Mike Holmes

Michael James Holmes (born August 3, 1963) is a Canadian residential home improvement contractor and television show host. Beginning with Holmes on Homes and subsequent shows, he rescues Toronto, Ontario, area homeowners from renovations gone wrong. He continued in his successor TV series, Holmes Inspection. He is also a judge on HGTV's show Handyman Superstar Challenge and its American counterpart All American Handyman with Scott McGillivray.

Background

Mike Holmes learned his craft from his father, who started teaching him construction work when he was 6 years old. By the time he was 19, Holmes had started his first contracting company with a crew of 13 employees. At 21, Holmes founded his own renovation company. He has run two companies during his 20-year contracting career. He has three children: Amanda, Sherry, and Mike Jr., who have all appeared and worked on his shows.

In 2006, Holmes started The Holmes Foundation after seeing a renovation that was so poorly done that he felt it was necessary for him to tear the house down and start again rather than try to repair the damage.^[1] The purpose of The Holmes Foundation is to encourage young people to enter the building trades as well as to assist those who have been impoverished by bad renovations. Mike is well known for his contribution to the international community through his work with SOS Children's Villages.

In 2006, Mike Holmes was recognized in Canada’s House of Commons for his promotion of skilled trades and for his advocacy for improved building standards. He was acknowledged as an "extraordinary craftsperson" and "an accomplished master builder with a social conscience".^[2]

Holmes is the author of two successful books: the national bestseller Home Renovation with Canada’s Most Trusted Contractor (ISBN 978-1-60320-194-0) and Holmes Inspection: Everything you Need to Know Before You Buy or Sell Your Home (ISBN 978-1-60320-929-8), as well as a weekly newspaper column.^[3][4]

He is the national spokesperson for Skills/Compétences Canada and for WorldSkills Calgary 2009, and is often invited to speak by professional organizations, such as the Canadian Safety Association of Ontario, the Ontario Building Inspectors Association, and the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors.

In May 2010, Reader's Digest's second annual survey named Holmes as the second most widely-trusted person in Canada behind David Suzuki.^[5]

Television series

Holmes on Homes

Broadcast on HGTV Canada, Holmes on Homes first started in 2001. Holmes on Homes was first conceived when Holmes approached the producers of the Just Ask Jon Eakes home improvement show on HGTV with the idea for a new kind of home improvement show. Although there were few submissions to the show initially, their number had ballooned by the fourth season. In one fourth-season episode, Holmes stated that he received hundreds of e-mails a week from people asking him for help. As the show evolved, it generally focused on bad renovations and the results of bad contractors.

In Canada, Holmes on Homes airs on HGTV Canada, BBC Canada, and Casa for the French version. It airs in the US on HGTV and DIY Network, in New Zealand on The Living Channel, in Australia on Lifestyle Home, in the United Kingdom on Discovery Shed (formerly Discovery Real Time), in Germany on DMAX, and in South Africa on the Home Channel.

Holmes in New Orleans

Between the end of Holmes on Homes and the start of Holmes Inspection, Mike Holmes starred in a one-season series on the construction of a new home in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, to replace one destroyed during Hurricane Katrina.^[6]

Holmes Inspection

Holmes began a new series in 2009 called Holmes Inspection that profiles home inspections gone wrong. The series started airing in fall 2009 on HGTV Canada.^[7] In the United States, the series debuted on HGTV on Sunday, December 19, 2010.

Best of Holmes on Homes

Best of Holmes on Homes is a 2012 remix TV series featuring clips from Holmes on Homes, brought together on a common theme, to illustrate home problems. Holmes narrates the show.^[8]

Holmes Makes It Right

Holmes started a new series for 2012 called Holmes Makes It Right, that profiles disaster-struck homes, and renovates them to make them right. The series focuses on natural disasters and bad home inspections or bad contractor work. The name of the series revolves around Holmes's personal motto, "Make It Right".^[9][10][11]

Handyman Challenge franchise

Holmes was a judge on Handyman Superstar Challenge.^[12] He is also a judge on All American Handyman^[13] and on Canada's Handyman Challenge.^[14]

Home Free

In late April 2015, Fox announced a new eight episode Holmes-hosted show entitled Home Free, which premiered on Wednesday, July 22. The show featured nine couples who live in a dilapidated home for a week while they fix it up. At the end of the week, the couple with the worst handiwork is eliminated, until the final two teams compete for their dream home. Unknown to the contestants as they were competing, each eliminated couple was awarded the home that they were working on in the episode they were eliminated in.^[15]

Eight-episode unscripted competition series Home Free premiered Wednesday, July 22nd, 2015, 9p et/pt on Fox. “A home is way more than brick and mortar,” says Home Free host Mike Holmes. “So being part of this new series and partnering with Fox is truly exciting for me. I’m ready to break ground with these couples.” “We’re thrilled to have host Mike Holmes, the most legit name in renovation,” says producer and Relativity Television CEO Tom Forman (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition).^[16]

Business

Mike Holmes Inspections

In 2009 Holmes launched Mike Holmes Inspections, a residential home inspection company. His "Holmes Approved" Home Inspectors are currently inspecting houses across Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario.^[17]

Holmes Homes

Through the Holmes Custom Home program homeowners work with selected builders and designers to create their preferred style of home while meeting his tough standards for quality and sustainability.

Holmes has partnered with several home builders across Canada to develop the Holmes Approved Homes program. The program ensures that homeowners get a high-quality, durable home that is built to exceed industry standards. The goal of the program is to raise the bar for home building to above minimum industry standards. Each home is inspected by Mike Holmes Inspections several times during the building process.

His company is developing "Wind Walk", the first Holmes Community, in southwest Alberta,^[18] a community of eco-friendly and sustainable homes with high standards for residential construction and design.^[19]

The Royal Canadian Regiment

In December 2013, Holmes was appointed as a Patron of The Royal Canadian Regiment.^[20]

Awards and accolades

• 2004 Gemini Awards: Viewers' Choice Award ^[21]
• February 21, 2008 Holmes was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Technology from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT).^[22]
• 2009 Gemini Awards: Holmes in New Orleans: Best Lifestyle/Practical Information Series
• June 18, 2012: The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal ^[23]

Publications

• Holmes, Mike (2010). Make It Right: Kitchens and Bathrooms. HarperCollins Canada. ISBN 1-55468-033-6. 
• Holmes, Mike (2009). Make It Right: Attics and Basements. HarperCollins Canada. ISBN 1-55468-031-X. 
• Holmes, Mike (2008). The Holmes Inspection: Everything You Need to Know Before You Buy Or Sell Your Home. HarperCollins Canada. ISBN 1-55468-043-3. 
• Holmes, Mike (2006). Make it Right: Inside Home Renovation with Canada's Most Trusted Contractor. HarperCollins Canada. ISBN 0-00-200813-0. 

References

External links

• Make It Right from The Holmes Group
• Holmes Makes it Right, Official HGTV Show Site
• Toronto Sun interview with Mike Holmes
• Mike Holmes at the Internet Movie Database
• Video Interview With Mike Holmes for AOL Television
• Mike Holmes biography at The Holmes Spot blog (unofficial)