One enjoyable thing to do on Thursday evenings while blogging (what, do some of you have other things to do on Thursday evenings?) is to watch Holmes on Homes on HGTV out of one corner of your eye. Mike Holmes is my hero.
For those of you not blessed enough to be in Canada or within reach of the show, Mike is a contractor who always gets called in to deal with the mess left by a prior contractor… his tagline is “Make it Right.” The whole schtick is that they’ll feature a homeowner who has had some type of renovation project done, and done badly…. problems ensue, and Mike gets called in. What happens next is one of the best parts of the show: the demolition. This is the part where Mike looks at something and says, “That’s wrong…” then he grabs a chunk of drywall (or whatever) and rips it out, saying, “This shouldn’t come out this easily — it’s all wrong.” This will continue… once he’s ripped out one thing he gets looking at what’s behind it, then rips that out as well. Now he’s got a protege who stands around doing and saying all the same stuff, a chip of the old Mike. An endless string of comments ensues, like “It’s always more expensive to do it twice. Do it right the first time. Take your time. Get permits! Hire the right contractor… if it doesn’t look right, stop work!” And of course, there’s Mike looking at something that was done, pointing out things and then looking at the camera and saying, “Un-be-lieveable.” The best parts are in the worst jobs where he either shakes his head and looks at the floor or walks through the room waving his arms saying, “It’s all coming down! Rip it all out!” Right now he’s saying, “This is not how you do electrical — you do not want this guy working on your home! My time on this job just doubled. Oh, isn’t that cute, the whole basement’s on one circuit.” There’s also an interspersed diatribe on the electrician, how dangerous it is, how it breaks code, how it could burn down the house and he’d be responsible… and there was the line just now, “I’m pulling out everything.” I’ve seen him rip down an entire garage, completely gut a kitchen and then start jackhammering the floor to see what’s under it, and I’ve seen him replace an entire roof over a home addition, followed by redoing the interior. About three quarters of the way through the job, he decides that granite countertops would look good, then goes ahead and does that too. The homeowners are amazed, without fail… and of course, they’re thoroughly happy.
Mike does things the hard way. He also does them the right way. The reconstruction part of the show just started, with Mike walking through a homeowner’s basement with the electrician, saying, “Obviously that’s no longer a bedroom, we’ve gone with an open concept…” while the electrician is marking things left, right, and centre and Mike is spouting off instructions to the rest of his crew about how to handle particular points of the reconstruction process. One thing he does often is bring in other trades and specialists… in keeping with his mantras, “Get it done right” and “You get what you pay for.” Everyone he hires seems to abide by the same philosophy — while we’re here anyway, we’re also adding a rubber membrane…. or whatever. This time out he got called in to look at a basement window well that didn’t look right. By the time he was done, the entire basement had been basically gutted and rebuilt… fixing of course the electrical, plumbing, and air conditioning unit in the process.
Okay, hang on — we’re going to spiritually analogize this. Mike knows how to build, and takes his time to do it right. He plans, gets the right people, gets the blueprint, makes a plan, and executes it. If it was done wrong to start with, he’ll rip it out and do it over. Nothing is sacred in the deconstruction process, everything can be replaced…. and often, it is. People before attempted to build or renovate, and often didn’t know what they were doing or were incapable of doing the job correctly. They tend to cover up problems instead of getting to the bottom of them and resolving the underlying issues. Inevitably, this coverup eventually leads to other problems, and the demolition ends up being much worse than it had to be. Lesson learned, build it right, build it carefully, and do it right the first time. Too bad you usually only get one “first time” — experience helps a lot in doing it right.
So, when we put our hands to building the church, we want to do it right the first time, to…. wait, it’s probably too late for that. Seems we’re already in the demolition process. Alright, we’ve lessons to learn from Mike there too: nothing is sacred, rip it all out, go looking for problems and deal with them while you’re at it. Do it over, and do it right. When we rebuild, we want to be sure we’re building well, doing the job properly. Approach it properly, intentionally, and build the best we know how — even as we’re still learning in the process. Now is the time to remodel, but build carefully, because I guess it’s inevitable: someday, someone is going to come along and rip apart what we build… and I hope we can limit the amount of demolition that’s required. After all, with too much demolition and reconstruction it starts to get personal — and when that happens I don’t much want a guy who looks like Mike saying nasty things about me. He might figure out where I live.
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August 19th, 2005 at 10:25 am
Excellent analogy. Your use of pop culture to easily communicate a profound truth. Whether to the church “builder” of yesterday and those of us forging a new trail today, this is a great place to stop and consider our every step.
Thanks, Bro! This is what makes you blogs one of the most readable and enjoyable on the Canadian scene. (You give blogging lessons? wink wink).
Peace,
Jamie
August 23rd, 2005 at 5:48 pm
Most of my construction buddies don’t think that highly of Mr. Holmes. His doing it right usually comes at a significant increase in prices and sometimes the value of the job doesn’t justify the cost.
As for me I am ok with doing the job “good enough”. Getting it right smacks to much of legalism to me.
February 3rd, 2006 at 3:21 pm
I too watch Mr Mike and laugh my face off.Yes he is by the book and yes you should get permits.He neglets to say that your property tax WILL go up if you pull a permit anouncing to the city or town that your property is now worth more money so buck up and pay the tax man!.I was also fond if the episode of when he was putting down steel framing.Saying it rusts and has no buisness bieng used as a material in home construction.If you think about it steel dosent warp,or rott and no mice are going to chew through it.Every residentail highrise is built with it.So you tell me why its not a good enough material.Its faster to build with steel bringing your cost down,mind you Mr mike doesnt seem to think about cost,not everyone is rich and can aford 50,000 on a bathroom and bedroom combo.I would never hire him for the simple fact he is a over priced ego hungry tradesman!
May 17th, 2006 at 7:05 pm
So are you incouraging not getting a permit? I think what YOU are neglecting to post is the fact that it is law my friend, Whether or not you like to pay the “tax man”, to not pull a permit is illegal and is theft.
If you think all of those jobs are that costly you obviously have not watched enough episodes. Mike helps people that have been ripped off, what don’t people get about that? What a bad guy he must be to help developemntally challenged children and men with physical dissabilities. He says on MANY episodes that not all contractors are bad and in terms of the cost, if you are willing to put out a little more money for quality products then they will last longer.
I guess you have met him because you seem to know an awful lot about his personality…being so egotistical and all. Well I should let you know that I have met him, he is a very sweet person. He came to surprise a very sick friend of mine in the hospital when she found out she wasn’t going to make it. His visit made her and her family so happy and he did it out of the kindness of his heart, not even knowing her.
It’s too bad that people like you are so jaded. Good luck in the future and I hope you do not work in the industry because I would definitaly not hire you Steve.
July 16th, 2006 at 7:35 pm
I JUST WANTED TO PUT MY WORDS IN HERE ABOUT WHAT IS GOING TO BE.WHEN I WAS 16 I WORKED FOR MY GIRLFRIENDS FATHER HE HAD THIS IDEA OF OVER BUILDING EVERYTHING HE DID. I LEARNED THIS WAY OF DOING THINGS AND USE IT IN MY DAY TO DAY WORK. I DO NOT WORK IN THIS FEILD ANY LONGER BUT I AM LOOKING TO GET BACK AT IT WITH MIKES SHOWS IT WILL GIVE THE CUSTOMER A LITTLE MORE TO GO ON LIKE PRICE IS NOT ALLWAYS THE BEST WAY TO GET YOUR CONTRACTOR THANKS DONT MIND THE BAD ENGLISH
September 7th, 2006 at 2:34 pm
Here, here to Kirsten’s comment…I’ve met Mike on a couple of occassions…not only is he NOT egotistical but he is a very humble guy. Like many of us he’s a terrible actor so there’s no way he could pull off being anything other than himself. He tells it like it is and if people don’t like it then that’s their choice. Steve’s ascertain about higher taxes also does not take into consideration the higher the value your house has (and the fewer headaches you’ll face) when you go to sell it. In one case a friend of mine bid on a “Holmes on Homes” featured house and ended up bidding against 11 other people. Upon review the home inspector could not find one thing wrong with the house and it went for $100,000 over asking…say what you will but the buck tells it all.
Value negates price each and every time…if I knew Mike or his crew were working on my house I know they would be looking at not only delivering on their promise but what would this do to their reputation if they didn’t go the extra mile…anyone who is a fan constantly hears Mike say “Is it overkill?…yeah…but if it makes sense I’d want it.” He’s not saying 99% of his clients want it or anything he can’t back up…end of day if it makes sense and will last for decades do the cost-benefit analysis and go from there. Say what you will – Mike is addressing a need in the marketplace which is the hallmark of an open market society – if he wasn’t then we wouldn’t be even speaking about this. Keep up the good work Mike!
September 30th, 2006 at 11:55 am
I’ve known Mike for over 3 years. I’ve seen him in action on a jobsite. It may surprise some people to know that Mike didn’t want to do the show, he was just sounding off to a producer on the Jon Eakes show about doing a show that would show how many incompetent on downright crooked so-called contractors there are & how they rip people off to the tune of thousands & thousands of dollars. The producer convinced Mike to do the show because he saw that Mike was genuine, the real deal. Mike could make a lot more money just doing what he was doing before the show, running his own construction company very successfully. These naysayers, that every successful person has to put up with, are just jealous & make assumption without ever having met the man.If anybody thinks there’s no need for somebody like Mike, they should see the thousands of e-mails he gets every week from people looking for help or, check out the forum on his website, http://www.holmesonhomes.com which has attracted nearly 10 000 members in one year & read their pleas for help, advice and information. I’ll take Mike anythime over all these types who can do nothing better than take shots at him.
December 29th, 2006 at 6:19 pm
I Watch The Holmes on Homes Show Quite Often, and I Notice Mike Seems To Spend A Lot Of Time With The Girl They Call “Pinky”.
I Wonder Just How Much Time Is Spent Off Set For Extra Contractual Activities.
;)
December 29th, 2006 at 6:46 pm
cRuZe, Have you ever met Mike or Pinky, for that matter. You are smearing the reputation of a man & woman you don’t know. The fact that you have nothing better to do with your time than to indulge in unwarranted speculation & assumption tells me somethibng about your character and mindset.
I’m surprised the owner of this blog allowed you to post here. Your post should’ve gone where it belongs…. in the garbage.
Jundee
January 5th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
hi i watch holmes on homes faithfully and mike holmes is great……he exposes the poorest of the poor and the scammers that should be jailed ……his show shows how you need to be aware that there are a lot of crooked sobs in the world …..more legistation is needed to make sure these crooks who are taking advantage of the inexperience of home owners …..we need more mike holmes to help make sure the bad seeds are forced to be licenced and pay back people they ripped off……keep up the good work…..bruce g
January 5th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
HI I WAS READING SOME OF THE OTHER COMMENTS AND JUST HAD TO RESPOND …..FIRST TO THE PERSON COMMENTING ABOUT HOW MUCH TIME MIKE SPENDS WITH PINKY … SHES AN APPRENTICE AND LEARNING SO HOW WOULD YOU TEACH AN APPRENTICE ….IF PINKY WAS A GUY NOTHING WOULD BE SAID SO OPEN UP YOUR NARROW MIND……AND FOR THE GUY SAYING WHATEVER ABOUT PERMITS ….PERMITS ARE NEEDED SO YOUR ELECTRICIAN OR YOUR PLUMBER ETC ARE HELD TO SOME KIND OF STANDARD…..THE FACT YOUR TAXES MIGHT GO UP ARE A PART DOING THE RENOVATION TO START WITH …..A TRADESMANS WHO SAYS YOU DONT NEED A PERMIT IS WHAT KEEPS THESE CROOKS GOING …….LISTEN TO MIKE HOLMES ADVISE…..WAKE UP ………BRUCE G
January 8th, 2007 at 10:19 am
I think Mr.Holmes is a good man and a awsome contracter. He does everything right and by the book he has inspired me to become a contracter and some day i would like to work for MIke. Im 15 and i watched every episod of holmes on homes and mike tought me alot.
January 8th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Hi im Jeremy and i would like to say that Mike Holmes is the best contractor i have ever seen. I have seen every episode of Holmes on Homes and have learnd alot about buildings and repairs. I am 15 years old and i already want to be a contractor when i grow up. If there is anyone that can help me get a job in this feild please e-mail me at twinkies_911@hotmail.com i am a great worker and would like to work with Mike or anyone and eventually i wont to start up my own contracting bussiness i am a very hard worker and have been working with wood scense ive been 5.
January 22nd, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Dear Jundee and BRUCE G.
Get Over It … It Was A Joke.
…
Note: ellipsis … indicates editing of this comment by the blog host.
January 22nd, 2007 at 4:08 pm
First Of All…Thanks For The Censorship Blog Host.
Secondly I Agree with Steve Regarding The Building Permit…It’s Just A Money Grab So The Government Can Raise Your Taxes. Sorry Kirsten, But Someday When Your Old Enough To Own A Home You’ll Understand The Many Ways The Tax man Tries Ripping You Off. You Can Preach All You Want About It Being Against The Law… But Just Because They (The Government) Made It A Law Doesn’t Make It Right.
PS: Despite What Jundee and BRUCE G. May Think …I Like Mike Holmes, However I Don’t Agree With Getting A Building Permit For Every Little Thing I Do To My House. But Of Course Mike Has To Mention The Building Permit Clause Because His Show Is Funded By…(You Guessed It)….The GOVERNMENT. ;))
January 22nd, 2007 at 4:57 pm
Get your facts straight. The show is funded from advertising revenue going to HGTV who in turn pays Mike’s production company.
Because the Blog Host removed your profanity, you consider it censorship. Interesting that when people can’t engage in intelligent & factual disussion, they have to resort to profanity.
January 22nd, 2007 at 8:14 pm
You’re still confusing speculation & assumptions with facts.
1. The Blog Host removed the profanity from your post. He did not remove it from the e-mail I received.
2. The Holmes Foundation is a charitable foundation & has nothing to do with the Holmes on Homes Show except that some of the revenue generated by Mike’s other activities are donated to the Foundation.
January 22nd, 2007 at 8:20 pm
For the record, the material I removed / moderated from the comments was not really so much for being profane as being disrespectful, a personal attack on another commenter. As such, those comments are not contributing to the discussion… I have left the relevant parts of the comment intact, and as such, no “censorship” has taken place. cRuZe, you’ve had your say — now it’s time to drop it.
February 18th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
I would like Mike;s input about an addition I am building, does he have a web site
February 18th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
http://www.holmesonhomes.com & http://www.mikeholmesfanforum.com
July 5th, 2007 at 1:31 am
I too know Mr. holmes, I used too jam with him in a band twelve years ago, he played the drums. It was very hot in the soundproof room we jammed in and he built a large blower fan to help keep us from sweating our buns off,lol. I haven’t seen him since our last jam as we were mostly hurting for cash back then and had to breakup as the room we rented was pretty expensive.Before that he had a warehouse and a previous business that he let us use to jam together rent free, so he was a pretty good guy and very easy to get along with.I remember him telling me he was good at renovations etc. and now he is doing pretty good. Yet he is only human and has had his share of ups and downs just like anyone else. As for the permits, I do think the government over does it as there are plenty of permit users still doing an awful job as well as licenced contractors. The permits should be for contractors and if a homeowner is fixing his own house he should just need an inspection after the work is complete. I am currently a handyman and I can do a large variety of jobs but I do not attempt to do anything over my head, IE: major plumbing, electrical or foundation work. I know mike rubs some people the wrong way but he has a show to do and he does do it right! He is fixing jobs that cost a lot of money to do in the first place, so I don’t see a problem with putting down shoddy work, heck, I do a better job than a lot of these contractors in my first attempt, lol. Keep up the good work mike and stick it to them and thanks for the many tips I pick up watching the show. P.S. If you have a nice renovated basement you would like to jam in send me an email and we can pick up were we left off( rent free of couse,lol.) colinw63@hotmail.com
July 22nd, 2007 at 10:23 am
For me it all comes down to this:
A home is where you live, you sleep, you eat, you make most of your memories, you raise your children, and you withdraw from the hectic world for some peace.
If I have a choice between having a shoddy house that will cost me more than I earn in my life to constantly fix because substandard workers who don’t give a crap keep “fixing” the things that inevitibly go wrong with my house, I’d rather live in a tent. I can sew and build a fire.
A house IS the single biggest purchase of a person’s life, and what Mike says about taking care of it and doing things properly makes a lot of sense to me on a very deep level.
Hiring bad contractors and workers is like buying a paper coat when you need something to keep you warm in 10 degree weather, it just doesn’t work.
I think, really, that all these crooked contractors being so sucessful is partially every home owners fault. PARTIALLY, because so many people don’t want to think about it, just want it done for little or no money, and don’t really care themselves. People fail to have the pride in their home that was present in every person only 150 years ago, and I think Mike is bring that back. Too much of our life is mass produced, including the homes we live in – how can that not affect the people in bad ways? How could not feeling a deep connection and love and understanding and pride of your own home, but instead a sense of alienation not affect the way you go think and are and how you live your life and relate to the whole world?
A home is like our skull is to our brain, a home is a dwelling for our consciousness.
August 4th, 2007 at 11:17 am
To those contractors who want to cut corners: Permits are a necessary and esential part of doing business, as is a License. When you pull a permit, that money goes into paying the Inspector that comes to your job to make sure you’ve done the work correctly to a standard. YOU may not want to pull a permit because you may want to cut corners to save a buck to add to your profit margin; a detriment to the home owner who, not knowing the building essentials, is still expecting you to do the job correctly. Go ahead and DON’T get the permit and hide an illegal electrical connection inside a wall that may never be seen again; you may be the cause of someone’s house burning down, but what do you care – you go your extra few bucks by shortchanging the system and homeowner. To the homeowners who don’t pull permits: Don’t get the necessary permit and do the work yourself on your own home, which is permissible in some localities, whether or not you actually know what you are doing. It may not come back to haunt you, but it may show up years later after another family, having move into your house, is killed in a fire caused by your negligence in not pulling a permit; substandard work that might have been caught by a Building Inspector, but now is caught by a Fire Inspector after the fact.
September 19th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
you need to have a permit for electrical, so your house doesn’t burn down, plumbing so it doesn’t flood, and structural so it doesn’t fall down. i’m a contractor, and if you honestly think that the average person can do anything without experience and without a permit you are wrong. the inspectors are there to keep your house safe, and to make sure its done right, yes, i think most permits are rediculous and stupid, those three permits are a must for any homeowner
September 27th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
My husband bought a building to fix and I bought a house next to it. He is a great handy man and loves working with his hands. While we were degutting our house a city inspector unexplicably shows up and walks right in and immediatly starts spouting off what we are doing is wrong that we need a permit. We were relevelling a floor and putting up gyproc and installing a new toilet. The floor was done perfectly and the toilet was next. Now we have to get permits because our neighbors called on us. Why do Home Depot and Kents even install toilet, or any tools for just anybody to buy when the city told us we need a professional to even install a toilet. My husband and I are so fed up that we are selling everything and moving out of the city and away from everyone else!! Why would you need to have a builing permit and an electrical permit just to turn on power! You need a permit for a treehouse or a doghouse!!! Permits are fine but for minor things it’s a money grabber!
October 8th, 2007 at 2:36 am
I am a great fan of the programme even watch the re-runs because there is nothing better (or as good)
I would like to know what happened to Shaun and Bengie from the first couple of series
October 17th, 2007 at 10:25 am
Far too often, what Mike discovers is that the basic structural integrity of a home has been compromised. There is simply no excuse for any “professional” to ever do something like: Cutting through structural supports to put in duct work; taking out a gas fireplace and putting in a wood burning fireplace without examining the chimney to see if it can handle the much hotter temps of wood fires; failure to wire homes properly.
There is a reason why permits are required, and that is to make certain that the bare minimum codes are followed. Those MUST be followed, or the work is unsafe and may end up costing the homeowner everything, including the lives of family members.
The person that advocates doing “just enough” is the kind of contractor that would scare me to death. They are the ones that cut corners, and end up endangering the homeowners and their families.
There are a ton of books out there on how to do construction. I am a severely disabled veteran, and could not fford to have a contractor redo my kitchen. So, I bought the Time-Life home improvement series, some books on how to make cabinets, and did the work myself. I had ALL of the necessary permits, and the necessary inspections of plumbing changes and electrical changes. It took me four months, where a contractor could have done it in a couple of weeks. BUT, it was done right, and when I sold the house, it was one of the big selling points.
If I could do this, there is no excuse for any contractor NOT following codes. We need a few thousand Mike Holmes, to drive the crooks and the incompetent out of business.
October 18th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
i want a t-shirt that says “dirty buggers didn’t vent anything!” yay mike!
October 19th, 2007 at 2:46 am
The only thing I have to say about Mike Holmes is he seems genuine. I’ve been watching his show for a few years now and not only have we gotten some wonderful ideas from him, we absolutely do things right, the first time. My husband is a general contractor who is now working building bridges. His employers love him because he does do things right and they’re done the first time. I think Mike Holmes is a loving, understanding, kind, compassionate man and the world needs more models like him to look up to. Thank you Mike Holmes AND the men who work for you. You guys are awesome!!!!
October 23rd, 2007 at 12:10 pm
As an American viewer I find Mr.Holmes to be the best contractor I’ve ever seen or worked for. I also like watching “Flip This House” and the contrast between Mr. Holmes work and most of these buffoons is scary. Good luck to Mike and his projects,and his crew.
October 26th, 2007 at 2:00 pm
I watch “Holmes on Homes” everyday and really enjoy the show. I think the show provides an important public service as well as instructional content. I worked home remodel, kitchen and bath mainly for about twenty years. I’ve been out of the business for about ten years, so in watching the show, I’ve seen new products as well as installation procedures which have been quite helpful. I can also google other web sites because now I’m aware of what is out there. I agree with Mr. Holmes philosphy, it takes just a little more effort to make it right. For the comments from builders who don’t agree with Holmes, I would explain to the customer that the job would be done to construction standards and anything above and beyond would be extra. Permits, always get permits, if you don’t, at the time of sale it might be the difference of getting a loan or not, and the big one, if the house burns down or you have massive water damage due to shoddy non-permitted work, the insurance company will not cover the loss. You can go after the contractor who did the work, good luck with that.
October 26th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
I love to see the anti-government types spout off. Building permits are not necessary, they just serve to increase your taxes, etc., etc., etc.
These are the idiots that do electricl wiring that burns down houses; don’t bother to make a wall true; do extensive building that doesn’t meet code, and then scream the loudest when something goes wrong. They can’t sell a place built like that; if it burs down they will be i n legal trouble PLUS their insurance won’t cover it.
THEN, THEY WILL SCREAM TO THE GOVERNMENT FOR RELIEF.
But more than anything, they are likely the same kind of scum that Mike Holmes cleans up after. They rip off the poor homeowner, do shoddy work that isn’t even 2nd rate, and wonder why the government shuts them down at every opportunity.
Codes exist for a reason. They are the MINIMUM standards to make a home habitable, and safe. Anyone that advocates violating codes is nothing but a fool, or a poltroon.
December 7th, 2007 at 12:02 pm
I agree you should get a permit BUT my only problem is the inspectors are not held accountable.I was watching the show & plumber found a main connection that was not glued & we know that had been inspected when the house was built.Had that inspector done his job & got his hands dirty he would have found that. My guess is he did what most do walked around & said ya looks good. Can the home owner do anything when the inspector blows it Nope.
In my town we have a drywall inspector his job is to check that you have the right amount of screws 1 every 4inch Does not matter if you hit a beam on the seams just got to have lot of screws HUH I didn’t know we were all in danger when cracks happen in drywall. When the inspector came here he just walked in & out never even pushed on the walls for all he knows those screws were not even in a stud.
So lets say I never got a drywall permit & contractor did it wrong & it cracks all over the place or worse yet it falls off the wall. I can sue him but I don’t think I will win enough to cover the court cost.
Lets say I got an inspection & inspector missed the poor install & it cracks or a pieces fall off I am in the same dam boat cant sue the inspector or the contractor.
Best thing you can do is educate yourself.
December 7th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Once again, people just don’t know what they are talking about, spout off.
How do you know that this connection had been inspected? You just assume that it had been, which is a very dangerous thing to do.
In “Accountable”‘s community, they have a drywall inspector that doesn’t do his job. Instead of bitching about it here, document that fact and report the incompetent or lazy inspector. It wouldn’t be that hard if he is as bad as you claim. The government doesn’t want that kind of inspections either.
And yes, you CAN sue contractors, and win. In most areas, the winning party is awarded court costs. You can also sue real estate agents, former property owners, etc. for failure to disclose defects.
When I purchased my home, I had a professional inspection done. By MY inspector, not one recommended by the real estate agent. I made my offer contingent on my receiving “an acceptable inspection of the property”. I made them fix EVERY problem, before I would but the house.
I also took a circuit tester with me, and checked every outlet, every fixture, etc. I also inspected the crawl space and the attic myself. I’m a 65 year old severely disabled veteran. If I can do that, there is no reason on earth for each of you to not do the same.
If you hire someone to do a job, you have to make certain they actually do that job. Government inspectors will usually make certain that at least minimal code requirements are met.
Oh yes, I had a neighbor that converted a garage into a family room. When he went to sell his house, he had to rip everything out, and restore the garage as a garage. No permits, nothing was up to code and he couldn’t sell the house like that. He cut some corners to save money, and he ended up spending a lot more than a reputable contractor would have charged.
December 12th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
“Once again, people just don’t know what they are talking about, spout off.”
I think when Mike says on the show “the inspectors must have missed that” I am not just spouting off & assuming. Also the house was new like 5years old so I don’t think they did the main line with out a permit
My bitching about drywall inspector was not that he is so bad but the whole thought of even needing one is nothing but a money grab on the city’s part & had you read what I wrote you would have got the point when I said I didn’t know we were all in danger when cracks happen in drywall.
I have never once seen a inspector lift a finger & I have seen a lot of them. They all do the same dam thing walk thru look around sign the papers unless they can see a problem it don’t exist.
So me as a contractor I am to bitch to the city & get my business black listed I THINK NOT.
Again you are so high up on you horse the blood has rushed out of your brain.
Sure you can SUE & win but if the contractor is bankrupt then you are SOL.
“I’m a 65 year old severely disabled veteran” O so some how that means a guy that’s not is going to be able to see wiring that is done wrong better then you.
Bottom line here is like I said educate yourself , you somehow reworded this to fit in the fact that you are a 65 year old severely disabled veteran.
Counting on inspectors to insure your house is right it like sticking your finger in a light socket to see if it works.
December 23rd, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Since September 2007 when my husband was told he had lung cancer,he watches alot of Television. It’s all he feels like doing ,He watches Holms on Home every time it comes on. He wishes he had started watching it sooner.He really enjoys the show. He says it is the best show on television. Deborah Easley,S.C. USA
December 24th, 2007 at 10:08 am
Drywall inspection may well be necessary. If the wrong materials are used in a “wet area”, this can lead to mold and other problems.
Of course “Accountable” hates inspectors. He is a contractor and hates the fact that the government doesn’t allow him to do things “His Way”, He represents exactly the kind of builder that Mike Holmes despises.
No reputable contractor would ever resent inspections. After all, if they are doing the work correctly, they have nothing to fear from any inspection. But, if they are trying to pass off substandard work, inspections may well cut into their profit margins.
Yes, there are inspectors that do not do their jobs correctly. Just as in any profession there are people that dog it. But the majority do their jobs, and their job is to protect the public from substandard and possibly hazardous work.
Just look at Mike’s programs to see the kind of stuff that contractors pass of as being good work. Look at the electrical wiring screwups, that could cause a fire. Look at the plumbing problems, that can cause a house to virtually fall apart. Look at the structural problems, ones that could cause a house to collapse.
Isn’t it odd that people like :Accountable” don’t want any inspections of their work? Kind of makes you wonder why!
December 28th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
I never said I don’t want inspector I SAID don’t count on inspectors to ensure the job is done right.
Case in point I just watched a Holmes show last night were a family had an addition to there house to accommodate there disabled child.
Watch that show then tell me inspectors protect you. Foundation was wrong in a major way. Electrical was wrong Plumbing was wrong Roof was wrong All these things were inspected & passed Not one of the things that passed was hidden all the infractions were in plain site.
Bill in the future don’t put words in my mouth I never elude to not wanting inspectors at all I never said I hate inspectors.
What I said & have said all along Inspectors do not do there job & are lazy SO in essence I want a tougher system Just like Mike I am sick of seeing crap work that has passed inspection.
January 1st, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Mike is a great contractor on tv or off.
This in and of it self should tell every one considering
a new home or remodeling job that quality is number one
and any thing less is double or more in the final result.
Although I have never met Mike I would have him and his
team over any other contractors in the field.
Mike, Great show, as I watch it here in Massachusetts
And keep up the good work.
Happy New Year Mike
Norm In Massachusetts
January 8th, 2008 at 12:30 am
Great blog! We live in Phoenix and have loved Holmes since we first found it. We record every episode and watch them on saturdays.
In regards to permits- they are neccessary to insure construction is done to meet minimum code. Getting a permit for a toilet? unless you modified the plumbing you shouldn’t have to do that, but if you in any way changed or moved the plumbing then YES you need a permit. Installing a water heater actually requires a permit and inspection because the water and gas/electrical is cut then reinstalled. Most people never get them, though. Just make sure the plumber opens up the release valve when they are done.
Inspectors- well there are good and bad in everything. Some go into that field thinking its a cheezy job cruising around all day. In new home construction i know in Arizona they only inspect 1-3% of the homes under construction. If there are no major problems they pass the whole subdivision.
I have taken several inspection classes because I am majoring in Architecture and although its not required I figured I should know. During my Residental Construction class we took a field trip to a development here that had some 300 homes. it had passed inspection, but when we were walking we found 4 homes that were not right. There were problems that we, as students could clearly tell like missing headers, AC lines run wrong to where drywall would hit it. Plumbing (they use the plastic line, but the cheap stuff not what he does) run incorrectly, and tapped off every few feet. We even found homes without vapor barrier on the wall getting ready to be stuccoed. And the one where the top of the wall did not meet the roof.
Mike has a lot of great tips for contractors and homeowners. Cheap construction is what the government does, look at what they get! I am amazed at how many people choose a contractor because they were the cheapest, yet you don’t see these same people driving around in VW Beetle circa 1975, or eating hamburger helper every night. If you think Joe Blow can give you your dream kitchen for 1/2 the price of the highest bid with granite and marble then I have a few extra beaches here to sell you.
to the cheap contractor on here who does it until its just good enough- wow glad I don’t hire your kind! The space shuttle Challenger was launched at conditions that were just good enough, too.
January 12th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Remodeling is the most difficult construction there is, its difficult to see through walls, both the home owner and contractor, must realize if you don’t have the money don’t attempt it. When walls are
opened many unforeseen issues, can easily double your budget.
My best advice to any home owner and contractor, is to hire a third party inspector. I build large
multifamily projects and have seen this trend over the last 10 years, I welcome these additional
set of eyes and input.
No one is perfect, Architects, Engineers, Local Bld. inspectors, Contractors and even home owners.
January 12th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Agreed, Mr. Enoch. That, to me, besides the good works he does on behalf of people who are hurting, is the best thing about his show. Once you start a project there is absolutely no telling what you might find behind the walls, floors, or ceilings; or where tracking down the root causes might lead, like peeling an onion. Not everyone could or would spend $50K fixing up a $30K house, but it is a pretty sure bet that you will encounter things out of square, level, and plumb; cobbled together “we’ll fix it later” kinds of things, or “close enough for government work” level of workmanship and materials.
No one is perfect, and neither is any house I’ve ever worked on, even after I finished. I try to do a good job on everything I do, but there are always trade-offs, generally resources, time, and/or money, on every job I’ve ever done. I would love one time in my life to do everything as it should be, Holmes-like, with unlimited budget and resources, but I have a feeling it will never happen, and if it did I would never finish! :)
I don’t have the same amount of faith you do in inspectors though. Unless there is someone knowledgable and competent controlling the quality of all materials and overseeing all of the workers’ every move, things can still slip past even the most eagle-eyed inspector.
January 12th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
My husband and I faithfully watch Holmes on Homes. We LOVE the show. My husband has been a contractor for 45 yrs. He says, he has seen a lot of really badly done jobs and he was the one hired to fix the mess up. He agrees with Mike. Get your permits, watch your contractors, be informed! There are alot of people out there that are contracting that shouldn’t be allowed to have a hammer in their hands. Thanks and keep up the good work Mike! Frank and Patti Carrico
January 12th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
P.S. By the way, this blog is awesome. Thank you for taking the time to keep it updated! You are appreciated!
January 15th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
I’m mildly surprised by the division between the comments posted. I would think that whether it is a state, county or city inspector, the basic building code isn’t going to differ much. Geographically the code may change drastically because of seismic activity. Cold weather climates will have a completely different set of concerns. I live in Seattle, we have state, county and city inspection departments. We have a state run electrical inspection department, they are the only ones that can issue permits and inspect electrical. Can it be frustrating, you bet, because its hard to keep up with the code which can change monthly. Like most other things, if it becomes a problem the government will regulate it. To me its a no brainer, get permits, do it right and as I posted previously you don’t have to worry about loans, insurance or safety.
As far as the unglued plumbing goes on the “show”, I have some doubts about whether or not that piping was ever inspected. Here we have to plug the new drains and where it will be tied in with the main sewer, fill it with water all the way to top of the vent and hold it for 24 hours. Any unglued or poorly glued joints will leak and will not pass inspection.
Diy network reported that 89 billion dollars will be spent in the U.S. alone this year on home remodeling.
If you’re one of the people thinking of remodeling, stay informed, keep watching Mike Holmes, and believe that the building department is not your enemy
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:57 pm
I’m not sure why so many people are so gung ho on the building inspector being the sign of done right or not. In my experience most of the local ones flunked out of toll booth school and were hired by knowing someone and are power hungry. A lot of the same people all for a permit to build a dog house will be the first to bitch at how much more a small project will cost because of it and in my experience more times than not on a small job once they have the permit fee they never make it around to inspect and it “passes” because you gave them 24hrs notice and they didnt show up. Many of them have no common sense about things that come up on a jobsite that dont fit their “perfect code book world” . Obviously the government is right in everything else they do …………..
Obviously on Mike’s show there are some major problems exposed but he is way too gung ho to tear a whole wall out to put 2 extra screws in. He overspends way more than the average person can afford………getting a good job doesnt necessarily mean everything has to be perfect.
January 23rd, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Yep, the person above represents exactly what Mike Holmes fights against.
Do it on the cheap, and don’t worry about safety, or building codes or anything like that. Doing it right costs way too much, and if the person can’t afford to have it done right, well what’s wrong with doing it cheap?
Of course, the builders/remodelers that do it on the cheap are never around when the house burns down because of faulty wiring, or mold is growing because they screwed up the plumbing, etc. Instead, they have gone out of business, opened up under another name, and are out taking more people that believe that they actually are competent.
The average person can’t afford to have it done properly? Then it shouldn’t be done at all. It’s better to wait until you can afford it, than to have the instant gratification today, and a house full of major problems later.
ANY builder that says that code is not important is either a complete idiot, or they are ripping people off. I strongly suspect that the latter is much more prevalent. Mike Holmes is educating people, and that cuts into their profits.
January 23rd, 2008 at 1:54 pm
I did not say codes were not important, I said most inspectors don’t know what they are doing and to blindly ” Check with the government” and everything will be ok is stupid. My first experience w/ a building inspector in my fathers house at about age ten was ” I’m not going into a crawlspace to check that if it burns down its your house” The problem w/ a lot of inspectors is they have no practical experience and no idea how to deal with odd situations that come up. I am not talking about burying live wires in walls, not gluing pipes or things like that .
So making something better and safer even if it doesnt comply to some idiot inspectors book on a piddling issue for someone that cant afford huge amounts is not better than letting it catch fire or fall down? By the same logic if you cant afford a Mercedes because it is a better, safer car you shouldn’t drive a car you can afford?
I did a garage addition for a structural engineer and we had problems w/an inspector who didnt really know what he was talking about…………..he couldnt tell me why just ” thats what the book says” It was a stupid issue which the structural engineer with much much more traing than the inspector couldnt understand at all either . In the end it became easier to do something unnecessary just to get rid of him. Many of these inspectors rarely even look at anything for the ” right” builders. I have fixed things that passed inspection that were as bad or worse than things on that show. ie; a 24′ beam carrying a roof load supported by a 2×4 naled between 2 studs on one end………….It was fine with the inspector though.
Its television and I’m sure they play stuff up to the max………….there is a point both ways
So maybe you hould be focusing more on whats in front of your eyes
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Yes, those “idiot inspectors” really are a pain. And so are the codes, they don’t stay up to date, and they don’t let people just do it the way they want to. It just isn’t fair, is it?
Of course Ho,mes fakes all those top plates not secured to anything; the bare electrical connections hidden behind wallboard, the illegal (and unsafe) wiring; the sheetrock screwed into ductwork; plumbing not glued together, and so on and so on. It’s all just television, just to get an audience.
Yeah, right, and if you believe that, I’ve got some garden land in southern New Mexico I’d like to sell you.
The codes may not always reflect the newest technology, but they do exist to PREVENT some “contractor” doing it the “cheap way” because a person can’t afford to have it done right. The “cheap way” is almost always the dangerous way, the way that will not last, and the way that endangers the person and anyone else that may purchase that home in the future.
Are there lazy inspectors? Certainly, there are people in every profession and field that don’t do their jobs right.
But I would personally get very suspicious of any contractor that tried to tell me that I didn’t need a permit or inspections, because they “don’t mean anything”. I would suspect that this is not a reliable person, and I would immediately call the local contractors licensing board, the BBB and any other available agency to find out if that person/firm is on the up and up.
It may cost more to follow codes, but at least you can be reasonably certain that it will be done the right way if codes ARE followed. If they are NOT, you can be ALMOST DEAD CERTAIN that they were not. And sadly, too many people have become DEAD, or lost their homes, because of some “contractor” that didn’t believe in codes or inspections.
You can gripe all you want about inspectors, etc. The more you gripe, the more you show yourself to be one of those contractor types that Mike Holes features on his show.
January 31st, 2008 at 6:13 pm
How is it that Mike Holmes can so totally mesmerize people that no one picks up on his scam. First, the 80/20 rule applies in most all situations. 80% of the people doing business in construction are reputable, honest, qualified, and deliver good value to consumers. There will always be the other 20% in every industry. Mr. Holmes seems to conveniently and consistently avoid any mention of this. Mr. Holmes makes his living creating a false perception that virtually everyone in the construction industry are crooks….except himself. This makes for great television, but is also harmful and untruthful. Mr. Holmes makes a quite handsome income with his television product, personal appearances, signature clothing and books. Particularly galling are his charity advertisements casting him as a great philanthropist. But the reality is that the Better Business Bureau has reacted to Mr. Holmes distortions with unsuccessful efforts to get him to set the record straight, mention BBB accredited businesses, and endorse the BBB. Most recently, Mr. Holmes has partnered with Home Depot. It turns out that Home Depot has an appallingly poor record of dealing with consumer complaints for poor workmanship on their reno projects. Anyone should feel free to investigage the public BBB database to confirm this. Has anyone confronted Mr. Holmes about his relationship with Home Depot, and how it does not sqaure with his television image? It is high time that Mike Holmes be called onto the carpet to account for his distortions enabling him to rake in millions.
February 1st, 2008 at 10:49 am
I wonder what field David above works in? Could he by any chance be a contractor?
I checked with the BBB, and there is no complaint filed against Mike Holmes, or his show. Yes there are many complaints against Home Depot, but they are his SPONSORS, not his business partner.
Is David aware that Mike Holmes is Canadian, works in Canada and that his program is also Canadian? It has been picked up by an American cable network, but it is still a Canadian program. Therefore, it must follow CANADIAN building codes; follow CANADIAN laws and he generally features the lousy work of CANADIAN contractors.
David also points out that only 20% of contractors do the kind of work that Mike Holmes features. 20% is way too high a percentage, and any reputable profession would have long ago forced changes to the laws to protect the customers of that “20%”.
But that is NOT the case with contractors. Oh no, instead they protect that horrible 20% and insist on laws that protect ONLY the contractor and never the customer. They insists on always being paid, no matter how poor the work, and no matter if the customer can even use their house after the contractor is finished with them.
Before David and his ilk complain about Mike Holmes, why don’t they work to clean up their own field? Why don’t they insist on the law requiring performance bonds for ALL contractors?
February 1st, 2008 at 11:01 am
Bill Stewart is exemplary of the problem created by Mike Holmes. Mr. Holmes relationship with Home Depot is not simply as a sponsor, it is truly a full scale marketing partnership…just stop by your local Home Depot to see large life size posters of Mr. Holmes, and his books and clothing prominently displayed. If Bill Stewart accepts that Home Depot indeed appears to have a policy, apparently applied broadly across their stores, to stonewall consumer complaints, then surely Mr. Holmes should answer for that. Especially considering that Mr. Holmes creates a quite different image of hmself on television.
Yes, I am a renovation contractor, and a reputable one, an accredited member of the BBB, Chamber of Commerce, etc. Mr Stewart attacks wildly and blindly, which is typical of the emotion whipped up by Mike Holmes. Mr. Stewart makes wild accusations against “all contractors” allegedly protecting disreputable contractors. This is classic “poisoning the well” tactics, tarring anyone and everyone in the vicinity.
This is how Mike Holmes makes his money. This is also why he has refused to “set the record straight” or to welcome advertising by the BBB. This also results in wild-eyed frothy mouthed accusations like Mr. Stewart’s.
Mike Holmes has no intention of changing his message or cooperating with the BBB. It would be bad for Mike Holmes bank account.
February 1st, 2008 at 2:50 pm
David:
Why do contractors fight virtually any legislation that is offered, in any state, to protect the consumer from predatory contractors? Why do they fight the concept of requiring performance bonds; denying payment to substandard contractors; allowing serious criminal charges to be brought against fraudulent contractors; and other comcepts that woudl protect the consumer?
Do you not agree that any9ne that represents themselves as a contractor, but does unsafe work, should spend some real time in jail? How about unlicensed contractors, should they also be allowed to work without any form of regulation? After all, there are some unlicensed contractors that do very good work. So, should we tar ALL unlicensed contractors because some of them are rip-off artists?
Or how about the contractor that does sob-standard work? Should the government have any recourse against such people? How about the consumer? Many of them maintain several corporate identities, and as soon as someone sues them, they just fold up that company and start over with a different name. How should the public be protected against them?
How about the “mechanics liens” that are so popular with the construction industry? If you hire a contractor, pay him all of the money required, and later find that he hasn’t paid for the materials, paid his workers, etc. Who has to pay those bills?
Why the poor consumer (in other words the fools that hired this so called “reputable) contractor” have to pay all of them, or their house is taken away from them.
To be a “partner” of Mike Holmes would require a legal relationship that would require him to use Home Depot to do his work. Please, prove that such a relationship exists, before you toss around words like “partnership”. So what if they sell his books? That will educate their customers, so they won’t accept shoddy work by Home Depot either. How does that hurt anyone?
Please tell us in what city complaints have been filed with the BBB against Mike Holmes and his television show. Since all of the BBB are strictly local organizations, it might help if you would specify just where, when and by whom such a complaint was filed. And, what was the result of that complaint?
The BBB is a wonderful organization, but ity has no power to enforce laws, can not force anyone to pay a cent back to a ripped off consumer, and has no real authority. I know of several cases where substandard contractors joined a local BBB, used that fact to advertise their services, and then ripped off a whole bunch of people before leaving town. After this happened, people went to the BBB for help and they got nothing but excuses. They can’t do anything but kick out a member. That is the total of their authority.
Why don’t you support strong consumer protection laws? They would not jeopardize legitimate builders, but they would threaten those that thrive on substandard work. Why don’t you back laws that would require that every licensed contractor use their Social Security Number on their license, so they can be tracked no matter where they go?
Instead of complaining about someone that is educating consumers, you just might make a better case if you really supported getting rid of the bad apples in your field.
It can’t help but make people wonder just why any contractor would object to a television program that educates consumers about some of the practices of people in your industry. Why does that threaten you so badly?
Just how does Mike Holes threaten you?
Does having a better informed public threaten you? Does having a public that refuses to cough up money before the work is done threaten you?
Does having a public that demands that permits be pulled, that government inspectors actually inspect (and pass) all work done before the contractor is paid threaten you?
Just what is it about his programs that threaten any legitimate and “reputable” contractor?
Because that is what Mike Holmes is promoting. If you are against him, I can only assume that you are against those things too.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:48 pm
As previously stated, Mr. Stewart represents the worst of the overly-emotional wild eyed supporters of Mike Holmes, who like Mr. Holmes himself, portray the entire construction industry as evil, corrupt and worse.
I will not waste my time addressing Stewart’s defective arguments defending Mike Holmes, as it seems likely now that reputable Canadian television and print journalists have decided that there is sufficient “reasonable cause” to investigage Mr. Holmes personal empire in greater depth, so we can all see the facts.
Mr. Stewart attacks me personally, presuming that I represent the entire “corrupt construction industry,” as he sees it, literally demanding to know why I don’t do this or that. Mr. Stewart’s language purports that I am personally responsible for everything he dislikes about contractors and the construction industry. Mr Stewart knows nothing of what I or other people in this industry may be doing to make our industry better. This does not stop Mr. Stewart from attacking anyone and everyone in sight. This is not a very intelligent approach to address his concerns.
After reading Mr. Stewart’s diatribe against anyone and everyone in the construction business, imagine a reputable contractor trying to do business with Mr. Stewart. Ugly, rude and dishonest customer behaviour, and unwarranted failure to pay for work fairly performed, are often the result. When doing business with the general public, we often encounter individuals with all manner of eccentricities, neuroses and obsessions. Many of us, if we have the opportunity to understand these “personal issues” early enough, will politely decline to do business with people like this. Regrettably, this is not always possible, and the reputable contractor is subjected to all manner of inappropriate consumer abuse.
Mr. Stewart and his “over the top” diatribes are a direct outgrowth of Mr. Holmes distortions, which are undoubtedly encouraged and promoted by his television production company for the dollars they can rake in. The tags “greedy” and “irresponsible” come to mind.
February 1st, 2008 at 5:45 pm
It is interesting that “David”, keeps slinging charges, but will not answer any questions posed to him. He will not identify just who is supposedly “investigating” Mike Holmes. He refuses to identify just which Better Business Bureau office complaints against Mr. Holmes have been filed with.
He says that I am attacking him. No, I ask him if he, and the industry he claims to represent, will back reasonable protections for the consumer. He refuses to anser those questions.
Instead, he accuses anyone that defends Mike Holmes of being “over the top”, or claims that they are financially benefitting from that program in some way.
If he is so “reputable”, why can’t he tell us just who is investigating Mike Holmes?
If he is so honest, why can’t he tell us which BBB branch has a complaint filed against Mike Holmes?
I clearly identify myself by name, and I will publicly state that I am not Canadian, do not live in Canada, have no connection to Mike Holmes in any way, own no stocks in either building supply or television related industries and that I have no financial stake of any kind in anything done by Mike Holmes or anyone connected to Mike Holmes.
I also am not a contractor, a buildings trades worker, am not connected to the housing industry in any way. I do not earn one cent from anything even remotely related to that program, or anything connected to it.
I am a retired Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, who spent his career assisting developmentally disabled teens and adults to become self sufficient. I spent 10 years on active duty with the U.S. Army (1959-1969) as a Medic, and have a 70% Service Connected Disability Rating as a result of that service.
I just wonder how open David will be identifying all of these people that he claims are investigating Mr. Holmes. If he won’t give any specifics (that can be checked), then you can count on it that he is lying through his teeth and just trying to smear a person that wants to stop consumers from being ripped off.
PUT UP OR SHUT UP!
February 1st, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Is it possible that David is just a tad jealous of Mike’s success & prominence?
Mike has never claimed that all contractors are bad but any fair minded person would agree that the the stuff he has to deal with on the shows is not some fiction that he made up.
David keeps bringing up the BBB & complains that Mike refuses to join or advertise. So what. Anybody can join the BBB as long as they pay the dues. That membership is no guarantee of better service or workmanship.
It’s interesting to see David resorting to insults when somebody disagrees with his opinion.
February 2nd, 2008 at 9:27 am
Jundee, thank you for posting that link to the Canadian Law Society (which is their equivalent to the American Bar Association).
It would appear that the BBB in Canada is not quite the “up and up” organization that David would have us all believe.
It does appear that the only people that really object to what Mike Holmes is promoting are building contractors. I wonder why they object to the concept that everyone in that field should do the best work possible?
February 3rd, 2008 at 7:06 am
David seems to be on a crusade against Mike Holmes… for what reasons I don’t know.
He states ” Mr. Holmes makes his living creating a false perception that virtually everyone in the construction industry are crooks….except himself. This makes for great television, but is also harmful and untruthful.”
Mike Holmes has never said that. He’s said SOME contractors are crooks & if anyone doubts it just check out the forum on the Mike Holmes website and read many of the posts from nearly 20 000 members who have been ripped of by contractors, renovators and even new home builders.
David further states “Mr. Stewart and his “over the top” diatribes are a direct outgrowth of Mr. Holmes distortions, which are undoubtedly encouraged and promoted by his television production company for the dollars they can rake in. The tags “greedy” and “irresponsible” come to mind.”
Those are libelous statements. Present some proof to substantiate your outrageous accusations.
So Mike is making money from his work and activities. What’s wrong with that? If you had the opportunity that have come Mike’s way would you turn them down?? I doubt it.
If you have a beef with Home Depot why don’t you take it up with them.
Mike is supporting and has supported many charities and established his own foundation. He’s supported Habitat for Humanity and made five figure contributions.
What have you done besides joining the BBB and insulting a man whom you don’t know.
February 3rd, 2008 at 9:03 am
David was correct about one thing, hat is not the Canadian Law Society web site. I do appologize for the mistake.
However, he is very wrong in everything else he writes. He will not state where any complaints have been files against Mike Holmes, because he can not.
He obviously hates Home Depot, maybe because they have cut into his (and the organization he represents) revenue?
The Better Business Bureau’s, in both the USA and in Canada, do NOT represent the consumer. They represent the business owners.. He makes such a point of how complaints have been filed against Home Depot, but he does not mention how many more complaints have been filed against general contractors, home renovation contractors, etc.
How about it David, how many contractor related complaints have been filed in both the US and in Canada against contractors? How many against all of those other contractors?
By the way, is it true that it is a contractors organization that has engaged private detectives to try to smear Mike Holmes?
February 3rd, 2008 at 11:54 am
I don’t see were David or anyone else say there are complaints against Mike Holmes The way I understand it is Mike is taking money & supporting Home depot & they have many complaints about Home Depot work NOT MIKEs. If Mike says get rid of bad contractors why would he support them?
As for the over the top Yes we see the worst of the worst on the show. But Dave’s point is how many 1000s of jobs are done every day & are done right. I am sure its very difficult to talk to a home owner as a contractor when the customer has preconceived notions.
Mikes over the top on his building YES but he says there is Minimum code & then there is his way (I would agree his way is better) & he says MINIMUM code should be changed. Example building a deck could use 2×6 but he uses 2×10 now if code is 2×6 is anyone in danger NO that’s code So if you say to a home owner Code is this & it cost 20% more to go more then code 95% of the time they will not spend more.Few years later the deck is sagging & you are the contractor who ripped them off JUST LIKE MIKE SAID THEY WOULD.(only an example not actual codes)
Inspectors: anyone who say you don’t need one is WRONG but I did not get that Dave or anyone else is saying don’t get inspectors, It Is very clear what they are saying is inspectors are no guaranty that the job is done right. And if you watch Mikes show I have seen dozens of his shows were the inspectors missed major stuff.
Bill Stewart: I see many of your post were you want to twist people words But the most blatted thing you do is say others say Mike is a bad guy when they don’t even know him But yet you make statements that the contractors on this site DO bad work when you don’t know them or have never met them. You have contradicated yourself so many times that I find it hard to take anything you say as truth.Just incase you are wondering no I am not a contractor or any related trade.
February 4th, 2008 at 11:02 am
My detractors had no difficulty scouring the Web to find a questionable weblink, now conceded to be irrelevant and misleading, but cannot seem to conduct a similar simple search of complaints against Home Depot, Mike Holmes prominent partner.
A simple Google search of “Home Depot consumer complaints” turns up a host of links, not one of them related to the BBB. One is from ABC News, and another from David Horowitz, the well known consumer affairs advocate…
For the record the national BBB website’s public database also shows dozens of complaints. 9 of 13 Home Depot outlets in British Columbia have stonewalled consumer complaints. The similarity in how these HD complaints have been ignored, suggests that there may well be a broader HD corporate policy to ignore complaints.
The fundamental issue for Mike Holmes is ethical. A person enjoying substantial personal financial gain from his righteous image as a Crusader against evil in the construction industry should carefully avoid anything that contradicts his “image.” Mike Holmes should publicly address this apparent “conflict of interest,” and if warranted, he should sever his relationship with Home Depot, and speak out against their abuses of consumers.
The problem is that Mr. Holmes seems no more inclined to investigate his relationship with Home Depot, than Home Depot appears to be willing to address consumer complaints.
Some on this blog, have soppily suggested that Mike Holmes is a very humble person who did not want to pursue the TV show. This sounds just a bit too much of a fairy tale for me. The image presented on his TV show is deliberately intended to incite controversy. Objectivity, honesty and truthful representation do not make for spectacular ratings and for the big dollars. Holmes on Homes is the farcical “fair and balanced” Fox News of home renovation.
Mr. Holmes is either incredibly naieve or exceedingly crafty and conniving. If he were naieve, by now he should have figured out he was being used to make tons of money, incite controversy and a Crusade of “true believers” against anyone and everyone in construction.
Mike Holmes supporters are a classic case of “my mind is made up, don’t confuse me with facts!” Just like those who watch Bill O’Reilly.
February 4th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
David, you appear to despise Home Depot. Fine, that’s certainly your privlege.
BUT, youalso appear to be trying to tar Mike Holmes, or anyone else that would have Home Depot sponsor them, as being bad guys.
You make “over the top” statements like calling Mike Holmes programs a “scam”.
Neither Mike Holmes (or myself for that matter) have accused all contractors of doing shoddy work. In fact, if you were to actually watch his program, you would discover that he frequently says that most contractors are honest, and do decent work. I personally know several contractors that ALWAYS go way beyond minimums in all of their building. I applaud them, they are doing things “the right way”.
He does state that contractors as a group are very reluctant to support consumer protection laws that would protect the public from that percentage of contractors that do shoddy work.
That is the truth, there is not one contracting related organization in either Canada or the USA that backs laws that would actually protect the consumers from things like: Failure to pay sub-contractors resulting in financial ruin for the homeowner; mandatory insurance to redo substandard work; much more stringent control of contractors so the “bad apples” can not just reopen under a new name and keep on ripping off the consumers; and mandatory performance bonds for ALL contractors.
I have no idea if the work you, or any other contractor that has attacked Mike Holmes on this site do shoddy work or not. You may all be “as pure as the driven snow”.
BUT, if that is the case, why do you spend your time attacking Mike? Why don’t you go after the people in your profession that really do hurt people?
Please, answer the simple questions I have repeatedly posed to all of you.
1. Just how does Mike Holmes television program threaten you?
2, How does his program make life more difficult for you?
3, Why is having a better informed public a bad thing?
4. Why are you so afraid of having your customers watch what YOU do, and having them insist that you do more than the bare minimum?
I know more than one contractor that loves Mike Holmes. They want to see his program more widely distributed, because they want to see all of the standards for building raised.
Another person says that if in building a deck 2×6 lumber meets code, then it is obviously perfectly safe. No, that may not be the case. More than one homeowner has grossly overloaded a deck, resulting in collapse.
Wouldn’t an ethical contractor ask just how that deck was going to be used, and then build it accordingly?
In some cases, code is well behind the state of the art. It takes time to change codes (sometimes years and years). In more than one case, contractors have fought modernizing codes, because the new ways are much less expensive in labor to the consumer. Not bringing a code up to date may well have nothing to do with safety, it may have a lot more to do with profits. A perfect example of this is those areas (and states) that still insist on only copper pipes being used inside a house for water. This is not something that the average homeowner can install or repair, so a pro” musy generally be used.
Yet there are superior products out there, that are better in earthquakes and many other conditions (such as PEX). They are easy to work with and easy to repair. Yet plumbing contractors fight tooth and nail against their adoption into codes, because it will cost them money.
Just why shouldn’t a contractor provide their social security number to the licensing agency when they apply for a license? That way, if their license is pulled, they can’t just change their name and get a new license, right? How would such a simple change threaten any legitimate contractor? It would help protect the public from those “bad apples”.
It can only make the public wonder why any contractor would attack Mike Holmes so vehemently, if they are really ethical.
If you have a beef with Home Depot, fine. Go after Home Depot. But don’t assume that because you (and many others) think that Home Depot is not ethical, that automatically makes anyone that they sponsor unethical.
That would be as silly as someone saying that ALL contractors are “bad apples”, when we all know that this is not the truth.
February 4th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
The problem with bloggers like Bill Stewart, is that they are so busy talking to themselves that they don’t listen to anyone else. It is the Bill O’Reilly, Fox News syndrome I mentioned in my last posting.
My questions about Mike Holmes and Home Depot are very plain and straightforward. Predictably, Mr. Stewart has established a pattern where he ignores the issues presented, and if they are particularly unfavorable to his way of thinking, he changes the subject to distract readers from the real issues presented, rambling on on all the things he doesn’t like about the contracting industry, and trying to pin it on me. How that works, I cannot fathom.
I am not here to defend the construction industry or respond to Mr. Stewart’s diatribes. I should point out that if the construction industry is opposed to greater outside scrutiny, that would be no different that the position of bar associations, medical boards, hospital adminstrators, or even your local Chamber of Commerce, whose mantra is the less regulation on business the better.
This is just dishonest debating tactics. Soppy personality appeals about what a nice, honest guy Mike Holmes is, and so consequently I must be a bad person to be questioning Mike Holmes ethics, is another classic dishonest debating tactic.
Mike Holmes has a genuine ethical problem in his relationship with Home Depot, which he has an obligation to explain, and to sever if he is to have any personal credibility. Similarly, his TV show whips up and inflames his viewers, which is exactly the intent of his production company…that is how they make their money.
Anyone familiar with the home renovation industry knows how much more difficult it is than new construction. First, there are the unknowns of an older home, once you peel off the veneer. Then there is the customer, the homeowner, with whom you must dilligently communicate constantly to insure that expectations are mutually agreed and understood. Most customers are wonderful people with whom to work. Unfortunately, there are also those other customers with weird eccentricities, neuroses and obsessions who will attempt to manipulate and abuse honest workmen. Anyone who works in this industry is familiar with this problem, and has suffered as a result. The proportion of these problem customers has increased noticeably, and only been whipped up and inflamed by Mike Holmes.
People with these attitudes and obsessions usually end up “black listed” by local trades people.
February 4th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
As regards the “CanLaw” website’s claims of a “BBB scam”, here is a response from the BBB…
Quote:
“Some of the information in the CanLaw article is accurate as far as I know. There was a rogue president in the Toronto BBB, and the organization was stripped of its status as a result and warnings posted by the BBB. This is not the Canadian Law Society, but a legal referral website owned by Kirkwood Inc. in direct competition with the bureau.
Interesting that lawyers would be critizing the BBB dispute resolution process, as it takes money out of their pockets, and in the case of mediation and arbitration services actually employs them, as we don’t use “volunteers.”
Our conflict guidelines are very very clear and staff found in potential conflict are terminated period! Each bureau operates with a board of directors and the Toronto situation has certainly been well publicized and re-publicized, and as with any bad news, the other 143 bureau’s that have operated with integrity for decades are tarnished by this. It has served to strengthen the system, and governance from the Canadian Council and CBBB.”
Unquote
February 5th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Hi gentlemen,
Although it is sometimes enjoyable to add a little drama to your life by having an online arguement you are really cluttering up this board! :)
Mike Holmes is NOT sponsored by the Home Depot (although they did help The Holmes Group by sponsoring a single episode). This is a common misunderstanding. Mike was hired on in 2005 by Home Depot to act as a consultant for their installation Department. The reason? Too many customer complaints! One of Mike’s “duties” with them was to help come up with a successful way to respond to customer complaints and (hopefully) minimize them by working with installers. They have in fact come up with a great complaint system but unfortunately with such a large organization it is very difficult to improve the quality of installation. So Mike and Home Depot have parted ways at the end of their contract.
As for HD being a member of the BBB. I know that all of their customer service is taken care of through Atlanta. I do not know this for sure but I believe they are a member of a similar organization in the US. I am sure if you send an email in to Home Depot they would be more than happy to give you a response.
No need to fight guys, you can’t please everyone! If you do have any questions about The Holmes Group or Home Depot. Send an email to the companies and I am sure you will get the answers you need!
Cheers!
Amanda
February 5th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Finally David says it like he really believes it to be.
An informed customer is to be blacklisted.
February 5th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
I am curious exactly whom Amanda may represent, as she shares quite a bit of very specific information.. Pleased to hear, but how is it that I still see lifesize posters of Mike Holmes, his books and signature clothing in BC Home Depot stores? There are serious HD consumer complaint problems at HD stores across all BC at a minimum. That HD customer complaint policy is managed centrally out of Atlanta, squares with the consistent pattern of handling complaints, and should be a red flag to consumers.
There is still the problem of the deliberate $trategy of Holmes TV production company to stir controversy for ratings and financial gain. The Bill O’Reilly of home renovation.
Stewart again twists the words to suit his interpretation. Informed is a very good thing, as it minimizes misunderstanding. Hostile, suspicious, untruthful, uncooperative and abusive are legitimate cause for any business to refuse service, and it happens every day in every industry.
You surely know the time honored sign, Bill, “We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.” ?
February 5th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
David, I am one of the lucky people that handles the complaints! So yes, I do have very specific information. HD can use their promotional signs, flyers etc to push the product they still have in stores as long as they still have it. I am sure they still have books and CD’s from The Holmes Group. You seem to have had a negative experience with Home Depot, I am sorry to hear that.
The “problem of the deliberate strategy of Holmes TV production company to stir controversy for ratings and financial gain”… This is of no offense to you what so ever.. but do you not watch much television these days? Dawson’s Creek starts controversy for crying out loud… that’s the world of TV. I do agree with you on one thing though, you don’t seem to like Bill O’Reilly and I can’t stand watching that show either…
February 5th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Yes, Amanda that is what television has become….appealing to the lowest common denominator for the greatest corporate financial gain… Or as H.L. Menken said years ago, “No one has ever gone broke underestimating the taste of the American public.” …Mike Holmes tv production company included.
On a higher note…
How appropriate that on Super Tuesday that we are debating this. Thomas Jefferson agonized as he drafted the Constitution, over the danger that large powerful special interests would usurp the Constitution, intended to be “by the people, for the people, of the people.” Jefferson’s worst fear has come home to roost.
That is what this election is all about, and I think that many people feel the urgency
February 28th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
I think the show is great. I stop all doings to watch it and learn. Is there a site where we can ask Mike questions on building repairs and improvements?
February 28th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
http://www.mikeholmesfanforum.com & http://www.holmesonhomes.com
February 29th, 2008 at 11:34 am
I only recently found Mike’s show and here in the US we are now watching shows from several years past. I have become a rabbid fan of Mike Holmes! Years agoit was th original Bob Vila’s home improvement shows. Mike’s show is truly unique and his “get a permit” is really gospel. Anyone who says that it is the government’s way of getting money from us must truly have something to hide or cuts corners in some fasion, because we are the government! How many times have we seen or heard of someone getting ripped off for thousands of dollars because they di not want to spend a couple of hundred dollars or less for a permit. Small change for the peace of mind that your insurance carrier will not refuse to pay for your repairs when your house burns down. Don’t believe it? …call you insurer and ask what will happen!
Mike keep up the good work.
From a 64 year old drummer ( go Gretsch champaign pearl)
March 3rd, 2008 at 4:30 pm
There is an 80/20 rule … only it goes more like this … 80% of contractors poor to reasonable work, and 20% are exceptional … with half the exceptional group being exceptionally good and the other half being exceptionally bad … out to do one thing and one thing only … rip you off.
In Canada there are usually multiple layers of companies in the production process for TV programs to ensure that government money does NOT go for example to the homeowners. Canada’s film and tv production industry does not have the backing of huge studios or huge publishing houses. As such they are all “indies”. Government assistance gets the production companies recognition. Without them, for example, Holmes on Homes would be shown on a couple commercial channels in the Greater Toronto Area and would never be seen by the rest of Canada let alone the US, or Australia or the UK where it makes money for those Networks.
March 3rd, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Im not a guy to be star struck by any means. I have been around many famous stars while working my teen years at the Canadian Film Centre, Their money is just as green, only, they have more of it. I met Mike once after I had wrote into the web site to vent my frustrations in landing an apprenticeship. Turns out the Canadian government subsidizes companies to hire student 18-29. I had just turned 30 by 2 months and no longer wanted to work in the corporate field. 3 years had gone by now and I have worked with many contractors. Sadly, Every one had cut corners. Ive seen some scary stuff hidden away from the home owner. I could no longer work with such people and since have gone on to work for my self.
Im not a licensed contractor, however, my work is far better than many of the licensed guys i worked for. I see no reason why the system can not allow us guys to apply for permits. I know code very well and at times knew code better than some of the on site plumbers and electricians. Home owners that dont have a clue can buy a book, apply for a permit, do the work and pass. I think it would only be fair that guys like myself that wish to exceed minimum code and build quality basements additions etc be able to apply for permits as long as we carry a valid liability insurance.
Ive completed 9 basments in new homes. the oldest home was 5 years old. Not one of those home was even near perfect. Every home had pour HVAC/ Electrical/ Structure and even insulation.
One person mentioned that City Inspectors cant inspect all homes on a building site. this is so correct and I see it all the time. Its very frustrating and I just cant seem to be able to let it slide.
you either Love Mike or you Hate him. But you cant blame him for wanting to make homes better built.
We cannot turn back the hands of time and we are tearing up and developing farm land faster than ever. The Developers are hear to make are much profit as possible. Quality is only a concern of theirs in marketing..
sorry to rant.. Just some food for thought,
March 7th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
I’ve been reading all the reasons not to get a building permit. Maybe things are different in Canada, but in the U.S. if you sell your property the real estate agent and you must disclose any changes to the original structure of the house. In fact you can pull the original plans and if they don’t match the current foot print of the house and if it does not match the plans being held by the city you could be forced to retrofit house back to it’s original configuration. Now you are talking big bucks. Plus it is possible that you would be denied a loan based on work not being done with the proper permits and inspections and the house does not match building codes. There is no grandfathering in alterations to property if they do not meet code. The county I live in in the past has done an aerial map of the county. So at any time they can check and ascertain if you have made any external modifications to your property without a permit. So I guess with regards to permits how big a chance are you willing to take.
April 29th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
It is my observation that Mike Holmes’ program “Holmes on Homes” is just not about the construction
industry. Mr. Holmes demonstrates that “doing it right the first time” reflects honesty, commitment
integrity and truthfulness that bespeaks of an ethic seemingly forgotten in the modern world.
Mike is indeed a hero and we need heroes to not only uplift our sagging, aching disdain of the
crooks and bad guys of the world, but to also set a standard through straightforward modeling of
solid character to encourage folks to do things right the first time, no matter who they are or what
their vocations might be. Mike reflects and demonstrates his positive core beliefs so very much
needed in all societies and cultures worldwide. How refreshing and stimulating!!!! Go Mike!!!
May 19th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Just my 2 cents, I have watched the show for years and also have met Mike, He’s an awesome guy. The only issue I have with the show is that I don’t like the inspectors and city planning departments being portrayed as the “good guys” all the time. I am currently homeless because of my local planning department, they decided to take a bad situation I was in and make it worse. My house had a fire, and they decided that it couldn’t be replaced or repaired due to zoning as duplex lot, but they were worried that the insurance company would sue them if they didn’t allow the building to be repaired. So they verbally gave the ok to repair it, but messed around for 2 years denying permit applications until the insurance company got sick of it and denied the claim. Then the city planner contacted my mortage company and tried to get me foreclosed. Then finally after a talk with my lawyer they decided to allow the repair so I fixed the house out of my own pocket and just about the time I was finished they denied the occupany permit and tried to force a demolition. Even my engineer quit because of the way he was treated by them. By this point I was so in debt I was forced to sell, but the planning department contacted the realty office and scared them so bad they refused to even show the house, so after the listing expired I had to sell it privately, which was a nightmare, they were threatening all the buyers with forcing a demo as soon as it changed hands.
So now I am living in my truck, I have lost everything I have ever worked for, have a mountain of debt, and for icing on the cake, because the planning department has convieniently lost my original permit application from when this whole sleigh ride began, I may be spending some time in jail if the mortgage company decides to sue me for devalueing the property. Even though the fire was not my fault, they are saying that the repair work was done without permits so that is my fault, even though I applied for all of them.
So permits don’t always help especially when you are dealing with a corrupt planning department, most residents in my town do work without permits because it is virtually impossible to get one.
And to respond to an earlier post about doing work that is “good enough”, I can totally agree, there are situations where doing it perfect is pointless and wasteful. I am currently helping a friend redo his kitchen, but his whole street is being slowly being bought up and developed into duplexes, so we are just doing a cheap facelift with new counters and some cheap cabinet repairs. I can see no point in putting a $40,000 kitchen in a house when it will most likely be torn down in a year or two anyway.
June 9th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Don’t care what anyone says about Mike Holmes………I’m head over heels in love with that man and the cause he “stands” for. I have been burning up the remote control this week looking for any of his shows to watch. The Discovery Home ch. just turned into planet green ch. I love “green” mindsets but I want my MIKEY back !!!! We are building a huge addition onto our house an I have actually changed the plans a couple of times because I saw better ideas or ideas we overlooked ourselves on Mike’s show. I am a DIY person and respect my limitations. Bet your last buck I did my homework, allotted extra time, extra money for the overages, an got all my permits. I will take the time to inspect and question our construction process. My contractor had to take the time to go over every detail in our plans and answer all my questions before I gave him my approval to proceed. The ones that weren’t interested in taking that time out of their busy lives……got no call back. Mike Holmes an his crew came into my life at just the right time. Thankyou Mike!!!!
June 10th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
so….what are we trying to achieve here? You dislike Holmes….why? The guy is a breath of fresh air in the dirty world of contractors, and if you are a contractor, and don’t like him, you are probably a thief, or inept at your job. I come from 3 generations of home builders and contractors, and we pride ourselves on doing jobs correctly, as it I deal with an informed homeowner that understands the scope of work, and expects it to be done well, on budgett, and on time. As a pro, It’s what you do. Mike Holmes is a pro, and God love him, he teaches others the business of quality workmanship in apprentance programs, that’s the reason they agree with his comments of poor work that must be removed. You feel like knocking someone down, go after one of the thives that ripped off those homeowners that were left holding the bag when they ruined thier homes. He’s a pro, he’s successful, so small minds try to tear him down, rather than lift themselves to a higher level.
June 10th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
I think you misunderstood me, I like Mike, I have met him and think all contractors should be as caring and concerned about quality as he is. Earlier on in this forum I had read a discussion about work being “good enough” in some situations and was just agreeing.
Did you actually read my post? I just re read it myself and I’m not sure how you came to the conclusion that I’m an inept theif, or that I dislike Mike? Maybe you could clarify it for me? What I was doing was venting my frustration at my corrupt local building officials.
As for me, I wouldn’t feel comfortable charging for an A1 kitchen reno when the house was going to be demolished for new construction, not to mention that it would be a colossal waste of resources and materials. And especially if the client only wants some temporary cosmetic work done.
And by the way, I was one of the homeowners left holding the bag when the previous owner did some really bad renos which caused the house to burn shortly after I moved in. I lost everything including the property when my local building officials decided to reward me for applying for all the proper permits by declining all options for repair and replacement of the home, as well as getting my insurance cancelled and foreclosured.
I found out later on that my mistake was that I didn’t pay off the building inspector and town planner before I filled out my permit application, apparentley that is what it takes to get anywhere here. I was naive thinking that the local building officials were there to protect me as a homeowner, they are actually just trying to line there own pockets.
If the fact that I refuse to pay off inspectors and building officials, and will do the work that is requested by clients makes me an inept theif, well I guess I’ll have to live with that.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:05 am
I read both of the notes posted by “Dave”, and I can understand why he is so critical. He is a completely unethical idiot.
He claims that he relied on verbal promises by government officials that he could proceed with fire repairs.
Sorry, but nobody that is knowledgeable in the building trades would ever rely on verbal promises from ANY governmental agency. A verbal agreement is meaningless, you have to have the actual permit.
In most jurisdictions, if a homeowner can show that the work met the applicable codes, they can get a retroactive permit.
So, I would strongly suspect that the work that was done could not meet the codes applicable in your area. As far as them getting your mortgage company to foreclose, well that’s bull, As long as you have paid the payments, and kept the property up, there is no possible way that a foreclosure could proceed.
BUT, if your work on the house after the fire was substandard, and could not meet the building codes, then they could, and should, foreclose on you. They have to protect their interests.
As to your comment about “doing just enough”. If you know that a piece of property is going to be demolished, then it would be unethical to do any remodeling for money. And if your “friend” knew that he was going to sell out in a year or so, and the property would be demolished, then he would be an idiot to put any money at all into remodeling. You have helped you “friend” throw money down the drain. And don’t try the crap about how improving the property helped the resale value, because in those kind of situations, the developers would not care about any recent renovations, if they were going to tear the place down.
An ethical contractor would inform a prospective client that the area was being redeveloped, and that it would be a waste of money to do any renovations. He would not do any work that would just hurt the current owner financially.
A greedy pig would take the clients money, and do substandard work, to fatten their own wallet.
That’s exactly the kind of contractor that Mike Holmes tries to drive out of business. If that shoe fits, well too bad for you!
June 11th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Actually they can get you foreclosed, no mortgage company will ever carry a mortgage on a house with no insurance, and the insurance was cancelled due to the local planning office. With no insurance you are in default even if you have never missed any payments.
And why am I an unethical idiot? I bought a home where the work was done badly, and when I approached the local building officials to bring it up to code, they screw me around, and I’m the bad one? It sounds to me like you are the unethical one if you think that I should have covered up the issues and sold it to some other sucker. Sorry if that dissapoints you, but I won’t do that.
I wish I knew you when all this was going on, you seem to know everything about how to deal with corrupt building officials. I still don’t know how to force them to give me anything in writing, even the insurance adjuster over the period of two years, never had anything in writing, they would even respond to his letters with a verbal phone call or message.
And you also don’t understand the issues with my friends reno either, his kitchen is literally falling apart and he is just tyring to get by until the house is torn down, I was just making the point that sometimes a new particleboard countertop and some paint will work, rather than a brand new kitchen.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Ah Dave, you really need to read your own notes, and keep your story straight.
First you had a fire, and the licensing agencies would not give you permits.
Then it was because of zoning.
Now it is all because of substandard work on the house originally.
I hate to tell you, but:
!. if you actually had insurance, and a fire, then you would not have a denied claim unless there was suspicious circumstances.
2. If you bought a building with a lot of substandard work already done, then you are a fool.
3. If you rebuild according to the existing zoning, and to the applicable building codes, there is no problem.
4. If you want property rezoned, you can apply to have that done, but there is never any guarantee that this will happen. In the meantime, the existing zoning laws will be enforced.
5. If your “friend” is living in a place that is literally “falling apart” , why hasn’t it been condemned?
You keep changing small details of your story, from one post to the next.
I would NEVER purchase any property without a comprehensive inspection. If I was not competent to do that myself, I would hire a professional, but ONLY after checking that person out, talking to people that had used him/her, and NEVER accepting anyone recommended by the selling agent.
There is an old saying, “Let the buyer beware”. If you were so stupid that you purchased a piece of property, with a lot of substandard work, then the only person to be blamed is YOU!
If in fact you really had a fire, the insurance company would pay for the repairs, so long as you hired licensed contractors, etc. They will not generally pay if you do the work yourself, unless you have a licensed contracting company. The city would NOT deny building permits, unless you were changing the type of property, not meeting building codes, or something else that violated the applicable codes/laws.
It sounds like you were trying to scam somebody. Being zoned for a duplex is not a problem, unless you are violating the zoning. Paying fees for permits is not a problem. Having the work inspected is not a problem. BUT, violating zoning ordinances, or doing substandard work that does not meet the applicable building codes is a problem. And if you were doing any of those things, then the fault is YOURS, and not anyone elses.
Every objection you raise is something that either shows that you were trying to pull one over on the city, or you were an idiot.
As to your friends property, if it is literally falling apart, then who’s fault is that? Either he didn’t maintain it properly, or you are stretching the truth just a bit. Or maybe he bought a piece of property on speculation, and now he’s stuck with it? Something smells here, and a piece of particle board and some paint would not be of much use if the place is literally “falling apart”.
OK, you hate the local building code officials. You don’t want to pay the fees involved. You don’t want to follow zoning ordinances. Just how is that Mike Holmes fault?
Any why do you keep clogging up the boards here, with issues that have absolutely nothing to do with Mike Holmes?
You keep coming back on this thread and trying your very best to knock Mike, and somehow blame him for your lousy decisions in life. Be a man, grow up, and accept responsibility for your own stupidity.
June 11th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Why do you keep accusing me of knocking Mike? Where did I say anything against him? And I don’t hate my local building officials, I actually am friends with the inspector, we get along great, it’s the local planning department that tells him what to do that I don’t like. And I have always gotten permits for my work, just this last time they were being a-holes. The reason that it didn’t work this time is that I refused to pay off the planners under the table. I prefer to do things above board and they don’t work that way here.
So I follow what Mike Holmes preaches and I’m stupid? Now you have confused me. I’ve said it before and you haven’t got it yet, I LIKE MIKE, I ALWAYS HAVE, I AM NOT KNOCKING HIM AT ALL. I get a home inspection before I buy, I call in the local building officials to try and remedy discovered deficiencies to “make it right”, and I end up losing it all, and somehow it’s my fault? I don’t like to think about how much time and money I wasted filling out permit apps, and paying for engineers, all for nothing. I don’t understand your logic, I’m trying but I can’t get my head that far up my ass. I did everything through the proper channels, not hiding anything, Please, bestow some of your knowledge on me, Oh Perfect One!
By the tone of your responses, I am assuming you are American? And I’m assuming you have your head up your ass for the warmth?
I would like to know how you would have dealt with this, you are obviously an expert, I still don’t know what I could have done different.
1, The crappy work was discovered after the fire, the home inspector was unable to see through walls, maybe that is one of your many talents? It was an old house but it looked good enough, but once the walls were opened after the fire it was one problem after another.
I could send you photos if you want proof, maybe a call from my insurance adjuster as well? The only reason the claim was cancelled was the fact that the claim ran out of time, after a year with no progress they just said enough is enough and backed out.
2, I was not trying to put one over on the city, actually the exact opposite, I had the building inspector in right after the fire, I wanted to rebuild the whole house rather than try to patch up everything, but the zoning was the problem. They had rezoned it as duplex, which meant that a single family house was no longer allowed, but the lot was too small to allow a duplex either.
3, There was nothing suspicious about the fire, the cause was either the pilot light on the furnace or water heater, according to the fire inspector, but with the wiring that was found inside the walls it was just a matter of time before that was an issue.
All I was trying to do by posting here was to warn others that sometimes the powers that be are not on your side, and will take advantage of a bad situation and make it worse. I did everything right (according to Mr Holmes anyway) and lost it anyway just due to a corrupt planning department. I guess you guys live in a perfect world where everything comes up rosy, but not in my locale.
Maybe instead of throwing insults around, in future you may bestow some of your obvious greatness on others so we can all learn to be as great and perfect as you think you are?
But if you are American then I guess I’d be asking the impossible?
June 11th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
And another thing, you can feel free to sit up on your high horse and put me down if it makes you feel more like a man, but I can still sleep well at night knowing that I didn’t stoop to their level.
All the work that I did on that house was well beyond minimum code, my engineer had no problem signing off on it all, but the planners wouldn’t accept it. The electrical inspection went through with no problems, the inspector actually said that he wished more homeowners would be as picky as I was.
Obviously you and I have different morals because I REFUSE to pay off inspectors and hide crappy work to get by, and I sleep very well at night because of that. I was brought up to do things right and above board, that way nothing can come back and bite me in the ass later. I could have easily just fixed the minimum that was required and sold the house to the next guy, but it’s not the right thing to do. I didn’t have to do any structural repairs to the house, the fire was small and just did minor damage, partly due to the previous owners bad soldering letting go and putting it out. When the house was gutted to fix the water and smoke damage, the problems arose and according to the building inspector I didn’t have to fix any of it because I wasn’t altering the original structure. Just drywall over it and I’m done, but that isn’t my way. I guess to you that would be “stupid”, but that is where we differ, I won’t pass my issues to someone else.
When I finally was forced to sell, the buyer got a home inspection and found nothing wrong, except for a few wasps in the attic, and grasshoppers in the yard (what grasshoppers have to do with anything is beyond me, but it was noted on the form).
So feel free to trash me some more, but when you do, I hope you realize that you are also trashing Mike as well, everything I did is exactly what he teaches.
July 2nd, 2008 at 6:32 pm
This is the first time that I have read through these messages. I have to say that it seems as if no one is getting the message about the building permit issue. Steve, from a Feb. 3, 2006 message, said that the only reason for the permit is to help the “tax man”. If this was in the U.S. where I’m from this is far from the truth. Also, if he would listen to Mike, every time Mike talks about the need for permits, he explains why. This is true in the U.S. as well. THE NEED FOR THE PERMIT IS TO LET THE INSPECTORS HAVE A CHANCE TO DO THEIR JOB AND MAKE SURE THAT EACH AND EVERY STEP, THE PLUMBING, THE WIRING, THE CARPENTRY ETC… IS DONE CORRECTLY AND SAFELY. As a home owner myself, if I had a contractor tell me that a permit was not needed, I would send him packing because he doesn’t want to be inspected and chances are, his work could put my families life at risk. The permit is like an insurance policy for the home owner because it allows someone else to evaluate the work being done while it is being done (instead of after a house fire). Any contractor who fails to get a permit is showing that he does not care about his reputation. Also, I do not know if it can be done in Canada, but here in the U.S. a homeowner can quite often go to the permit offices and ask the inspectors about the quality of work a prospective contractor performs. So by not getting a permit, the contractor loses out of any referral that the inspector may give him.
I agree with Bruce G (Jan 5 2007) and Kirsten (May 17, 2006) on their responses.
August 5th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
[-redacted-]
If you have a decent amount of integrity, pride in your work, beleve in giving good value for your time and your client’s money, you will satisfy ninety seven per cent of your people. You will never have to advertise, and never waste a shitload of time in estimating.
The other three per cent are [-redacted-] miserable rip offs [-redacted-]
Naturally, not everyone can go top off the line, but if you get most of your stuff from walmart, you might be a red neck and you might want to re-think the necessity ot your project.
Steel studs are great…. for partitions. They do not work for any type of load. The only rigidity they attain is from the sheetrock attached to them usually five eigths. The real load bearing structure along with most of the mechanicals are in between the floors.
Residential high rises don’t usually see a large quantity of interior moisture. many basements do. Theyshouldn’t but they do.
Mice do not chew through two by fours. A trapped squirrel has half a chance about four our five hours after it dies.
The only way mice can do significant damage to a two by four is by getting a bunch of their buddies together and pissing on it for ten or fifteen years.
[-redacted-]
As far as to rich for some people maybe so, after paying twice for one job ! I’ve noticed a couple of
episodes where the suppliers kicked in with free stuff and ten or so where Mike works for nearly nothing or the show itself pays for the redo to keep the ‘ victims ‘ from filing for bankruptcy.
People who have the money and try to cheap their way through a remodel should have to ball themselves out.
This post has been edited by the moderator: just to review the rules for _everyone_, keep it civil and don’t make any personal attacks on other commenters. Most all else is fair game. — Thanks.
September 22nd, 2008 at 8:48 am
To all of the ‘good little children’ who just pay taxes because they were told to, you should understand that Federal taxation WAS supposed to be repealed after the second world war. It wasn’t. I defy EVERY LAST PERSON who reads this post, to locate the DEFINITIVE text in the tax code that says WHO is liable to pay taxes. Don’t just say we have to, either. Actually quote the END OF THE LINE article that states WHO has to pay taxes.
In the US, if you follow the articles from one to another (as they infinitely refer to various ‘chunklets’ of legalese), you are initially told that ‘everyone but {see article. xxx}’… go to article xxx and go to,,, go to… and so on. What you eventually arrive at as being THE ONLY TWO DECLARED and DESCRIBED entities being 1) American citizens or companies earning monies OUTSIDE the US, and 2) Foreign companies doing business and earning monies INSIDE the US.
Don’t flame me. Don’t educate me, from the hip. Go look it up yourself. Go ask a ‘retail’ tax ‘professional’ to point out the declaratory and descriptive text as to WHO is liable to pay income tax.
*************************************************************************************************************************
PLUS in the US, Canada and most of the developed world, there is a huge scam set up in the form of Central Banks. The US has there fiat currency created by the ‘Federal’ Reserve. In Canada it’s the Bank of ‘Canada’. These aren’t governmental extensions or banks. They are PRIVATE banks. For-profit banks. That operate under the auspices of the ‘FRACTIONAL RESERVE’ banking system.
They lend money they created out of thin air (virtually: fractional reserve banking allows banks to lend out TEN TIMES the amount they have to back the loans. If a bank had a dollar, they can lend TEN DOLLARS, WITH INTEREST. Make sure you understand that correctly. They earn 900% interest through the act of lending ALONE, and then have the nerve to charge interest on top of it to the mortgage borrower. Go look it up. ON TOP OF THIS, the US dollar, the Canadian Dollar etc all have these Central Banks LENDING OUR governments OUR currency AT INTEREST. Which is really why we have defecits. The tax many of you are so happy to pay in large part goes to pay down the debt created by the government’s borrowing of money that a private bank created out of thin air. THE JOKE IS, folks, that OUR GOVERNMENTS CAN CREATE MONEY OUT OF THIN AIR TOO! With no interest. The bankers have us all by the throat. When we have tried to kick them out, historically, they have threatened wars, turmoil, depression on the governments and societies that defy their desire to impose usuries on entire nations and economies. They have a habit of funding both sides of a war, as a means of insuring twice the debt and control over who is victorious.
Once again, don’t gripe at me until you’ve done your due diligence. It won’t mean a thing until you’ve found it for yourself.
PS: The credit system is out of hand… It can do nothing but fail massively in the coming months and years. And then they buy your house for a dime on the dollar.
Is this a Christian blog? I am not a Christian. But I support the notion of Christianity, legally speaking as it is the only thing that truly protects the Constitution.- the notion that basic human rights are ensured as being bestowed by a power higher than man and as such can not and shall not be affected by fashion or trend or, ahem, lawyers.
September 30th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I always said that if I won the lottery, I would have Mike and his crew build my dream house regardless of the cost……..this guy is good, nobody in their right mind can deny that.
October 5th, 2008 at 9:43 am
The permt thing has merit on both sides of the argument. The inspector is paid for by the city taxes regardless of these outrageous fees they charge. I work in the trades and have seen absolutely outrageous things purposely overlooked by an inspector in a Boston project for a bottle of liquor in the 70′s, with this conduct nowdays I don’t think it is as widespread because of awareness thank goodness. Some of the inspectors are on the other side of the scale and get too nit-pickey on stupid things. If, like most homeowners are, unknowledgeable of how things should be / if it was done right, definitely have the permits pulled and bug the devil out of the inspector to pop in a few times every week to see how things are being done.
As far as Holmes goes on TV… what do you think he is going to advocate? If you were he, and said permits, shmermits..?..the inspectors would be going back on all his former jobs…and they will find deficiencies there too, believe me. When an inspector wants to find a shortcoming, he will. You definitely don’t want to anger this guy. I’m sure he’s likely a reputable builder but I’m sure he’s not infalliable. One peice of advice I would have is don’t push the time rush any more than needed otherwise the pressure may influence the contractor to do a rush job and in my experience doing the job faster takes takes twice as long.
I do admit unabashedly I love watching his program. In my state nobody is allowed to do plumbing without a licence.
One thing I noticed about his program is there is no budget constraints. In the real world, the contractor has a difficult time getting paid for doing the work as agreed upon once they have what they want. Going into unexpected work as he often does, the customer automatically thinks this guy is setting me up to rip me off. Too often people think trades people are out there to rip you off. The majority of the people in my field never do. I must however admit my wife continually thinks mechanics sabotages her car to have some kind of time released problem occur when in for service on something totally unrelated. I don’t know of any Sears mechanic with those skills….Wifes however never believe their husbands. The difference on the low bid job is, the high bid was giving you a Cadilac, the low bid was a Yugo… both will get you to the destination, is just how enjoyable is the trip… In the HVAC field you get what you pay for 90% of the time. Mechanics know the difference. The only way to protect yourself is to hire a specifications writer. This will compare apples to apples during the bidding process.
October 5th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Oh, a few references you might like is Building Construction illistrated By DK Ching, Specifications for Architecture Engineering and Construction by Chesley Ayers PE…this book is very interesting and has actual examples of law suits in it of waterproofing basements that failed…etc, The Visual Handbook of Building and Remodeling by Charlie Wing, and of course Graphics Standard. Graphics Standard is a refrence only book in the library and may not be able to check that one out.
November 10th, 2008 at 7:43 am
Why the political ravings in the comment above? What does taxation have to do with Mike Holmes? I can’t speak for Canada, but in the US there was never any suggestion that taxation would end after World War II. In fact, because of the massive debt incurred during the war, taxation was absolutely necessary to pay back all the bond holders, etc.
And, in the US, there was an amendment to the Constitution to specifically allow an income tax (it wasn’t necessary, but the government wanted to hedge its bets).
How about keeping this topic to the actual topic, Mike Holmes?
January 7th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
I have to say to all the people who have talked badly about Mike Holmes, you are nothing more than someone who should get a clue. My husband and I had a house built after a fire and the contractor totally screwed us. We have a house that has code violations, cracks in the walls, mold, screws popping out of the walls, grout falling out in our bathroom showers, I could go on forever. This contractor got paid over $200,000 for a house that can not even be sold the way it is. We have children that have to live in this house with all kinds of safety issues. So I am glad there are contractors like Mike that go around and fix the problems these “crooked” contractors leave behind. The contractor we hired saw a family in distress and took full advantage of it, he according to his own records made over $100,000 on our house, while we sit here figuring out how we are going to pay for the repairs needed for our house. I wish there were more contractors like Mike out there helping these families. If these so called contractors did it right the first time there would be no need for a show like Mikes. Instead they just look for every angle to use to rip innocent families off and Mike has to come in and clean up the mess. So before you go knocking someone who is just trying to do the right thing after someone else screwed these families, maybe you should go at the people it and that is the “crooked” contractors. Keep up the great work Mike there are a lot of people out here that need your help.
January 7th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
The implication made by NJ mom is that the contractor community is seething with crooks, which is the premise on which Mike Holmes makes his reputation. The problem with the implication is that it is patently untrue. As in all industries, it is populated with mostly ethical, responsible people. The minority make it bad for all, particularly the tarring of all with the same brush. Responsible homeowners should do their own common sense due diligence: reference checks, BBB, licenses, etc…or pay the piper.
The problem of the inspection community is in my view and even bigger problem, and is not only about nit picking. It is a profession ripe for corruption. It commonly involves collusion and kickbacks of all kinds. During a building boom, the problem is rampant. The regional government agencies rake in the $$$ and the homeowners are the victims.
January 7th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Seems that virtually every person that objects to what Mike Holmes is doing is a contractor that does not want an educated public. I wonder why that is?
They all claim that all of the inspectors are crooks, that the codes exist to “rip people off’, and that all contactors are really put upon by the system.
I hate to say it, but that kid of stuff can be found in piles at the south end of a northward facing bull.
Mike Holmes tesll people how things should be done. He educates people on how far too many contractors rip people off. And any contractor that objects to that is nothing more than a rip off artist.
Sure there are many ethical contractors. Probably the majority are ethical. But they aren’t coming on this site and objecting to Mike Holmes, to government inspectors, etc. Instead, they follow the codes, don’t have to try to bribe an inspector, and do not have to try to convice people that what Mike Holmes is doing is somehow wrong for the consumer.
Any contractor that objects to what Mike Holmes is doing would make me investigate them thoroughly before i would even consider using them to build a dog house. They are not on the up and up, no matter how loudly they protest.
Sorry guys, but only the guilty protest so loudly!
January 10th, 2009 at 12:48 am
David, before I start my comment , I just want to say that I agree with both your side and with the show.The show does portray the contractors as more than likely out to scam as much as they can and run like hell.We all need to be careful and do some home work.The show needs to be taken with a grain of salt since it is based on major disasters, which makes people believe the worst out of contractors.Find out for yourself if permits are required first,get those permits, and then ask the contractor questions about his work, about permits required etc.People have issues about permits. They ensure ( hopefully ) that minimum codes are adhered to.I don t see why a contractor should have an issue with them if the home owner gets them.A reliable contractor would not be worried since he backs up his work at 100 % but it may push away ,or at least warn an otherwise not so thrusty contractor, that someone has done a little home work and will be watching.
In the end, the contractors are all under the spotlight now.From what I have read previously,you have integrity and you should have no worries.Like they say up my way.IF YOU CAN T SWIM DON T GET IN THE BOAT.
If you don t think your work would hold up to scrutiny, don t do it in the first place ( this is not pointed at you, this is for any jobs )
Another little thing, when I do reno , I always plan for a lot more than the actual cost in case of unforseen events or surprises. Also, new material or products may be available to make the work even better .A little extra could end up a very good investment in the long run.A good contractor might even have some ideas for you.
So for anyone out there thinking of renovating, don t give up on contractors because ,lets face it, some of us should not be allowed to use a paper stapler without supervision, let alone redoing a bathroom.
January 10th, 2009 at 10:00 am
I don’t know about your area, but around my area here in Canada, I think there are more bad contractors than good ones. And I think I know why they are still here in business, they always finish the jobs, and cosmetically, it looks fine, so they get a good recommendation from clients. The ones featured on Holmes seem to take off part way through the job so all the problems are still visible, or at least enough to warrant a tear out, which always leads to more issues being discovered. I find the biggest issue here is contractors who will take on jobs when they have no clue how to do it right, you know the ones I mean, you call them to have a toilet replaced, for instance, and on the way out, they notice you need a new fence, and your roof done, and of course they can do it for you. I just recently watched a well known local contractor, who has been here for more than 20 years, tackle a small tile repair job, and I mean small, he had to fill in 10 tiles in an area that had previously been covered but would be visible after the reno. I have never seen someone try to lay tile with self levelling concrete before, I mean he actually stuck the tile into the concrete directly. By the time the concrete set up, the tiles were all different levels, due to them sinking into the concrete due to gravity, up to 3/8″ difference from one tile to the next, not to mention that by the next day most were loose, but he just grouted them anyway. This reno cost the owner around $14000, the tile was only a small part, but I have had to repair literally everything he touched, and what really burns my a$$ is that I can’t get a contractors license because I lack the “experience”, but I seem to spend a lot of my time fixing issues from people who have plenty of “experience”. The worst part is that if the owner decides to start court action, my opinion is useless because I’m not licensed.
Also, I firmly agree that the other major problem is what I like to call Walmart syndrome, most people will choose a contractor based on cheapest price, at least around here anyway, so quality will always be compromised. You get what you pay for. My friends dad is still regretting taking the lowest electrical quote when building his house, now he has a house full of aluminum wire which has caused 30 years of headaches, not to mention affecting resale value significantly, but he saved a little money at the beginning.
I think the licensing system should be changed, it should be based on workmanship, not just experience, obviously people like myself that can do the work properly should be able to do it legally, not to mention be able to stand up in court against the ones who do it all wrong.
February 11th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Mikes the best. I can do minor repairs, etc…but I sure wish I could what he does. My children and I watch him ALL the time. Love the show, love the man. There should more like him, and I’m sure his wife and family are very proud of him. Rock on Mike.
February 11th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Mikes the best. I can do minor repairs, etc…but I sure wish I could what he does. My children and I watch him ALL the time. Love the show, love the man. There should be more like him, and I’m sure his wife and family are very proud of him. Rock on Mike.
February 28th, 2009 at 11:28 am
I’ve been a fan of the show and Mike’s idea’s for several years but havent seen it since Discovery Homes channel changed over to Planet Green and did an extensive format change last year.
I’ve worked in the home building and reno field and in a related field for over 8 years and during that time frame I’ve come across alot of ok work and some really great work and enough bad work to make me cringe. Some of the bad renovation work included a home that was widened to move the kitchen out to where the driveway used to be and increase the size of the living room. The work I was doing there required my entering the attic where I saw the last 5 foot of the original roof with shingles still intact in the new attic. My work also required dropping a utility line into an interior wall cavity that used to be an outside wall which still had the original insulation in it and the wall was capped with 5 2×4′s off center of the cavity.
Another incident involved work at a home in the city of Detroit. This was a typical 1950′s built two story brick home with two bedrooms on the main and a third on the second with walk in attic storage on either side of the room. Again my work required accessing the attic and upon turning on the light switch to attic I was met with a loud boom and the power went off through the whole house. I flipped the breaker in the basement and came back up and looked into the attic with a flashlight and found that there had been a house fire in the recent past and that the previous owner had hired unlicensed builders to rebuild the interior but left the charred roofing and wiring in the attic. The new owner got the home on a land contract after it was inspected by a city building inspector and cleared by that inspecter even though there was no visible naturual wood color on any wood in the attic and the timbers and wiring was severely burned.
I’ve also seen first hand the amount of red tape and nightmares a local goverment can create for a property owner and builders and anyone here who lives and or works in Pittsfield township Michigan can atest to that. One thing is for certain and thats that the laws and departments need to be completely rewritten so that they protect the owner as well as the builder and that nobody should have to jump through hoops just to do simple work.
March 10th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
i have read quite a bot of reviews here and i must say noone seems to put to fact that mike also advertises other companies he associates himself with like plumbers & electricians and even the brick layers.my friend hired a brick layer who was shown on mikes tv show to rebuild her chimney and the guy left all the cement and old brick in the chimney and smoke was all clogged in her home when she tried to light a fire.i guess the guy did a pretty good job because my was around and the camera also.a guy who has never been on tv had to clean up all the mess for her and put the bricks back and lit the fire for her to see he did an awesome job.i understand where david is coming.
March 24th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
As a building inspector for the largest jurisdiction in the USA I can tell you that hiring a contractor is a crap shoot. Getting a competent inspector is the luck of the draw. You’re on your own folks. Consider that 50% of all work is without permits or inspection. Understand that the other 50% gets inspected by inspectors that range from 1 to 10 in proficiency. In the end, 25% get a thorough inspection. So what! Houses aren’t burning down, falling down, electrocuting or gassing people. Does that make me a fly in the ointment?
August 22nd, 2009 at 11:42 am
I first saw Mike’s show in 2008 when I was up in Victoria for vacation. LOVED HIM ON SIGHT!!! I like people who say what they mean and mean what they say – honesty is refreshing.
I’m not sure where you all are writing from, but I am in the U.S. In California, if you do not get a permit for an addition or build, you can not claim the additional square footage when you sell the home – you can only list as “unwarranted bonus space”. So, it hits you hard on resale if you don’t get the required permits. Also, if you get caught working without permits, you have to stop the work and/or pay HUGE fines. Permits also have value in that they trigger inspections that are for your own protection.
Of course you may end up paying more in taxes – more house, more value, more taxes. Where do you think money for schools comes from? Property taxes! Pay your fair share of property tax and support education. Get permits and gain when you sell. It’s a win-win!
Mike’s right – get a permit and do it right the first time.
(Also, never pay the contractor up front!)
August 24th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
As to the personal attacks against Mr. Holmes, spare us your “opinions” if you do not actually know him personally. This is as in “I know him,” not “A friend of a friend knows him.” If you don’t like him, at least state this so that we may disregard your post as representation of your opinion, not fact.
Second, because some people cannot read and interpret statements correctly, they are presuming to know more about public knowledge than others, and showing themselves only to know nothing. I’m looking at the people who are running their mouths about how the government conspires to force everyone to get a permit.
Third, I will allow that in some cases, permits and government inspectors have failed. In the case of the falling wall that held back a driveway, the inspector looked at the base of the wall which was 12″ block, then never returned to ensure the rest of the wall was also 12″, not substandard 8″. Additionally, regarding the episode with the garage/studio, and the constant mishandling and incompetence of the government inspectors, again, the government failed to protect and even hindered the homeowner. However, these are two isolated incidents and should not be taken as representative. I assume that the people who insist that a permit is only the evil government’s way of screwing you are also the kind of people who think that a seat belt shouldn’t be mandatory.
Third, I would just like to state my absolute love for Mike Holmes, as if my defense above was not sufficient evidence. Mike has elevated consumer awareness and DIY’er knowledge consistently for 7 seasons, and during that time sparked genuine change in local building codes and requirements for contractors. I also agree and believe that nobody could possibly fake the kind of caring attitude that Mike shows in every bit of work he’s done on his show and in his private business, especially when he’s been so consistent.
It would be my honest dream to be able to work with and learn from Mike Holmes, even though I am not a contractor and have no intentions of becoming one. I think I would call it the “Mike a Wish” Foundation. :P
Kudos to the host of this blog for their own writing and moderation. I think I’ll be a regular reader.
August 25th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Well said, Matthew.
I’ve known Mike personally for over six years… at shows and exhibitions, at a job site, at book signings and in his office.
I’ve met members of his family, his crew, some of his contractors and most of his staff & executives of his organization.
I think I’m a little more qualified to form an opinion than a lot of people who have only seen him on TV or at a show.
If you were lucky enough to speak to him in person at some public event you had to be impressed with the way he focused on the person he was speaking to. He paid attention, he listened to you, no matter how large the crowd was.
When Mike started the show, http://www.holmesonhomes.com he only planned to do it for two years and then return to his very successful contracting business.
When the show became a run-away success, the highest rated show on HGTV Canada in their entire history, even shown on the Canadian Forces TV to our troops in Afghanistan, Mike saw the opportunity to make a difference, to try to improve a situation that badly needed improving.
As always seems to be the case, when Mike became successful and a celebrity, the nitpicking and potshots started.
People complained about doing commercials and getting sponsors. They questioned his integrity, accused him of selling out. I wonder how many of those people would refuse those opportunities if they got the chance?
A great deal of the funds he generates go towards the Holmes Foundation and the many other charities he supports that most people don’t even know about.
I find it interesting that a big movie star who makes 20 million bucks for a movie can do commercials and nobody makes a fuss.
Mike has helped and improved the lives of hundreds of families. He has, and still is helping and educating thousands, if not millions of people who have been exposed to his shows, books, speeches, appearances and the forum.
He is a remarkable man, “A contractor with a social conscience” as proclaimed by the Canadian Parliament”.
I have supported him and what he’s trying to do from the time I became the first moderator of the forum six years ago and will continue to do so until they carry me out in a box.
To all the complainers and nay-sayers I have this suggestion:
“Go ahead & do better”.
September 9th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Just started watching this program. Watched a program that could of been us. From what I saw, Holmes is a man with integrity and a servants heart. Wish there was a man like Holmes around Onsted Michigan. We have been living a home owners night mare for almost 20 years. We love the re-runs.
September 10th, 2009 at 9:11 am
Jundee,
Thanks for that added bit of important information. It’s nice to know that someone can speak from experience on this subject, and maybe put an end to at least one or two of the dimmer bulbs in the room. Indeed, the truth shall set us free.
I concur, not only would I accept such commercial and sponsorship offers, I would do so heartily, as long as I believed in what I was saying. In Mike’s case, as can be seen at the end of every show, Dewalt is a major sponsor, and he uses their tools, so clearly he believes in their product. If not, I anticipate he wouldn’t be using them in his work, since it would only cost him time and money. Frankly, I don’t care if he keeps any profits he makes from those commercials or gives them to every charity at his door. Such is his prerogative.
Bravo Mike, and never ever let the demons in this world tear you down.
September 28th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
If I learned nothing else from watching Holmes on Homes, it is this – finding out for yourself if a project needs a permit gives you a leg up on getting a contractor. If a contractor says you don’t need one, and you know that it IS required, you have a questionable contractor. Your odds of getting screwed are much greater. There are NO guarantees that in getting a permit, you will get a great or good one, but you have lessened the odds of getting a bad one. That, in and of itself, is worthwhile.
Holmes on Homes also teaches a lot about the process of having repairs and renovations done. There is a lack of understanding the process that contributes to so much ill-will and anger. I have seen even the simplest project on the show spiral into a major disaster. It prepared me for when a simple plumbing project at my parents went from a leaking faucet, to replacing the entire pipe system to the bathroom sink – resulting in torn out walls and ceiling. (Their house is 125 years old, & the pipes were almost that old!) If I hadn’t been watching the show, I probably would have thought the plumber was ripping my folks off. Instead, I felt as though he was a hero! The plumber actually cared about his work and doing it the right way. The show helped me see that.
October 13th, 2009 at 4:31 am
My husband and I love the show. We wish we had discovered it before this season, so we tape it each week to make sure we don’t miss any new episodes.
I have tried to read the above messages to find an answer to our question: Is Mike or the Homeowner able to take the contractor (that caused all the problems in the first place) to court and sue for damages? It seems Mike gets plenty of evidence against the contractor on film to win a case. If not, how can the viewers find out who the bad contractor is?
Also, we assume the Homeowner doesn’t have to shell out more money for the repairs; so who pays for all the materials & labor so Mike can make the repairs?
November 11th, 2009 at 12:43 am
Mike Holmes is the best, I am newer general contractor and learned the trade over many years before starting my own business. If you want to learn how to do it right, watch him in action.
That said, let’s get real. He saves upper middle class people on their dream renos gone wrong… most real people need small jobs completed and can’t afford the needed repair itself let alone permits. The main thing is that it is done correctly and when dealing with gas, structure, electrical and major plumbing get a licensed tradesman only. The permit ensures it is done correctly. It also drives the cost way up. A good GC will always tell someone that a permit is required, but if a homeowner chooses to keep costs down and is smart about who they get to do the job it’s their choice. Go ahead and scold me, many permits are cash grabs end of story.
November 14th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
I am a licensed plumber in the US. The plumbing jobs Mr. Holmes discovers on these shows are unbeleivable. I literally despise these so-called plumbers who care less for public safety. I personally think they should be arrested and forced to work for free under the direct supervision of a licensed professional as community service.
I would love to see this be a law. Let Mr. Holmes come in and do his thing finding all the crap thats wrong. Then force the original contractor to come in personally, with the illegal crew of unlicensed hacks he employeed or sub contracted and do the labor for free under the direct supervision of Mr. Holmes and his crew of licensed experience professionals. Let them learn the correct way while being humiliated on National Television.
November 14th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
One more thing. If you contract a job and permits are required by law then get them. If you break the law and cut corners then you shouldn’t expect any more from a GC. Since the article used the Holmes show to make an analogy, I will too. You reap what you sow. I dont care who or what you call God, this fact is evident. I have seen Plumbers get hired and fired since I’ve been with my company. I am still there. Why? Because I learned how to do things the correct way. Why do I do them the correct way? Peoples lives and well being depend on me doing it right. I love Mr. Holmes. I admire him as a professional and a person who simply cares. May we all strive to be like him in our own fields.
November 15th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Chris’post has twigged me to comment. Everyday in my business I see homeowners who are such cheapskates that they refuse to even listen to Mike Holmes advice about cost…You get what you pay for…We explain what CSA A440 means for the installation of doors and windows, but all they care about is cheap…People who connive to buy and install their own furnaces and heat pumps without a ticket or permits. This has become an epidemic…The local Safety Authority estimates that at least 50% of all heat pumps are improperly and illegally installed. I should share some photos I have of the crap we have been called out to fix, because the customer himself was to blame…and far less the idiots he hired.
November 15th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
My question: Does Mr. Holmes ever take on commercial buildings? The building in question is on Main Street in a small town in Northern Michigan. The building has been vacant for over ten years. During that time it has taken on several feet of water in the basement and consequently accumulated a lot of mold. It is an eyesore and a turn-off to new businesses and tourism, not to mention a health hazard. Any advice or assistance would be welcomed and greatly appreciated.
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Questions I have always wondered:
1-does Mike ever reveal who these craapy contrators are? I sure don’t want to hire them.
2-has Mike ever been sued by one of these shoody butt contractors whose work he fixes or completes?
3-How does one get their house chosen for a Holmes renovation?
4-does he ever come to the U.S.?
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:22 am
Merijo raises an awkward point for supporters of Holmes…Competitors in this business love nothing more than to trash the work of competitors, and as publicly as possible…and regardless of whether it is justified or not. This is particularly true in a recessionary market…Sharks eat each other in their frenzy.
We had a customer, whose project was completed two years ago without incident or followup issues. But a hail storm had him calling my private home number at 6AM to demand that I fix my crappy workmanship….Turns out it was caused by his own crappy 25 year old cedar shake roof, which had clogged the gutter and led to flooding down the interior of his walls…
No amount of rational dialogue would convince this customer that our workmanship had nothing to do with his problem… In the end, we let him call in someone else who offered him an expensive “fix” unrelated to his real problem….We washed our hands of this idiot and the other company is now liable for any further damage to his home.
Caveat emptor
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:47 am
I don’t think the points raised by Merijo are awkward for either Mike Holmes or his supoorters. Those questions have been asked & answered many times in the past.
Mike doesn’t go around inventing the problems he fixes on the shows. He gets thousands of requests for help, more than he could possibly handle.
He is the first to admit that not all contractors are bad & will point out things that were done correctly. He also never says that ALL contractors are bad, just that some of them are but in most cases it’s a matter of a contractor getting in over his head.
He’s also aware that some people are the architects of their own misfortune by going for the lowest quote or not doing their homework by checking who they hire or in some cases work may have been done by homeowners not qualified or experienced to do them.
All applications to the Holmes Group are investigated & thoroughly checked before they are considered.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:08 am
Oh PLEASE!
Everyday we encounter these cheapskate customers who care nothing about quality workmanship, only cheap, cheap, cheap, …then bitch to the high heaven when their project ends in crap…They try to trash our businesses, when in reality they are the culprits…
It happens so often that evey contractor I know, will beg off this kind of customer given the chance…Sometimes we don’t find out until it is too late…
Cheap crap nasty customers with no appreciation of quality workmanship, and every intent to trash the reputations of those who attempt to do the right thing…
These people deserve what they get.
November 23rd, 2009 at 8:12 am
David,
First off – I will say that I agree with you in part. There are plenty of consumers who do not want to pay for quality, but those are the ones who will NEVER check licenses, references, insurance, and permit laws. THEY are the ones who are truly “getting what they deserve,” because they are trying to pull a fast one in an arena that is not conducive to that.
That said, many of Mike’s clients, particularly in the later series, did a great deal of research and checking into their contractors, and they just got bit in the ass. They didn’t necessarily go with the cheapest one, nor did they necessarily go with the most expensive, in no way an assurance of better quality.
Certainly, sometimes you “can do better,” but a lot of people also don’t know for sure what they need to be looking at. Anyway, that’s just my two cents on the matter.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:14 am
I am in awe when I watch Mike’s show. It is on here Saturday at 8am, and Sunday at 8:30am and 8pm. Everything in my house stops when Mike is on. And I love it when he “Discovers” all the problems in a job that a “Qualified” (obviously unqualified/uncaring/rip-off) contractor did. I taught Residential Wiring & BluePrint reading for a community college for many years, and I was absolutely amazed at some of the shoddy workmanship that went into a few of the additions/remodels that I was asked to do the electrical in. I also saw quite a few new homes that weren’t any better than some of the trash that Mike walks into. I hope Mike is able to get some of these “Qualified” contractors sued by the homeowners…and license’s revoked. Keep up the wonderful work Mike…you have no equal. I can’t hardly wait until the re-runs stop and some new episodes begin. Best of luck, Tom.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:56 pm
David,
You know, I don’t know that I’d trust any contractor in my home who cannot see the things that are so obviously wrong that Mike finds. [ad hominem text removed by moderator]
To simply state that “Competitors in this business love nothing more than to trash the work of competitors,” as if to imply, but not stand up and say, that Mike is doing the same, well, that’s just [text removed/modified by moderator] [wrong].
Most of the work Mike does to repair previous foul-ups is self-evident, such as poor plumbing, electric, and structure. I’m not sure how that’s just trashing someone. Besides which, as Mike does not reveal the names of the contractors in question, he could not possibly be just trashing them.
[ad hominem text removed by moderator]
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Some people just do not get it.. I was not referring to Mike. I was referring to the real World… In this market we have an extraordinary perfect storm of cheap nasty customers and predatory trades people.. Yes, predatory trades people willing to misrepresent their skills and knowledge, and trash the work of others because they are desperate for cash, any cash, for any job.
In my example, the customer refused to accept that debris from his 25 year old shake shingle roof, clogging his gutters, was causing water to flow along his eaves and down the inside of his walls. His preferred “expert” offered to blow more foam into the window gaps…Foam is not waterproof, nor consistent with the ASTM E2112 standard. The homwowner paid $2000 for his alleged “fix.” The bad news for him is that he will have a major dry rot problem regardless.
Sheer cheap pigheadedness combined with bogus expertise.
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:57 pm
We all know that happens, not just in the constraction trade but I’m a little puzzled…
What does your experience have to do with Mike Holmes?
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Perhaps you should read my post again?
November 23rd, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Michael Holmes is my hero. I am from Portugal but live in USA and there is no way I could go a day that the show is on without watching it. If this world could have a couple of man just a little like him, obviously it would be a much better place. The only thing I would do extra would be to expose the names and construction companies that “made the mess” before he got there. Love you Michael with all my heart and HOPE one day I could really meet you in person. I truly admire you, not as an excellent contractor, but also as a human being with a HEART OF GOLD – You’re my hero.
Love from USA
Ana
November 23rd, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Michael Holmes is my hero. I am from Portugal but live in USA and there is no way I could go a day that the show is on without watching it. If this world could have a couple of man just a little like him, obviously it would be a much better place. The only thing I would do extra would be to expose the names and construction companies that “made the mess” before he got there. Love you Michael with all my heart and HOPE one day I could really meet you in person. I truly admire you, not as an excellent contractor, but also as a human being with a HEART OF GOLD – You’re my hero.
Love from USA
November 29th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
i work for contractor and i always used mike technics yet most of them had a grudge on how he does his work, i had to quit on them a left them with my last pay i did.nt wanted to be robbing someone , i argued with my boss and seen that i was right of what i was doing , my grandfather and dad always said if you are going to do it do it right or leave it alone for some else to fix. i look at at is show as much as i can some day i am going to build my house and be watching over my contractors work i built alot of house wth my degree in trade labour and my pass time after the work is done i now a birch bark canoe master builder and looking at making a film just like mike.
December 2nd, 2009 at 4:00 am
I watch Holmes on homes every chance I get. I think it is wonderful how he helps put peoples homes and lives back together. Keep up the good work, Mike! oh, and MIKE IS HOT!!!!
December 3rd, 2009 at 10:11 pm
I was a contractor for 15 years. Was knocked off of a roof by a broken truss and never able to work construction again. Watching Mike work is a pleasure. He DOES do things RIGHT! I know because that was our local reputation as well. Doing things right will take immediate cash OUT of your pocket…..BUT will put lots and lots more back into your pocket in terms of never having to redo cheap at some later time. It will also pay huge dividends in terms of resale when moving. God Bless this guy. Helping people who really need help. And doing it RIGHT! Think about this……just insulating a house properly and using the best HVAC system available will save you enough to buy a NEW top of the line automobile with the savings you will incur.
December 6th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
yes Mike is in your face …must be hard for all the sub-par contractors to acknowledge their incompetent workmanship he exposes on his shows.
It’s too bad these contractors cannot be fined and have their names published in the newspapers and flashed across the tv screen so nobody else would have to suffer from their careless sloppy work.
In a jaded world it is only reasonable to expect those who do quality work will be torn apart because there are SO MANY who do crappy work.
Sad day we have come to in society when people think Mike is greedy to do the job right and “perfect” because it sure almost looks as if a half-baked job is what most contractors are happy to provide and they EXPECT to TAKE top dollar for screwing their customers.
What’s disappointing about his show is they cannot tell us who the spine-less greedy contractors were that did the bogus work that Mike has to FIX. It is criminal these contractors get away with this and RIP-OFF people everyday. Sloppy contractors TAKE their money and GIVE NOTHING for it.
Maybe then those contractors will get enough guts to LEAVE the industry and find a job they can screw-off on and get paid every day OR they can STEP-UP and do quality work.
It is criminal that these contractors leave a mess behind them these homeowners are dealing with every day from spending more on utilities to having leaks and exposed wires.
If only there were more contractors that took pride in the work they did rather than expect the $$$$ because they showed up and pounded in a few nails.
December 8th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Aloha, just finished another episode of mike. I watch to learn of what not to do in my own small business. I feel torn though. He never asks the homeowner if they had a budget to ” do it right” because that’s always been my client market. Not that I don’t do things to code, but most of my clients are ” impulse” purchasers. That’s to say that they get there tax refund and think ” let’s remodel that ugly bath” . Option one…..show up, say it will cost $20,000 and take min 2 to 3 months with planing , permits to comletion or Option two ….. It will cost $15000 and I can start in 3 weeks but most important be done in 2 1/2 weeks . My only beef with Mike is the remodel he did is way out of his clients budget ..bottom line. He wouldn’t get the job no matter how good he is. Permit or no permit, a homeowner needs to feel comfortable enough to hire & fire their chose of contractor. It’s also their job to educate themselfs on the project to protect themselfs . I’ve had many customers who trusted me completly, I could have taken them to the cleaners, they showed no personal interest in their own remodel job, they just wanted it done .Bottom line, there are a lot of bad builders and good builders. A permit is no gurantee. But there are just as many homeowners who set themselves up to be taken and then are surprised when it all goes wrong. Don’t reward them Mike with a space better then the one they were originally willing to cough up the dough to pay for. Your just rewarding them not having a proper budget.
December 8th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
I think you’re missing something.
The owners hired a home inspector who didn’t do a proper job & missed a whole bunch of obvious stuff. They might not have purchased the house if they would have known that it would have cost a considerable amount of money to correct the situation.
You have to remember that this is a TV show where Mike has a budget plus donated labor & supplies.
It would not make much sense & certainly not much of a show if Mike just went there & pointed out all the problems the home inspector missed & then left the home owners hanging.
Once Mike accepts an application from the thousands he receives he will not only fix the obvious problems but if his inspection reveals that walls or ceilings need to be opened in order to make the job right then that’s exactly what he does.
In the show, Mike decides how much he wants to fix to correct the problems and how much he wants to spend.
There is no budget from the homeowner involved.
Yes, the owners pay a small percentage, about 10 to 15% but that is more than offset by the increase in the value of the property.
So the owners have a choice, Mike tells them what needs to be done & leaves them to deal with it themselves & he ends up with a 10 minute show. They might get some of it done, let’s say for 20 grand. That’s just for what’s visible.
Or, Mike will do the job & if he feels walls and/or ceilings have to opened or removed to do a proper job and as a result the cost now jumps to 40 or 50 grand, the cost to the owners will be in the neighborhood 5 to 7 grand and it will be done right. What do you think most peoples reaction would be?
Mike doesn’t just go in there & takes over. All issues are discussed before and people who apply to be considered know how Mike works and know that they are not blindly led by the nose.
December 9th, 2009 at 1:07 am
You helped make my point even more. Mabe to simplify on the lowest level . I wanted a car. It cost $23000 , it turns out to be a lemon and the dealer ( who I didn’t buy it from originally ) steps in and gives me a $45000 Benz to replace the problem. Not really apples to apples. Again, rewarding the homeowner ( and maybe I didn’t make this clear last time) May have got exactly what they payed for. Based on the show I watched and the idea that was given to the owners , they clearly, or thanks to no clarification from Mike, not so clearly didn’t get 3 bids to compare from the start why one bid might have been in the $40s like it should have been while the bid they chose may or may not have been the lowest bid. I know it’s T V and he’s dead set against guys like me but it’s a bit lop sided. Clearly the contractor put their family at risk, but owners thought saving $20000 was clearly worth the risk. May be they never heard the phrase “to good to be true”. Or how about a simple caulculator. Formula based on show info 4 guys ( I’m assumming this, 3 carpenters plus electrician) at 40 hours a week x 4 weeks @$40 hr is $25000. That was the whole bid. It leaves no money for material . Enter common sense. So add in $10,000 in material. So simple common sense math says they were willing to pay someone $25 hr to do a substancial remodel. Again, bottom line, got what they paid for. That’s what that budget, stretched to accomodate all the home owners wishes for the project. And yes I agree they shouldn’t have done it, but should have engaged them with a better more cost effective plan , or just walk away and let the next guy do it their way.
December 18th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
If the world were filled with ‘Mikes’, what a wonderful place it would be. Quality work, value, caring – the list goes on. Thank you Mike from George & Dee.
December 22nd, 2009 at 8:10 pm
I am a big fan of Holmes on Homes. I am a general contractor and primarily do renovations. I have been in business for 7 years and have a strong client base. All of my work comes from “word of mouth” advertising which is the best form of advertising.
I am a firm belevier in “Do it once, Do it right” but in the real world you have to deal within the budget the home owner has and you have to be competitive with your competition.
What I would like to see and hear on this show are the actual costs; Demo, Labor and Material so when an actual home owner watches this program they realize what type of budget they should be planning for to complete the project.
Keep up the good work and if your looking for an American version of this show I would gladly consider stepping in!!
December 27th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
I am an electrical contractor from Indiana. The city/county I do most of my business in requires license, bond and insurance. All 3 which protect the customer. There are a lot of unlicensed contractors here and a lot of customers getting taken advantage of. The city will fine the propert owner all well as the contractor for not pulling permits. The permit, license, bond and insurance are very important to be required by the city/county governments. I always like unlicensed contractors how much cheaper they can do the work, I can do the work quicker, right the first time and higher quality every time.
Bryan H
Indianapolis, IN
January 1st, 2010 at 5:01 pm
hi mike i watch you a lot i agree with most of what you do. i like it youre right on. i’m 57 {close to} been in construction [MOST PHASES OF] since 1976 from calgary to vancouver to the yukon to montreal seen all kindsof right and wrong and obviously learned from it. i’m still active in the business be it frame or reno however i dont know how many more years i have left to continue on the physical end.i am very fit as we speak but i have to look ahead. could you please help me get into home inspections i can get funding for the course or do whatever is needed.one thing that is needed—your help”’ merci a l’avance and stay healthy bye
January 1st, 2010 at 6:04 pm
most home owners want to do things around their house to make it bigger nicer cleaned up or whatever.they shop for the cheapest guy available sometimes it works most times it doesn’t. we are professionnels get that into youre bonnet no they are not going to blood sweat and tear for 15 18 20 and so on an hour you want the right job done? pay the money if you don’t readily have the money to pay a guy like mike go back to work and save until you can.my ex did that mistake and he still has to fix unfinnished stuff because they left—ie—no money
January 2nd, 2010 at 12:51 am
I would love to live in the world you all seem to think existis. I would have all high end clients. The box stores like home depot and lowes would not exist since they only cater to the secondary market of home improvement. All wood would be grade A #1 presure treated because there would be no call for the inferior grade lumber that’s kiln dried, or better yet maybe mahagoney or ipe would become the new common stock lumber. Since your going to build it once, build it right with only the best materials. And keep inind those high end kohler toilets that go for $ 730 to $2000 would be about $4000 once you cut out the secondary market which is really their bread and butter. So, yes, it would be great for everyone to be liscensed and pull permits, but the reality is not feasable either. So a better option is to allow all builders to be allowing to get insured to help protect the home owner. And the homeowner needed to take more interest in their projects. There will always be a secondary market which helps with the cost of higher end materials, maybe making it more user friendly would be the way to go.
January 3rd, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Fred says;
Local cable company in New York just pulled the channel that HOH is on we’re very disappointed to say the least.
I have been a contractor for almost thirty years and the wife and I watch every show we can. It is such a pleasure to see someone care as much as I do about the customer getting what they pay for with there very hard earned money. Out of all the project Mike has done I like almost every thing I have seen,
January 3rd, 2010 at 7:28 pm
Fred again;
The only thing I would like to discuss with Mike is the kidsroom in the back of the closet. I have been a firefighter for 27 years or so and I know there is a chance the kids would probably hide there in a fire, that concerns me. We do check closets but not sure we would find that door in an emergency we probably would but its questionable. By no means am I trying to complain about Mike’s show I think he is the greatest. I’m just concerned, I love the idea it’s real cool but is it safe? Kids tend to hide in scary situations ie. fires.
Keep up the great work Mike.
January 6th, 2010 at 10:53 am
I’ve worked in the construction field for fourteen year; I have seen really bad jobs and classy work also. I am a licensed Master plumber and Plumbing/Mechanical contractor and I know the need for permits. Permits are not only to ensure minimum code requirements but to regulate the trades. When a licensed tradesman/person is caught by an inspection infraction he has to redo it properly or a stop work order will be placed at the work site, if not fixed correctly then the company is fined for the code violation and if you do that to often your license will be reviewed for revocation. The comment about a toilet having to have a permit is not correct; replacing fixtures is under service work and does not need a permit, unless you alter the piping system in any way, source for that information is in the International Plumbing Code Book and defines what is and is not a fixture. I believe that the problem with today society is that we have to many trades people in the field that are just out for a check and don’t care about what they are doing., the old line “Its not my house” or “looks good from my house” and “out of site out of mind” this kind of attitude is the cancer of the trades. When a journeyman teaches an apprentice and has an attitude like that a lot of the time the apprentice picks this kind of mind set. They should fine the contractors/homeowners harshly for illegal work.
You cant blame the code officers for everything, one they are under staffed to spend all day at one job, they have a list of inspections and they try to cover them the best they can with the time they have. You have to remember that they have set hours to do this work in and also the more cuts government does the less inspectors there are and then the ones that are inspecting are overloaded with inspections for the time frame in a day. The problem is unqualified people doing the work and having a bad mind set. People that have licenses had to put the time in and take state tests to get that license, but if a person has a bad attitude about doing a job correctly then they should reevaluate if they are in the right line of work. Homeowners that hire people that are unlicensed, uninsured or don’t want to pull permits, I cant really feel sorry for you that much, have to be proactive and call your city or township office and get the information about permits if you don’t know. A lot of the time the home owner is ok with no permits because the permit fees save a thousand dollar or spend thousands of dollars and inconvenience your family with having to redo the job again to make it right. If a home owner wants to do a remodel him/her self then get information, you can call companies for a small fee and they can give you information on the job and give you a quote if they did it for you, you may decide that to do it right to code standards is over you your head/skills or is going to take a longer time than a professional. Put it this way I know plumbing and am confident in my abilities in that field but put me in as a landscaper and I could probably put some plants in the ground but it’s not going to turn out as a professional job they know what plants like what light, soil and what climates. We all go into professions and if that is what you know stay with that line of work and if you have the mind set of oh well then get into something you have a passion for so you excel.
On the issue of Mike he is a class act, seems to be a great man and a great contractor. Wish there were more people in the field like him. Show or no show he obviously started being a contractor without a show and worked hard and did a good job to get where he is today. The best to you Mike and your family.
January 10th, 2010 at 9:46 am
I AM SO SAD AND UPSET I CAN NO LONGER WATCH THE FABULOUS SHOW “HOLMES ON HOMES”… SCRIPS NETWORK HAS REMOVED THOSE CHANNELS – HGTV – AND FOOD NETWORK FROM CABLEVISION. WEEKENDS A RE VERY BORING NOW… PLEASE PUT THEM BACK… I CAN ONLY GO TO YOUTUBE NOW…. :((( SORRY MIKE!!
January 10th, 2010 at 6:30 pm
I have just recently started watching Mike, and all I can say is he is a top notch contractor. I have been in remodeling and construction for 12 years, trust me, he knows his stuff!! It pays to spend the time and effort to do things right the first time, why would you want to do it twice? I would love the oppportunity to work for him someday.
January 10th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
I’m glad we still get Holmes on Homes via HGTV in Mobile, AL. We just ordered the first 5 seasons from Mike’s website so that we can watch (and re-watch) episodes. Season 6 has been great so far.
January 11th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
If they really wanted to make this show an absolute HUGE hit with most every person that watches TV… they should either bring back the contractor/s who did the shoddy work and educate them ON CAMERA (shame them a little bit!) or at least mention the shoddy business names on the show so other homeowners can stay away from them.
Lots of folks talk about suing a contractor in small claims court. I had to do exactly that. Granted, it was only for $250 but it was the principles involved. The contractor took $250 up front for materials and I never saw him again. Excuse after excuse and he still never came back to do the work.
He showed up in court and lied. He said he bought the materials with the $250 but I wouldn’t let him come back to do the job. The judge asked to see the receipts for the materials. LOL! The contractor said he didn’t have them so EVERYONE in the court knew he was lying.
I won and got a judgment against him but in 4 years, I have not been able to collect one single dime.
You can check out my story (and many other homeowners that were screwed by the same contractor) on http://www.ripoffreport.com Search DENNIS HURLEY and read about what an a$$hole this guy is.
materials with the $250 but I wouldn’t let him come back to do the job. The judge asked to see the receipts for the materials. LOL! The contractor said he didn’t have them so EVERYONE in the court knew he was lying.
I won and got a judgment against him but in 4 years, I have not been able to collect one single dime.
You can check out my story (and many other homeowners that were screwed by the same contractor) on http://www.ripoffreport.com Search DENNIS HURLEY and read about what an a$$hole this guy is.
January 11th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
Last night I viewed a Holmes on Homes episode. He tore down a bathroom and rebuilt it again. On the floor he put 3/4 inch plywood over 1/2 inch existing sub-floor. On top of that went a mortar base … Then came the tile membrane…. Then another mortar base … Then the finished marble tile floor. What Holmes didn’t show us was the floor transition from the hallway to the bathroom. The finished bathroom floor had to be well over inch higher than the hallway. So much for quality work huh? Also he stated that costs on a remodel should be 50% product and 50% labor for installation. I don’t think so. A better reference estimate is usually twice what you paid for product for the labor to get it installed. Example: $100 for the purchase of tile and $200 to get the tile installed. He is no different then any other contractor. Because he is on TV he just claims to be.
January 15th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
Phil,
I wish Mike could read your email one day. I am completely sure he does have an explanation for you. He is what he is and where he is, not for his looks – but for his honesty and because he is 100% knowledgeable and trustworthy. He knows what he does and believe u me – he does “make it right” Hope he could answer you one day. Ana
January 16th, 2010 at 1:42 am
Mike is to busy to pay attention to those comments. Most of them are based on envy & jealousy of his success and popularity anyways.
The over 40000 members of the forum, growing by 1000 per month are proff of that.
Check http://www.mikeholmesfanforum.com
January 22nd, 2010 at 7:28 pm
I am a small self contractor. I’ve been in this field for 30yrs. and what I have seen for contractors to make a buck is just wrong. I went on my own for 6yrs. now and all I’ve been doing is fixing other contractors wrongs to right. The most jobs I’ve been to are with the elderly and on fixed budgets and to see what a contractor have done to them would make you want to cry but I don’t I put a smile on my face and show them that it will be alright. The hardest thing is to get them to trust another contractor But I let them know that they are not alone. My other customers where there too and we sit down and talk for an unknown time. I make a wrong a right and just to see a smile on there face and a hug is the greatest feeling you could ever feel. To Mike Holmes you are out there making a wrong a right and thank you just for the hope of others God has blessed you with a gift.
January 24th, 2010 at 11:41 am
Does everyone understand that Contractors hire sub-contractors. Isn’t there an expression about the weakest link in the chain?
I once had a licensed electrician splice wires leaving them on top of insulation in the attic with only electrical tape and no junction box. It was in the attic. Years ago, I did not realize you had to stand behind the trades people to ensure they were doing their job correctly.
Mike Holmes (maybe there is a little grandstanding) seems to truly believe that you should do the work correctly the first time.
All of those new appliances and products that are installed are free to the homeowner (aren’t they donated for free publicity?. Mike and his crew are paid by HGTV. For a minmal amount of money the homeowner is getting upgrade after upgrade. What exactly is wrong with that?
I enjoy watching the show. Though I do enjoy a much more in-depth show on DIY.
January 24th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Mike,
Not sure if this is the way to email you as I have heard the clients on your show have done. I have had several contractors fix a few things in my home. None appear to have been repaired properly. The one I am most concerned about is an addition I had added to the back of the house which seems to have compromised the roof to the rest of the house. I have drip pans in the attic every where now. Please consider my plea for assistance. Though I have funding to assist with the repairs, contractors I have reached out to locally, even those that are reputable, seem to have dollar signs in their eyes when they come through for the assessment to fix the problem. I hope you find this short note worthy of consideration.
January 24th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
Was the first contractors ever sued?
January 25th, 2010 at 2:25 am
I think Mike is doing a great job showing people what can be done. Yes you can do less expensive remolding work, but that is not the point in the show. We had some work done on our home down south. We fully trusted the contractor. He charged us the going price and the work he did was the worst that I have ever seen. They left 3″ nails sticking through our wooden privacy fence and the skylight leaks in the master bath room and they didn’t put insulation behind the siding they put on the house. He told us that he would accept what the insurance company would pay to replace the roof and then, after the work was done he put a lean on home and said we had never paid him, which was a lie. It was a mess.
January 25th, 2010 at 2:32 am
Part two… they also put our fence too for back to a drainage deatch and now the land under the ditch is eroding. They din’t repair the drain in the patio around the pool.
January 25th, 2010 at 3:04 am
I like this show, but Canada has different building codes than the U.S., so don’t think he’s doing everything right where you live, for instance: I saw him install flex duct to vent a range hood, which I know is not allowed in California where I live, because the ribs in the flex can trap grease, which can build up over time and become a fire hazard. What sayeth Canadian building code on this matter, Mike? And though he did change it, he didn’t see a problem with an existing gas fireplace built in a corner, facing parallel to an adjacent basement wall; that never would have passed U.S. code, you can’t even build a corner fireplace in some instances, the clearance is the issue.
January 25th, 2010 at 3:22 am
Right Said (Fireman) Fred. Yes, that basement closet with the chalk board and the television for the kiddies? I didn’t buy that for a second. Sorry Holmes, but you would never have been granted a permit for that in the states. Fireman Fred pointed out something I had heretofore not considered; the possibility that the kids would run in there during a fire. I was concerned about the particle inhalation danger from inadequate ventilation; that little girl was rubbing her eyes.
January 25th, 2010 at 10:29 am
Toby,
Mike said it best, if something’s wrong, stop the work. Just don’t let them come back into your property! You need to watch your contractors like a hawk, even if you like them or trust them.
January 31st, 2010 at 6:34 am
Funny thing I’ve found is that those who cut corners and are pretty much the types of workers and contractors who end up creating the messes this show focuses on are the ones who don’t like Mike.
The people in the industry that are reliable and know their stuff don’t have a problem with him or his show.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:18 am
I am in the middle of finishing a basement, I would love for Mike and his crew to finish it for me. I know that would probably never happen, so I continue on… taking all of the shows advice and ideas with me in order to “do it right”, and I thank him and his crew for such a great show. And if we end up in a higher property tax braket, so be it, it will be so worth it in the end!!! I know once I am done, I will have no mold issues, no strucrural issues, no fire issues, no water leak issues, and mostly from mikes advice and instructions from his show. So all of you people that bad mouth a man who is obviously better then you, get over it!
February 21st, 2010 at 1:21 pm
We had two sets of contractors, all with permits and code inspections.
Took two years to fire first and we had a construction law firm to do that much. The judge refused to hear our case !
What we have is a house that needs total rebuilding.
I’m a little concerned (major) about what (after 2years of living here) appears to structural problems that start in the basement and go all the way to the top floor.
What would it take for another Mike Holmes, in the USA, to get to my house ?
February 23rd, 2010 at 12:26 pm
I love this show. Holmes has a passion for what he does.
My first reaction is shared with others, “how much will it cost to fix this mess?” We know Holmes gets a fantasy budget for good TV viewing. So to get it right the first time I think is his primary message, and that requires patience, doing your homework and understanding facts — not only opinions — get the facts.
Our culture is losing its grip on facts. We are floating on bloated opinions that don’t offer any solutions.
On the other hand, the poster who called it “legalism” to do it by the book? What does “legalism” mean? Not breaking the law? Would this poster would settle for “good enough” from his dentist, doctor, accountant, lawyer? I don’t think so, do you?
February 26th, 2010 at 11:06 pm
so you dont want a permit eh?wait till you try to sell your house or have a home inspection done and some lawyer wants to see prove of permit/inspection.
I am sick of going to my local home depot /lowes and see some weekend warrior getting advice from some kid on how to wire their house for electric or whatever.
As a firefighter and employed in the utility
industry,I see the end result sometimes.
Mike Holmes-your the man! great show!
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:42 am
Not to mention, if you do any type of electrical upgrade that normally requires a permit but you do not get one and your house burns down, good luck trying to get an insurance payment, because you simply will not get one. They will tell you that you did not get proper permits, and you are now homeless.
March 18th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
I also appreciate Mike and admire his work ethic…no matter what profession a person is in, a true professional takes pride in his work for his own sense of worth not because of the paycheck it earns him or her. It is a great American fallacy that our worth is dependent on the amount of money we bring home…and the flip side, that I only give to the job what I am paid. I take pride that I will do the same top quality of work whether I volunteer my time or I am paid $50.00 / hour. It is that philosophy that I believe is being shown by Mike and his show.
Unfortunately, because of the theme of the show, it skews the mindset of the viewers to believe that the majority of contractors are bad….because he wouldn’t be in the house in the first place if the contractors were good. Maybe he needs to remind his viewers about that more often. Just as police officers / sheriffs deputies see all citizens as criminals that haven’t been caught yet, we viewers are trapped into believing that the majority of contractors are bad apples. In truth it is more likely that the majority or citizens and contractors are honest and professional.
My experience with a design / build contractor is the opposite of what has been referenced above: we were stymied by a quote that was too low for the job we requested rather than too high. We were skeptical that the contractor could do the job as requested for the quote / bid that he gave us. When we asked for a breakdown of the job- so that we could get an understanding of the materials he envisioned for our remodel – he was reluctant to comply; just stated that it would end-up to be a “high-end kitchen”. Because we were getting signals that his definition of a high end kitchen was different from ours we asked him to describe it: it ends up that he was going to use laminate counter-tops and cabinets, stainless steel sink and linoleum floors; no hood, backsplash, etc. Now our idea of a high-end kitchen, which we articulated, was granite / quartz counters, wooden cabinets (not custom but not Home Depot either) and hard wood floors (to match the rest of the house). When we indicated that the whole project was too ambitious for our budget – that we needed to reduce the scope (originally we had two additions as well as the entire first-floor gut) he was unwilling to consider an option “B” insisting that we could afford it all. We ended up not signing the contract, after a year’s relationship working with the designer, and hiring an expeditor, who took one look at the bid and stated that it was under by ~50% based on all of the features that we wanted to see in the completed project. Which is what we wanted to hear. We were very disappointed that we could not get all the bells and whistles that we were lead to believe were within our reach…but it is better to know now, before the digging is started, rather than to fork over another $100,000 to complete the job, once our house was torn apart and they have us over the barrel.
So to those contractors who tell the story of home owners who want the big jobs done for unreasonable low quotes I offer the other side of the story: homeowners who are frustrated with contractors who lure you into a project knowing that the bid will never get the job done at the expectation of the homeowner. We see that as a contractor “bait and switch” tactic….get the homeowner to sign the contract, give the down payment, start “spec”-ing it out and then being up-front about the materials used and the costs to “upgrade” – when it is too late to back-out.
If we hadn’t become educated by Holmes on Homes, we wouldn’t have known enough to ask the right questions before we signed the contract.
March 20th, 2010 at 8:53 am
I am a dentist and in my profession and every profession there is always someone like Mike Holmes. Their work is better than anyone else. Everyone else’s work is garbage. As Holmes keeps saying “This is the worse electrical(plumbing,drywalling etc)”work I have ever seen!
Like he never made a mistake in his life! He is so full of it its unbelieveable. Who made him King of Contractors! By the way the Mike Holmes of this world make mistakes and Karma
is powerful-one day those mistakes are exposed.
March 26th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
While not a contractor myself, I have serially rehabbed multiple houses as my personal residence and houses that I have flipped. My wife and I have gotten hooked on watching Holmes on Homes. I think the program is great because the problems that he finds and corrects are what I see in every rehab.
I have about decade’s worth of experience in working with contractors and home builders. Are there good contractors out there, absolutely. I’ve found out who they are and I continue to use only the best of them. Can an average homeowner figure out who those good contractors are? No.
Why? All that a homeowner can see is what is on the surface. They don’t have the knowledge to know when a contractor is doing a poor job and generally don’t have the courage to halt a job if they are suspicious that a contractor is doing shoddy work. Most homeowners rely on references from friends and neighbors, but these are useless because they don’t know what constitutes quality work.
Based on my personal experience, the ratio of unqualified contractors to qualified contractors is eight to one. It’s probably higher with new home construction unless you are using a high end custom home builder.
There are a number of MUST DO’s to protect yourself as an (honest) homeowner trying to get a good job done at a fair price.
You MUST have a written contract that specifies exactly what will be done, when it will be done, what constitutes completion, and when and how the contractor will get paid.
You MUST educate yourself about the right way to do the work and inspect the work EVERY SINGLE DAY.
You MUST get the permits and you MUST be there when the inspections are done so you can talk to the inspector when he walks through the job site.
You MUST specify what materials are to be used and you MUST budget for hidden problems and changes.
You MUST take pictures of every step in the construction job. If you go to court, you will need proof thatthe contractor violated the contract and you will need proof to defend yourself against a mechanics lien.
The good contractors never need to look for work. The work comes to them. The good ones are also very picky about their customers. They all have stories of customers who wanted work done at too cheap a price and they got burned by homeowner turned around and complained about the job when the job that they were willing to pay for, and then ended up getting stiffed by the homeowner.
It all comes down to doing your homework. Your home is probably your most valuable asset and you can destroy the value of your home if the work is done improperly. There won’t be a Mike Holmes to bail you out if it all goes badly.
March 27th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Hi~
My name is Debbie Schloesser and I had a house built this year; or should I say it took over a year to get moved in. There are so many things wrong with it and the contractor has all my money. He did not finish all of it and now he spent my money to finish other things and has nothing left to finish mine!
I heard you might be able to help. I am a single mom and don’t know how to get what I already paid for.
If you know of some way for me to get things completed it would sure be appreciated.
If you need more info – just let me know.
Thank you for listening
March 27th, 2010 at 5:16 pm
Wow w.shaw! Apparently you don’t pay attention to what Mike actually says during the show, if you really watch it at all. He doesn’t claim to know everything about everything and mentions that many times while also saying that he will bring in the professionals who do know. Sounds like some insecurity issues going on with you. Lighten up Francis
March 28th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
In the 1950’s when I was nine years old, I worked in the construction industry. My dad was a general contractor building triplex homes, a duplex with a house in the middle. He used to build 150 at a time and I can tell you that even at the tender age of nine, I new to never buy a house my father built. I personally was present when he got 143 units inspected without the inspector ever leaving his office. About 3 hours after I was told to bring my dad the large red and very blank inspection signs, and the consumption of a couple of bottles of Jack Daniels, I was handed the now completed inspections and a staple gun to go and post them on the houses. The next two summers were spent working with the crew that had to handle all the complaints of shoddy workmanship from the homeowners.
Then in the summer of1984 my family and I moved to a small town in Oregon and rented a house. About a week before Christmas, 6 inches of snow on the ground with a temp of around 8 degrees, my wife wakes me up to say the house is on fire and I am not kidding. Well sure enough, she was right and I learned the value of having replacement value on my renters insurance. It seems one of those “we don’t need no stinking permits” kind of contractors wired half the house with aluminum wire and half with copper into a panel designed for copper only and it set the wall of the garage on fire.
But alas, stupid contractors strike again, in 2006 when we buy a house in New Mexico and we find that we can’t use any of the outside faucets because they are installed incorrectly, the house leaks air like Swiss cheese, the sheet rock has pulled away from some of the walls, the furnace for the floor heat only works for one season before needing to be rebuilt and about 2 years after we moved in, a former worker for the builder stopped by to show us pictures of the builder watering down the concrete for the slab because he did not order enough concrete, so the floor cracks the tile, and to top it off, the outside wall of the master bedroom is 3/8’s of an inch out of plumb.
So given the wonderful track record of these misunderstood contractors since the 1950’s till now, you won’t mind if I have trouble buying any part of the no inspection, no insurance and no accountability that today’s contractors are whining about.
GO MIKE!!!!
March 28th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Although I have been reading these posts for a while now, I never wrote anything here. For the ones the know Mike Holmes personally, well… lucky you. One of my wishes is to know him personally one day – he is my HERO. He is not only an excellent contractor, he knows his job, and he is not “full of it” like some people wrote in these pages. To me, Mr. Holmes is a professional, caring, loving person; he has a heart of gold. Not only he helps people in need but he also helps charities… and teaches. He does not pretend to know everything – he brings in professionals to do what he is not “strong at doing”…
For the person that mention about Mr. Holmes and Pinkie… so what? What about if they had something going on? She is single and he is divorce – their business (period). For the dentist – WOW… we can see here that you must be out of your door with the sign that says – “Buy one get one free”… as any other healthcare professional, normally people go by reference… and if you don’t have patients and you recognize that there are always someone better – well take care and try to be a better professional and just DO THINGS RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. I don’t think that there is anything hiding in Mr. Holmes’ work… He does and shows it on camera. I love his shows, I love him… Can someone clone him? Leave the clone in Canada and bring the real Mike Holmes to New Jersey, USA…
March 28th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
One of the reasons I decided to leave my thoughts in these pages were a post I found a couple of days ago on HUB pages. There is another contractor, who is probably out of work (???) who has this page called – MIKE HOLMES EXPOSED and where he deceives Mr. Holmes. Also, I can see that people who write on his blog are those shoddy contractors who leave the people with the work half done and run away with their money, actually, those who Mike exposes. A few weeks ago he even had one of those funny movies from Youtube… He talked garbage about Mr. Holmes. I tried to leave my positive comments on his pages but unfortunately he deleted them several times. Finally, I had to write a formal letter to the blog administrators so he was forced to remove part of his dim-witted comments about Mr. Holmes. His name is John Kowal and he goes by the name of Kowality. The blog is “not that bad” right now because he actually changed the whole idea – “he gets $$$ for every person who clicks on an add when reading his blogs…” so I believe it was an intelligent idea to change the story. He is also a contractor “a frustrated one I guess” – but I am happy that after several attempts I was able to force him to change “the story” so Mr. Holmes’ name is as clean as fresh water, as it should be. Congratulations Mike Holmes, keep up the good work and for Mr. Kowal, if he reads these comments one day … well … The strength of your jealousy is proportional to power of Holmes’ growth” See you….
March 29th, 2010 at 11:52 am
Thank you ANA. There are not enough hours in the day to expose the garbage one can find on the internet. Individuals need to check out statements before passing on the information as fact (email is a good example). If everyone did the right thing, Mike Holmes would not have a TV series exposing the problems. I have no doubt that Mike Holmes would gladly cancel his series in exchange for everyone doing the right thing. Obviously this is a ‘pie in the sky’ hope. Once again, thank you for your efforts.
April 14th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Question does Mike and crew like to fish ?
My wife and I purchased a lakehouse seventeen years ago , it is what I call a splitlevel house , half underground half above After a year owning the house we dicovered the wall leaking and have been fighting this problem ever since have any ideas ?
May 3rd, 2010 at 9:39 am
I have to comment here, as I am a professional inspector that specializes in the structural aspect. I so often have to deal with, (and inevitably argue with), contractors and subs that feel that I am holding them to too tight of tolerances. Something I point out, every once in a great while, is that no Building code used on any portion of the North American continent, with the exception of BOCA, has ever had any input from inspectors during any portion of conception through publishing. That’s right – Contractors, Manufacturers and Engineers contributed and created the codes in use.
I do run into the good guys from time to time, but often enough I find foremen so jaded with their work over time, that they seem to feel that they can do no wrong, and I’m a jerk for picking at them. I would love to do pro-bono work for residents, however so often people want to believe what is being fed to them. It isn’t always within the Homeowners grasp to determine what is right, wrong or indifferent about what they are being told. After all, something usually only looks wrong if someone has had previous experience with it being done right, and wrong.
Lastly, for those of you suggesting that permits are optional: I am a homeowner and I do much of my own work. I do pull a permit each time I intend to change something, regardless of what it does to any taxes I owe. Something many don’t realize is that any work done and not inspected is NOT covered by homeowners insurance. Try explaining a kitchen fire due to incorrect 240 volt wiring. I hope you got an extra $10,000 sitting around…
May 8th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
I recently discovered Holmes on Homes this year and now I’m hooked on it. While I do think he has a tendency to go overboard (he even admits it, though fun to watch) I’m glad that he takes the time to go overboard and do it right. Most of what I’ve seen on the show looks like it will last a lifetime, not just for a few years until the current owners decide to sell.
I have learned so much about the process of home renovations and many do’s and don’ts when hiring contractors. Which is good for me since, while I still live with my parents (I’m 20 and still in college), I plan on buying a fixer-upper for my first house. Because I’ve started watching DIY shows about renovation and now Holmes on Homes which tells me how to prevent getting a shoddy contractor and when (or if) I should put my foot down and really question the work.
I feel like I can actually make an informed decision (and realistic one at that) about doing something like that or about hiring someone after I watch this show.
May 10th, 2010 at 12:10 am
I can’t begin to tell you how much I have enjoyed watching the show! After 20 years of living in post housing and watching my money just go up in smoke I decided to take the big leap and have a house built.
I have been very fortunate to watch and participate in the building and planning of my home! The house is almost complete but I have Mike Holmes words of wisdom in the back of my head. I very frequently go out to the building site with camera in hand and take photos of everything! Mike’s meticulous attention to detail helped me catch short comings more than once and as the house nears completion I have a strong sense of comfort that I am getting what I paid for.
While the Builder has been outstanding and communicates with me frequently I was assured even more by taking time to talk to the sub-contractors who had nothing but praise for my builder.
While I am sure I am getting a great product, I have to credit Holmes on Homes with helping me, indirectly, keep an honest man honest.
Thanks for stepping up as the old Sage of construction done right!
Dan, Olympia, WA
May 10th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
I too like mike and what he is about, i am a contractor and if i bid a job like he whould do i whould be out of a job. no “tipical home owner knows what is behind any wall” and if im doing a job and find something wrong and they dont or cant afford to fix it, where do i stand as to finish my part of the job,no matter the problems down the road. With mike if a bath floor is wrong “and thats all the contractor was to do” mike whould give them a whole new bath and hell may b a new kitchen. YES MONEY TALKS FOR THE RIGHT PRICE I WILL BUILD U A SPACE SHUTTLE. one show he spent 220,000.00 on heating and cooling system. HELLO the house was only worth 190,00.00??????????????????????????????????
May 23rd, 2010 at 9:39 pm
I love Holmes on Homes!!!
I am wondering why the government makes me hire licensed contractors, then have an inspector come and inspect their work. why cant I do the work myself and then have them come inspect my work?
I am very handy and I wired my whole house and the inspector commented on how all electricial work should be this nice. but I had to pay an electrician to file and be present for the inspection.
June 16th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
I just want to know who picks up the tab for all of these renos. We’re talking a lot of money.
July 22nd, 2010 at 4:49 pm
Interesting points of views, Myself, Not overly convinced of Big Mike holmes on what he may know or not know. His arrogance that he knows it all, more less is a failure in the future making, he has some good idea’s and that comes from his subs, not him personally and I really question what basic knowledge he does have. Anyone can be a hero, and the tv show made him just that. Remember also, if all the people had the money he is willing to spend to “make it right”, would make it easier for all contractors to do a better job also, what about 10,000 to remodel when that is all the homeowner has to spend, but you really need 50,000, of course the corner is cut, and most homeowner nowdays don’t have enough to do it correctly, remember this housing crunch we are in with people losing their houses. Also do you ever see mike doing anything himself other than talk smart,play hero, and the only one that gets it right, he good at tearing drywall off and using a shovel. His show is perfect for the do-it-yourselfer, that has no knowledge of of remodeling or general construction. And that really is his base viewers, He doesn’t impress me at all, furthermore he should be considerate in a more appealing way, rather than being arrogant and a know it all. I’ve been a contractor around homes for over 35 years, the method is selling yourself without bad mouthing the other contracting people, mentioning to the homeowner cheaper isn’t always the best, and remember we all make mistakes(to include mike, which wouldn’t be aired)and also the day you talk so smart that you know it all is the day you get burned, and I believe Arrogant Mike will have his day forthcoming, keep reading the forums and it will show up at some point, as far a sloopy workmanship goes, nothing wrong with with pointing it out and to be careful, but be respectful to the trade as a whole is still important.
August 4th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
How do you get holmes to come to your place ?
September 2nd, 2010 at 5:21 am
Dear MR holmes
Mom and i moved to this three story of because of her illness.The people who build
the home did’nt put anything between the floor and celling.What can be done to stop all the nosie coming down on us.
thank-you and God Bless you.
PS We watch your show all the time it’s great
learn a lot.
December 14th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
I must say that I love Mike’s show and that I agree 100% with his philosophy of do it right the first time. I have been working as an auto mechanic for most of my life and one of the things that I see all the time that relates to what Mike always says is that people, either the mechanic or the customer does not do or have the job done as it should be done and then often times the vehichle comes back from some type of problem. Also many times the shops use extremely cheap quality parts that end up failing and as again the job must be done over which now means more money has been spent then it would have cost to do the job either correct or with a quality part. There are some areas where it doesn’t pay to cut corners. Also from having hired home contractors I can say first hand that if I hadn’t been there watching what was being done then job would have been done not to my liking, the wrong color shingles for example on the new roof that I had sat down and went over with the contractor. Anyway if more people followed Mike’s philosphy then more customers would be happier. I would gladly pay extra knowing i am getting a job done right and with quality material that will last. I don’t have the time or money to do something a second time.
January 23rd, 2011 at 8:22 pm
I love the show but I tell everyone that it is the scariest show on television. Mike’s the guy I’d love to have working on my house. I’m pretty sure that it was never inspected when it was built.
February 4th, 2011 at 12:16 am
There are both positive and negative aspects to a home improvement show. Poor workmanship is exposed, however the average viewer now has an unrealistic vision as to the cost and timeline of a reno. With all my construction and business experience, I’m willing to bet that most homeowners in awe of Mike and his crews’ capabilities are unwilling to pay the price for his quality, and will look for someone to work within their budget. Due to material delivery, weather, subcontractor scheduling and various other logistic obsticals, jobs almost always cost more and take longer than what is planned. It takes several weeks, at least, to construct what is squeezed into a one hour episode, and I have seen questionable workmanship on the show as well. Although I applaud the show for its exposure to negative experience that we can learn from, its best to try to become a slight expert on the work you want to hire a trade to do. Unfortunatly at some point, you have to trust someone to do it.
February 12th, 2011 at 9:46 pm
I have been in construction since I was 12-years-old, drawn in by my grandfather a true engineer and craftsman. Donald believed that the work we do, and the things that we build are monuments to our abilities for future generations to admire. I went to vocational for building trades and then went though the Carpenter’s Union Apprenticeship Program. My career in construction, spans over 4 decades. Mike Holmes is the only individual that I have ever seen, whose work approaches the perfectionist quality of my work. I love the fact that he prefers screws rather than nails. It is great that he uses 21st Century adhesives that will last for generations (read some of the wind shear ratings for adhesives vs. nails 4” O.C.)
The brief euphoria & sweet taste of a great price will always be followed by the bitter lingering after-taste of the true cost of rectifying the illusion of the gr8 price.
March 9th, 2011 at 11:29 pm
I’m not a big fan. Some of the shows are displaying very poor contractors, and some of the stuff that those contractors are doing correctly are demolished because it can be done better. Of course cost is no issue to him. One real life experince for me was due to his insulation obsession. Had a client that insisted on spray insulation(polyurethane) because of holmes, and was shocked when the price was three times as much. As with everything there is a good, better, best, and we all know Mike is not dealing with a budget. If I bid every project I did with the absolute complete destruction of everything i deemed “not so good” and re-built it “appropriately” according to Mike every home owner would shocked at the price. So please take his show with a “grain of salt” it is entertainment, and so must trash peoples work
April 3rd, 2011 at 3:30 am
Mike is taking holmes that were abused by crooked and poor contracting and turning them into dream homes. Remember it’s a show. So just bringing things to ok or par wouldn’t make a great show. Plus the fact that these home owners they choose have really been abused by contractors and have waited years to get their home fixed means that going the extra mile for these people is warranted.
Mike never hates on the old contractors but instead I’ve noticed he only points out sloppy work. Where fraud is involved though that is another matter. There is a lot of fraud and abuse of homeowners in the construction world. It’s simply bound to happen in any field where the customer is relying on the sales person to have all the knowledge and do the job right.
So of course he uses high end products, electrical, tile, plumbing, insulation, etc why would you just do things mediocre when these home owners have been abused by the previous contractor, not to mention they’re trying to make it into a show. Most of the criticisms above are baseless and argumentative. The guy does excellent work and when your on tv there is no end to the haters.
April 3rd, 2011 at 3:36 am
People above are complaining that Mikes costs are exorbitant. However I’ve watched nearly all the Holmes on Homes episodes and the renovations are generally between $50,000 and (the most extreme) $150,000. The latter being major structural damage where the house was a lemon and had to be entirely gutted.
If you’re totally remodeling a house for much less than this your probably not going to get a great renovation. Remodeling is expensive. Materials are expensive, bringing in crews which specialize in their trade is expensive. The only other option if you don’t want to spend the money, learn these processes yourself and do it on your own time. It won’t be fast, but you’ll get the quality you want. Yet there is a risk in that hopefully you don’t screw anything up.
April 3rd, 2011 at 9:55 am
Holms on homes is a great show, but what i have found is most home owners watch these shows and don’t realize the cost. So when i come in and bid a job with the cost of my labor, insurance ( liability and workers comp), permits, ext. they cant believe it , so some jack leg comes along gives some price i could never touch and they go with him. They get burned then they want to blame every one but them self’s for going with the low bid.
April 3rd, 2011 at 10:58 pm
Alot of goofs out here, thinking holmes is the man, get real! I’ve been a subcontractor for 37 years and never wanted complaints and had very few. I believe in doing a decent job according to what the homeowner is willing and can afford. Remember folks if we as all subs have the money to redo the project the way it needs to be addressed like mike holmes gets(TV series,advertising dollars) there would be a lot less problems, but like most people in this economy its all about price, and thats not being mentioned here. The sad part whats going on here with all the do-it yourselfers think his is god, when in respect all he really is “just another sub with a cash background, and he is no better than his subs either, some of his practices I used to watch(in the beginning)to me weren’t right, and I discontinued watch his putting down everyone in the biz. There are a lot of good sub’s, I think he doesn’t do the trade business “any justice” good or bad, “over spoken smart mouth with money behind him”
April 4th, 2011 at 2:02 am
I am a fan of Mike Holms shows, and think that he is preforming a much needed service. My question is what if anything is done about the incompetent/dishonest contractors and or inspectors who did such a terrible job on the houses that he and him team work on?
April 4th, 2011 at 10:25 am
Curt, please try to keep your comments relevant and accurate.
You will notice that the jobs Mike takes are often quoted at a ‘reasonable’ price for the work, and only a handful have been because the homeowner took the ‘low bid.’ What’s more, these jobs often escalate well beyond the point of reasonable prices if the homeowner doesn’t stop the job, and as Mike has put it “For that price, I could’ve just tore it all down and built you a brand new home.” Thus, if your defense of these contractors and in some cases outright scam artists is “Well, if the homeowner paid enough…” Sorry, that’s just false.
What’s more – I see him working with excellent trades and subs, those who he’s established a long history with and knows their work. What’s unusual about that? Does he put them down? No, in fact he often says “That’s what I like to see,” or otherwise inspects and compliments their work.
Often, you’ll see Mike inspecting work and saying “Well, at least the person who did the (example: plumbing, electrical, finish work) obviously knew what they were doing, and cared.” To say that he digs on all the subs is to be defensive of insult and injury that is simply not there.
There have been cases where, sadly, he has had to do the absolute bare minimum to make a place safe and livable, such as the home that was improperly jacked up, and left gaping holes into the basement where her sons were living. That said, he still did it right, and he was limited by the amount of money available for the homeowner to pay with.
Please, keep your insults of Mike to yourself, and quote only the experience you actually have. That is to say, you’ve never visited Mike’s work, you don’t know what is being staged/shown for TV, and you have no legitimate claim to the statements you’re making about him.
May 21st, 2011 at 6:40 am
I have just started watching this show over here in Australia.and i think mike does a great job.The one question i have about the show is
1) how does he pic a person to help out
2) who pays for all the work that he does ?
Is it all payed for by sponsors or does the people he is helping have to pay for his work ?
June 12th, 2011 at 8:28 pm
I think Mike’s great, I enjoy watching the show, I dont know him, I live in Colorado wish he listed some good contractors for every state, cant trust anymore.
PS seems like alot of negative comments, why be like that?
June 13th, 2011 at 3:50 pm
I’ve been “anguishing” with a situation that at one time included foreclosure on my home. This was initiated by a general contractor that has a regular Sat AM radio show, and that’s how I sought him out originally. My concerns escalated to hiring a home inspector when nearing completion and findings were problems with virtually every aspect of work: roof, siding, windows, deck, gutters, foundation, skylight,
painting. The 250K contract (not reviewed in advance by my atty) provided for mediation.
The mediator suggested to the general contractor that as no permit was taken out for:
building, foundation, electrical – that it would be hard to collect for work not “permitted” (Only a deck permit was submitted by the gen. contractor) – so the
foreclosure action went away.
A year later we “settled” but my 60K+ legal and professional fees were my responsibility. Terms of the settlement were no disclosure of terms nor disparagement of the parties (subs). Now I’m in an analysis paralysis to fix the defects as NO trade associations (Portland Homebuilders Assn + Portland Remodelers Organization) will even respond to my request/question about “Code of Conduct” or Code of Ethics.
Also, the three radio shows – Handy Randy, Builder Bob, and Mr Fixit. The CCB and Angie’s List are silent as the case was “settled” (no adverse record) My analogy is a spousal abuse (“wife beating”) arrest that gets erased if the victim drops charges. The gen contractor continues his call-in show today!
Buyer Beware. . esp someone that seems like a good ‘ole boy and trustworthy? photos and other evidence if you’re interested.
July 28th, 2011 at 5:37 pm
BATS beyond belief living in my home and now I need MIKE HOLMES to seriously help!!!!!!! There are over 400 bats crawling up and down the walls and ceilings in my 111 year old home here on Long Island next to Grummans Aircraft which makes it the oldest home built by an Indian. I am now being forced to leave the home as I have come down with a disease AML Leukemia and have been asked to leave by my oncologist. I am unable to work or move on my own and live with my two dogs and no family to help. They alwys come in. 175 leave every night to hunt Trying to save them but can’t get help since my STATE FARM homeowners dropped me and said it is a hazzard and can no longer insure me since it is getting me sick and the house is infested with molds fungus and bat poop leaking through the ceilings and is falling out of some of the cracks. They said the walls and ceilings have to be torn down and the house may have to be knocked down and they will not do that even though the house was fully insured at the time of claim and issued a claim number. They are blaiming me for the situation since I was in the hospital with Leukemia and did not call them while I was there. They were acutally called the year before and failed to follow through when their agent died from cancer and couldn’t follow through. The records show that and then they said since I had an extreme Puff back with my boiler and the soot ruined over 85% of the home and belongings they will not handle the claim. They are holding my HLOME hostage. Is their heart in this at all. The BATS are soo important for the environment. This home has become a real safe haven for them and yet State Farm has failed to do what they said they would but have not done anything to help me when things have turned for the worse. BAT-TER UP. Will any one step up to the plate…..I really don’t know , what to do……..The house is on Central Ave, a main road, is a business location and just may be a landmark. The bats are ruining the house to such a degree that it may just destroy a special place over 100 years old Please can you help and maybe Point me in some direction.
August 10th, 2011 at 5:34 pm
When considering a contract, the contractor will say it will take X number of days to complete, consider the man hours and supplies and then submit a price. The customer will then agree on the price. The contractor will then go out and employ people who say they know provincial building codes at next to minimum wage and coerce these employees to speed it up so they will cut corners. The end result is the contractor only pays for two days of work, when it should have taken five, Bonus.
August 10th, 2011 at 5:53 pm
I am a Gas and appliance service person. I do not do residential, only commercial and industrial. I have worked for, and I am still working for, an employer who takes units out of commission, because it would be cheaper to replace than rebuild. My employer then scavenges the defunct unit and the re-sells what could be working parts. I work in an environment of I don’t know what is, in regards to replacement parts, I don’t know from good or bad parts. The long and short of it is, If you’re not running your own business you will do as your told. I also have the added bonus of wondering what the problem is, was the part I just replaced proved as good or was it the problem in the first place. Stay away from Mom & Pop contractors, they will steal your soul, meaning they will insist you circumvent CODES.
Personally I’m running around the Internet looking for what ever happened to that electrician that butchered the wiring codes?
October 9th, 2011 at 11:28 am
As a contractor, I at first found Holmes’ show to be somewhat entertaining and informative. However, after watching a multitude of episodes, I find his constant bashing of his own field as a little disconcerting. I did a little research on the show. He principally flits about here and there (in Canada) and comes across the exception more than what the contracting field actually provides its customers. Any of us has come across previously poor contracting work and poor homeowner effort. But, I gotta ask, his constant invictive attitude about his own trade?! There is no balance in this show. Too, if you watch enough, you will see Holmes either sell the homeowner, or use his show to purchase, items, processes, or techniques that are either unnecessary or overkill. He also subs out nearly 95 percent of his work. Anyone can sub out work. And, anyone can pick up a sledgehammer or use 230 pounds of his own weight to bring down a bulkhead. Frequently, his solution to a problem is to completely tear it out. And, the reasons? Because he doesn’t like it? Where is the contractor rationale in half of his tear outs?!
If you want balance and shows that might teach you more, I would recommend stalwart shows like Hometime and This Old House. At least they aren’t bashing their own profession. My DVR doesn’t have room for Holmes anymore. To me, he is just another contractor with an excuse to make more money. In this case, is for ratings and the income generated from this show, or is it truly from his trade as a contractor? You be the judge.
October 10th, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Harry,
Your experience as a contractor is obviously severely lacking if you can honestly say you watched the show and say he tears everything apart for no reason.
I’ve seen episodes where there’s knob and tube connected to modern wiring, aluminum to copper, plumbing that’s not even glued together, drywall hung with straight nails, improper use of or complete lack of insulation, etc.
The reason he tears most stuff down entirely is because it’s simply not salvageable. Good luck with your beliefs, however – your clients are going to pay the price.
– Katie
January 29th, 2012 at 10:26 pm
Nice Australian people – let me tell you, Mike Holmes is the best to be a deceiver, no construction skills but lousy deck builder, insulting innocent people for year’s, Home Depot cancelled this show very soon , after lot’s of complaint’s, he is an alcoholic who walk out of the bar on four many times.
Lousy man pretending as a super contractor, failed exams to be a home inspector – twice – .
Super dumb as a stick, failure, fake, fiction and all under HGTV network, Shame on HGTV and pervert Mike Holmes !!!!!
May 3rd, 2012 at 1:44 pm
This may have been said but to the person who said “As for me I am ok with doing the job “good enough”. Getting it right smacks to much of legalism to me.”….remind me never to hire you to do a contracting job in my home.
I will pay a higher price for a legit and perfectly done contracting job (and for the peace of mind that my house won’t flood or burn down), no questions asked.
May 27th, 2012 at 2:46 am
Holmes has raised awareness. That’s good. But he is also often completely full of crap. He spouts half truths and other pseudo science that laypeople would never question but those of us in the business know to be BS. Simple repairs turn into major demolition unnecessarily. The part I hate the most is the “extreme home makeover edition” aspect where HE is changing the scope of work.
BUT he does raise awareness. And that opens the door to conversation with our clients and that is a good thing
July 24th, 2012 at 1:54 pm
I am in the business. If you want it done right, you can only do it one way. There are no short cuts. If its covered in mold and asbestos, you have to remove it, or it will come back. Plumbing and electrical belong in the wall. Venting is necessary in plumbing. Grounding is necessary in electrical. Insulation is necessary in houses, or you will pay big heating bills. If you want a house that doesn’t cause excess maintenance bills, or heaven forbid, health problems, then do it the MIKE HOLMES way.
July 25th, 2012 at 10:14 am
NY Design – Once again, I think you’re missing the point.
I do concur that Mike can overdo some things, and yes, he often modifies the scope of the work, but usually only at his expense. The homeowners lose nothing when he does this, and things are done right. Moreover, the change in scope is often because of a desperate need in the situation – doing structural underpinning, removing oil tanks (and any contractor that tells me you don’t need to remove it is lying), or, sometimes, simply putting in a quality finished bathroom so that someone can simply live decently.
To say he doesn’t know what he’s doing or talking about, however, is quite another thing and bordering on a character attack. If you don’t like what he does, fine, but just don’t look for my business.
September 26th, 2012 at 2:29 am
Hey, I am dying to know if any of the contractors that made all the initial crappy changes/modifications are ever brought up on charges?? I just have to know if those shady and unqualified people get their arses handed to them!!
November 19th, 2012 at 2:28 am
Mike Holmes makes me wish I had continued further with a second career as a home inspector. I found that the course I took was generally poor compaired to what I did
know about electrical wiring and plumbing and general
home construction. I felt that realitors considered me as a
“deal” killer. I was in a position for easy retirement. If I was in early twenties now, I would take at least a basic
inspection course and then take more advanced training
February 17th, 2013 at 2:51 am
I was in construction in my college days. Heres a example of contruction. We were finishing a basement. We were all getting headaches, I noticed a drip from a exhaust pipe on the furnance. I inspected it and it was not glued. This was a brand new house! (Always check your furnance exhaust pipe yourself.) The inspectors never checked this. Everytime a city inspector came to check our work it was about 3 minutes. The ones that put more effort in were retarded saying things that were correct were not. We would convince them that they were wrong and they would be on there way. The best way to make sure the job is getting done right is to give your workers free pizza be nice, watch them, 1 or 2 free beers a day, ask questons but dont hover.