Ever since I have been watching shows on home reno’s and home inspections ( Like Holmes on Homes), I find that I research more and do less…way way less. I am afraid to make a mistake because of the lambasting he gives people that DIY it the wrong way! No wonder my house is taking forever – I am only 1/2 kidding hahaha
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Replies
david
you can never study too much.
Do it right or do it wrong-which one do you think takes more time?
to a successful conclusion?
If I promise not to tell Holms about you will you give me my tinfoil hat back?
If you're depending on Holmes for good construction practices you are in trouble. He has no bills to pay so he can do whatever cock-a -mamie things he wants. Real life isn't like that.
Keep in mind that the guy is a talk-radio style jerk, because that's what sells these days.
Do you ever have anything
xovmn
Holmes is Right
He's spot-on.
Note that nearly every flaw he uncovers was done AFTER the original construction. That's point #1.
In rebuilding my $6000 house, I am amazed at the "advice" folks have given me, and some of the kludge put forth by contractors. Friends with rental properties are the worst when it comes to hack methods!
Sometimes they just don't know better. Other times, they do know better, but seem to delight in trying to fool you into harming the biggest investment you'll ever make. Some friends.
Let's not forget the simple pride some take in doing things wrong, just because they can.
Another good point Holmes makes is that "minimum" code is just that - and sometimes, you really want to do better. Better change that to "you almost always want to do better than 'minimum' code. Who here would deliberately choose to drive a Yugo (it meets all the minimum codes) or work for minimum wage?
"Fine Homebuilding." That's what we value. Not "minimalist" or 'barely adequate' or 'hacks the inspector will never see' homebuilding.
I wonder how many of Holmes' critics here also sneer at using Harbor Freight / cheap Chinese tools?
torque = Kt*I = Hf*$$
This spoof if good for a chuckle.
I go to HF EVERY time there is a free coupon for the little multimeter ... only have about 50 of them , heh, heh.... 10 of which are burnt out
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.431975060146847.106360.145522102125479&type=1
Right. All you do is tell your customers that you want to do it right and damn the costs! Just like Mike Holmes. You do understand that his "customers" aren't paying much of anything for him to come "fix" their houses don't you? I've watched way too many of his shows and found that an awful lot of the houses he fixes were DIY work. About once a season he manages to find a house that was done by some guys calling themselves contractors. Just calling yourself a contractor doesn't make you one anymore than driving fast ,makes you a NASCAR driver.
Sure is easy to make assertions out of the blue, without bothering to confuse yourself with facts! Why some folks feel a need to belittle (or slander) successful folks I'll never understand.
Holmes, in nearly every episode of his "Holmes on Homes" show, makes clear that they are coming in after another, real contractor has dropped the ball. Often there are signed permits - which document the other contrractor's involvement. There's the contract from the other guy. One guy still had his trailer on site, and another liened the job. Who can forget the episode with the freezing pipes in the brand-new townhouse? The dividing wall with no insulation in one section? Doesn't sound like DIY to me.
Holmes also makes plain the financial contribution of the homeowner: he'll settle for whatever's due the last guy. Folks are already out money - often large amounts. Hardly a 'free' remodel. Again, Holmes could not settle for this without documentation from the other contractor.
Expense? Fixing errors is always expensive, far more expensive than doing things right. You have to remove the kludge, prep the area, and then do it over.
I've met far too many 'contractors' whose idea of proper work does not include fixing whatever damage or mistakes you uncover along the way. For example, the roofer who will happily slap shingles over rotten wood. Plumbers are, as a group, all too willing to compromise a structure, without even trying to allow for load transfer. HVAC guys seem to feel 'anything goes' electrically.
In the course of my work, it's very common for me to find work exactly like the things Holmes finds. Heck, sometimes I'm working right next to the hack!
In the course of remodeling my house, it's amazing the contractors who run away after I meet with them. I appears the last thing they want is a customer who both knows the job site and knows what he wants.
Why is there always time and money to 'do it over,' but never enough to 'do it right?'
Nothing like watching vinyl siding guys side over rot, and sometimes not even put up any sort of underlayment. Niiiice...
Maybe the reason contractors run away from you is your disdain of them shows through and they sense problems ahead. Just a thought, I don't know you.
However, the half-dozen times I've watched that show the guy has always made some incorrect statement about something, or found some reason to criticize perfectly good work, while he himself seems to use some questionable techniques. His hypercritical shtick is a part of his "act", since that sort of thing sells to a certain type of audience.
"I've met far too many
"I've met far too many 'contractors' whose idea of proper work does not include fixing whatever damage or mistakes you uncover along the way."
Yes, very true in some fantasy world of TvLand but not very applicable to real life and that's the whole problem with his show, it's a fantasy. I've only been doing this for 40 years so maybe you have more experience than me but I've had very few customers over the years who had the money for unlimited "fixes" for all the low quality work that's been done to their houses. None of us would be in business long if we adopted his attitude of " I have to tear this wall down so I can see what's in it" attitude. It makes good TV for tho same people who think Bathroom Crashers or its ilk are real.
Back in the real world of budgets and contracts we fix what we can fix for free or what the customer can pay for, nothing else.
My favorite Mike moment
This interview is my favorite Mike moment...... whether or not he is certified to work in the trades in Canada has been debated because plumbing and elecrtical here are complulsory certification trades, and the carpenters in my province anyway are trying to get the same thing.....anyway, watch this. Funy, too, my province paid him big bucks for years for TV ads 'ask for the card'( only hire certified tradespeople). http://www.canadiancontractor.ca/distractions/the-mike-interviews-part-6
if only it were so black and white.......
I wish all you had to do was do things the best possible way known to be correct.
Overkill can be wasteful and is for sure a career killer in my experience.
The best solution is way more elusive, almost everytime.
Good quality construction requires knowledge, skills and abilities....it certainly doesn't happen by accident. If you're new to construction I would hope you spend a great deal of time figuring things out. Even those of use who do it full time have spent years of learning combined with actual doing just to be competitive - those that do the best work spend many times that.
Having said that one of the best homes I've ever set foot in was done by an ameture slowly over a period of a few years. There is no substitute for good judgment and an eagurness to do things right.
Mike Holmes is just a man like any other. There's nothing "superior" about him as a human being. But that doesn't mean he's incapable of distinguishing himself as an advocate of superior craftsmanship. The way I read it, the OP's point is not about Mike Holme's, but Mike Holme's message: "Make it right!"
You guys have always reflected a dedication to best practices. But it's been my experience that you're the exception, not the rule. I've dealt with quite a few contractors over the years. Regrettably, the majority of them took advantage when the opportunity presented itself. I doubt seriously that my experiences were uncharacteristic.
How many professions can you think of that have a reputation for a committment to excelllence? You'd be disappointed with "my" answer. I wouldn't even add the clergy to that list.
I first visited this forum when I began remodeling my house a few years ago. I had done some previous remodeling, so I thought I was "up to speed" on most things. However, I pulled a permit when I started my current project. Having to meet code was something that I had never been faced with. So, I came here looking for help. What a revelation that was. I had no idea how much I didn't know until I spent some time with this group. Nearly every one of you guys was a "Mike Holmes" to this nail bender. You have a lot more in common with him than you realize. That's been good for me, so I think it's a pretty good thing.
Nearly every one of you guys was a "Mike Holmes" to this nail bender.
Now you've gone and insulted us.