clients kind of guy.
Mike Holmes . . . Holmes on Homes it’s worth a look.
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Addendum: I just found out the show is also on HGTV at various times. I’ve only seen it on DHome. Speaking of DHome their page on Holmes on Homes is less than thrilling.
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[...] Ben Jones wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThe 3rd channel in this bunch is Discovery Home, not much here either. Maybe even worse, if that is possible. However there is one program on DHome that has caught my attention . . . it’s Holmes on Homes. This guy; Mike Holmes, … [...]
I’ve seen this program on TV . It seemed a good concept (to rescue home owners from bad business decisions), Holmes also seems like the kind of experienced skilled laborer I would like to have help do renovations to my families homes if they had an unlimited budget to draw from. That brings me to what seems a large gap in the television show , and that is there are no attempts made to explain the most important aspects of the construction “business” cost and time .
Through the magic of television the his jobs are accomplished in under an hour including commercial breaks, and none of the work has been broken down into it’s most understandable components i.e. dollars and cents. I find it somewhat misleading to the viewing public that someone of Mike Holmes background would omit this important information from his program, but it is hard to be a superhero if you show the adouring fans the bill for your time and materials for a job that is commited to high standard (all respectable and commited professionals hold high standards if they are worth their salt).
Another omittance is that it is never explained how the hapless homeowner has been dupped by the original group of experienced laborers contracted to do the work, Just a brief few minutes bemoaning (justified) the downfall of the client/contractor negotiations and contractor neglect. if anything should be pointed out it should be the lack of professionalism in Mikes Holmes home town . The man with one eye is King in the land of the blind. I will continue to watch for entertainment purposes, my fear is most people don’t see the production value( read advertising worth) in the making of the caricature branding of this larger then life philanthropic laborer known as “Holmes On Homes”
Points are valid.
I would like to know the financial arrangements with those whose homes are featured on the show. Who pays what.
I would also like names named. The sleazeball contractors, developers, builders, who are doing the ripoffs and shoddy work.
Time scale is irrelevant. What can you do?
I am more interested in comparisons with the attitudes of the so called investors in shows like Flip This House and Flip That House and the like, where the attitude is good, cheap, fast. We all know you can only have two, and the rock stars of the Flip shows need to be held accountable for the results of their work, if it is shoddy, which I am sure a lot of it is.
I’d like to know if the plumbers and electricians Mike’s uses ever go after the ones who do the lousy work. In one instance, I believe his electrician said he was going to go to the local government on one electrician’s work. Sure, his people would be spending most of their time in court as expert witnesses, but couldn’t the production company hire lawyers to do the footwork so the experts would only have to spend the minimum amount of time in the courts? How much time does it take to pull a License? Wait, do you need a License in Canada to do this kind of work? I hate to see the irresponsible electricians, plumbers, and carpenters getting away with murder.
Let me take this a step further. I know the reason names aren’t names and photos aren’t posted and broadcast. The lawyers have forbidden it, especially given the idiocy of the courts. (yes I know the show is Canadian, and the rules may be different there) But if this were a US show, I’d take the chance and publicize names and faces. What are they going to do? Sue? With film documentation of their shoddy work ready to use against them?
Why is it that in this day of consumer protection, that the construction industry remains a center of shoddy work and sleazeball ripoffs?
This is where television could shine. And where it chickens out. In the meantime, the consumer is left with no recourse.
I am an average home owner ( that means financially challanged ). I love the show, however I do not understand why these shows are never done from an area even close to where I live. Mabe that is how the renovation shows that I see are able to do the fix-ups on such a low budget. I have gotten estimates from several contractors in my area and their prices seem to be quite high (usually about 100 thousand or more, plus they always include things that I did not ask for. I had a contractor fix my outside steps and sidewalk, which he decided should be pink….and they are not level. We checked him out before he did the work and looked at some work that he had done ( they must have been lying for him). Now of course we cannot find him or his company, so we could use someone like Holmes in our area. It would be great if he could fix our mess, because now I am a little afraid to trust another contractor.
I doubt if anyone will see this, being this was posted April 1, 07, but here goes.
I like the show Holmes on Homes but having done some renovation work myself, I would like to see what the contractor had to say about the home owner. I have been on both side of the issue, having had work done for me and doing work for people. Half the people in the show kind of stated they used the cheapest contractor and I will bet didn’t want to buy the best material but ask the contractor to use what ever was cheapest or leftover. I had one guy bring me burned nails he had found. I had one lady ask me to do 2 bathroom makeovers for “around” $1000.00. I don’t know if she ever got
it done.
I wish there was a show that showed what contractors have to go through. It could be made like some crime reenactment show using actors. Most of the show would show the contractors trying to get paid.
As my one of my latino workers likes to say, “oh my guches! (pronounced gooochez) i would watch that show on pbs every sunday after this old house, ask this old house, the new yankee workshop and the fishing show.
I totally agree with tthomas. I love the show, but am not blind to the fact that there are things we aren’t seeing. Mainly financial. The homeowners tell horrible stories about how much they paid for the shoddy work. Mike Holmes has dropped a couple of statements that indicate that they are no paying him to do the work right. If he’s getting paid handsomely for coming in and looking like a hero, it tarnishes his halo a bit in my eyes. Most people will do good work if you pay them enough, and if these homeowners have already been suckered, what is it doing to them to have to pay Mike now? I would watch the show with more enjoyment if I knew who was footing how much of the bill. Is the show paying for all this beautiful work he does beyond what the homeowner asked for? I assume so, or they wouldn’t look so happy at the end. Does anyone know how this works? I am curious…
as a roofing and building contractor in scotland when we meet a customer to quote for work if we suggest better ways to carry out the job they look at me like i have two heads,they want to keep to budget but want a perfect finish,this takes time and time is money which they will not spend,we need the work so do it to the best of our ability given the time allowed this works 99% of the time but GOD HELP US WHEN IT DOESNT
I have watched every single episode of Holmes on Homes (except season 7 because only seasons 1-6 air in the United States). From the Holmes on Homes website:
“Holmes on Homes™ offers discounts depending on the scope of the job, which are passed onto the homeowner. As HOH is a TV show, we have money to cover Mike’s time and his crew, and we pass these savings onto the homeowner. Any other costs are paid for by the homeowner. ”
Basically, Mike and his regular crew are payed by the production company while the homeowner pays for the materials and subcontractors. There are of course exceptions based on how needy the homeowners are (one episode, the tile company that got cheated by the contractor offered their services and product for free). There is only a certain amount of time in each episode and finances are actually pretty boring compared to everything else. Financial stuff are mentioned throughout the episodes only when focus on Mike’s main point of “Make it Right”, are interesting to the story, or significantly affect the project in a unique way.
at tthomas:
You really missed the point of what Mike Holmes is doing. He is trying to teach the viewing public that the price and pretty looks aren’t the only things that matter. Everybody has gotten into this attitude of that price is the most important thing. The truth is that the quality of you built things is more important than price or looks. Most problems Mike faces is because the previous contractor cut corners trying to save some money (one episode the painter had skipped putting primer on the walls). That is THE primary focus of the show and it is stated in his motto “Make it Right”.
Mike is constantly saying to not go cheap on structure and the internals of a building that it will last forever. You are way better off spending your money on a stronger structure than that nice granite countertop. Unfortunately, the opposite is happing today. People want things that look nice (like hardwood floors and granite countertops) and want it cheap, and they neglect the internals of the building. You would be surprised how many of his episodes deal with new houses that just passed the homewarranty period.
Also, the “downfall of the contractor/client negotiations” is how the contractor “dupped” the clients are the same thing. Sometimes the contractor stalls until the homewarranty runs out, sometimes they get as much money as possible then leave (by closing up shop and opening under a new name and license), and other times the contractor just flat out refused to finish the job or refund the money.
An Episode actually focused on how the contractors get away with this. It has to do with how the law is written. Because they did some work on the house, they can’t be charged criminally. That only leaves a civil suit to get the money back. In small Claims court you can only get 5000 dollars, and a full civil suit isn’t worth it cause of lawyer costs. Also, the most you get from the contractor anyways would be for them to come back and finish the job. I can tell you that I would NOT want somebody working on my house that was forced to be there.
One final note, Holmes on homes is filmed in Toronto and surrounding regions. He also points out when contractors do things right as well as giving credit his subcontractors (you noticed how every sub had his company name under his name?). There are many episodes that also devote a few minutes showing them at their best and mike being impressed.
My husband loves Homes on Homes. I like to watch it, also, but it gets my ire up to know that those criminal contractors can get away with such things. If I had my way, they COULD be sued, then any and all attempts at business by that person would be forbidden in this country for the rest of their miserable, cheating, lying lives. If they try to change their names, they’d be S.O.L. Any alias or legal change they make would be recorded and used against them. There’s no room in this world for that kind of non-human.
I would like to know if there is any way to contact Mike Holmes to convey my regards. I’ve been shot down at all my internet attempts.
I’d like to add another thing: WHEN is someone going to have a show about fixing up a manufactured home? We poor people have a right to a nice home even if we can’t afford a “real” one. The same goes for a food show on squeezing blood out of the food stamp turnip.
I just watched my first episode of Holmes on homes it was great it was 3 episodes back to back I was up till 2:00 A.M. I could not stop watching this Mike and his crew are incredible I have been in the window and cabinet business for 18 yrs I have been in thousands of homes and it is very rare to see a finished product like Mike puts out his attention to detail is out of this world and he is never raising his voice to his crew or never worried about deadlines he praises everyone involved and also again it would be nice to convey this to Mike personally I was lucky enough to be a part of Extreme Makover In North Dakota I helped install Pella windows in their home so I know how it feels to help a needy family out on my own time thanks again Mike keep upo the awesome job
I am a single mother with a thirteen year old son. Ever since I stareted waching Mike I was so amazed by him. What he does for people is great!!!! I always turn him on Saturday & Sunday & I watch every hour he is on. He is a miricale & does wonders for people. I would like to know how to contact him to come to my home. I lost both of my parents 18 months apart. & I am the only survivvor of my famaily. We has a fire in the kitchen, and had to move into an apartmrnt for almost a year. While the work was beinf done we were back & forth. The paint on the walls is all flat paint, There is flat paint everywhere!!!!! it is so bad. The bathroom downstairs keeps getting mold in the sink and toilet. I don’t know why I just know that mold is not healthy. I need Mike at my house because I know he will uncover things that I can’t see that may be harmful for me & MY SON.
[...] 16, 2008 by Rick Anderson Mike Holmes hits the nail on the head; again, so to speak. Friday nights episode “Semi [...]
I love the show so much…..Mike is the dream contractor of America…..Why is it that so many contractors can get a contract to do your home and just leave it in shambles with no guilty feelings or remorse. We live in Texas and bought our house 5 years ago and didn’t realize the electrical problems and structral problems we really have. Even the City permit guys came over and told us we have several problems in the house that we can’t afford to fix.
I truely wish we could get Mike or one of the fix it up shows to come in and help us fix our house. If you really want to know the whole story on my family please use our e-mail address and we will explain everything to you guys…..I realize you have tons of people writing to you everyday but I really hope i can get some help here. Our house has been broke into 2 times since we have been here and nobody can seem to find out who is doing it.
we just need help doing the right fix up’s and tring to keep the people from breaking in again. PLEASE HELP US.
Dear Mike;
My name is Karen Collins, I am a member of the Janvtville United Church. We our a small but MIGHTLY parish. Alot of our parish our elderly and we our working hard fund raising to put Handicap Access so they can attend services. They work very hard to raise funds for many charities and it seems a shame that they cannot attend our church. Because our church is very old we need upgrades to being the process. I thought that reparing this old building would make a good segment on your t.v show. If you could do this it would be like a small maracle, as we our a very small group and usually can keep up with with all our needs but this one is a little BIG for us.
Yours Turly ;
Steward Karen Collins
Wes Brewer here is a idea ;start by getting a book on residential wiring and a outlet tester. That way you can test the outlets yourself to see wich ones are wired right. Try doing some of the electrical work yourself ;like replacing bad switches and outlets and light fixtures.
Depending on the age of the house the main service line may be only a 50amp or 60amp service ;so i would recomend upgrading to a minimum of a 100 amp service line from the pole to the meter and from the meter to the main panel. If you have a garage ,the garage should have its owne circuit .
If you have outside outlets around the house they shoud be on there owne circuit. Plus outside outlets are requierd to be groudfault protected . Also outlets in the garage should be groudfault protected.
As for structural problems take some pics of the problem areas so you have something to show contractors when getting estamits.