232 replies to this topic

[Taeolas]

HGTV.ca has started Holmes Inspection, the replacement to Holmes on Homes. I'm not sure why they changed the names, since it seems like he's still doing the same thing he used to do; he finds what's wrong and he fixes it. Main difference seems to be that he spends more of the episode on the inspection, and he leaves his team, now lead by Dammon Bennet (sp.) to do the work. He's also showing off all his new CGI and his new electronics toys. (Remember an ep awhile back where he used Thermal cameras? He has his own thermal camera now and using it. :) ) He's also got a snake cam too that he's using and encouraging his crew to use too.

After the inspection, he reviews all he found wrong with Dammon and lets Dammon handle the actual reno. Dammon himself definitely learned all he knows from Mike. He can't stand to let anything wrong stay wrong. Even before the plumbers found the hole in the tub, you could tell it was coming out; the shower pipes were WAY too loose. The breakdown Dammon had as he looked more and more at that bathroom was classic.

There are some new faces on the team too, but most of the team is the same as before. It was good to see there were at least 3 if not 4 or 5 women working on both Dammon's team and the contractors. (The painters had a woman assisting him in the kitchen doing the counter).

In any case, HoH fans won't be disappointed with HI. It's what we're used to, just less of Mike doing the demo and fixing. (ok so SOME HoH fans may be disappointed with that. :P )

[Shayol]

Woohoo! Mike is back! As Taeolas pointed out, he's not doing the work anymore (and I think he's put on weight because of that), just telling Damon Bennett what needs to be done. I remember Damon's first appearance on Holmes on Homes, when Shawn Morren introduced him as "another young buck like myself" and Damon was too shy to even look at the camera. Now he's the contractor, pulling things up like Mike used to take them down. He stresses more than Mike, as he admitted himself on the six-part New Orleans show (I think).

The same guys are back: Frank the electrician, Craig Lowe, Adam the plumber. I'm just missing my favourites: the roofers. Good stuff.

I look on this show as the sequel to all those first-time home buyer shows. This is what happens when you only look at the outside and buy according to location, location, location. Painting over wallpaper is the least of it.

Watching Mike's previous show helped me when I bought a house. Me, looking at a beam in the furnace room: "They cut out part of the beam." Agent: "It's not serious." Me: "They interfered with the structure. Lord knows what the plumbing and the electrical look like. Let me check the fuse-box." Agent: "Um." Heh.

Edited by Shayol, Oct 5, 2009 @ 6:35 AM.

[odyssey]

HGTV.ca has started Holmes Inspection, the replacement to Holmes on Homes. I'm not sure why they changed the names, since it seems like he's still doing the same thing he used to do; he finds what's wrong and he fixes it.

Holmes On Homes pointed out the mistakes of bad contractors and fixed them. This one is about the mistakes home inspectors make/things they should have caught and then fixing those issues.

[whiteturnera]

No matter what the show's format is, Mike Holmes remains the most honest, down-to-earth TV talent I've ever seen. And I love him for it.

[Taeolas]

Sonotube Infloor/InGround Heating ducts.... WTF? How the hell do you miss something like that?

4 weeks to do all they did in that house. Wow, that was a lot of work, though they did a good job in the end there. Mike did rightfully slap the home owner's wrists for the chimney and the eavestroughing, but even if they had fixed the eavestroughing, I suspect they'd still have the same drainage problems in the basement.

The potlights in the ceiling looked nice too. Felt strange not seeing the kitchen finished, but that wasn't in the scope of what they were doing. Once they get cabinets in, that'll shrink that space down a lot very quickly. :)

[beastiegirl]

Wow, I haven't posted on here in years, I don't think. Just wanted to say I really enjoyed this episode: the couple was cute, the crew seemed to be having a good time, and for once it wasn't all about the foundation. (I think that may be a drawback of the new format: because Mike is focusing on things that aren't immediately visible, there's been a lot of work on roofs and foundations. The information is still excellent, but it makes for slightly less compelling television.)

I enjoyed Mike Jr. referring to Damon as a stress umbrella. That made me laugh. Oh, and could someone with a better TV tell me: have they got a new woman on the crew, or did Kate's hair just get progressively blonder over the course of the month?

[Taeolas]

They have 2 women on the crew... Pinky left after New Orleans, but Sherry (Mike's daughter) came out from behind the scenes (she was doing a lot of office work before), and I'm not positive who the brunette is. (I *think* Sherry is the blond but now I'm not 100% sure).

IIRC Mike has a second daughter still working behind the scenes.

[romanian]

Sherry is the blonde, Kate is the brunette (from the Holmes on Homes crew,changed her hair color) and Mikes daughter Mandy is the one behind the scenes. She also runs the fan forum. Hope that helps.

[peterredtail]

Great show...very interesting. However, some of the problems are pretty obvious - some of these homeowners must be real morons not to notice a saggy porch or weird entry ways? I know when my stepson purchased his house, he insisted on following the home inspector around with Mr. Redtail and the two of them spotted some things that the home inspector missed.

Mike himself looks like he can barely restrain himself from rolling his eyes at these half-wits.

[Taeolas]

There are some dumb home owners, granted. But there are a wide variety of reasons why they may miss some details before they close. ( eg they may be moving to the city from far away, so they have to trust the home inspector because they can't spend a long time on property before closing).

A lot of it can also be just plain ignorance (which is one of the things Mike is trying to teach with this show); the HO's may think they can't be there with the inspector, or that the inspector is the final word and can't miss things or similar. Or they're simply fooled by the inspector and/or seller into thinking that "the sagging roof over the porch isn't a big deal" or "sure there's no problem having your furnace exhaust into the attic", etc....

With this series, Mike is focusing on the inspection process, much like he focused on the contractor process in HOH, and he's trying to teach people what to look for both in commonly missed problems, and in the behavior of the inspector, as well as what the buyers can do to make sure they get their money's worth from the inspection.

After watching this show, were I to get a home inspection done, I'd definitly make sure I did my best to be present and to record what was done, and to make sure the inspector was thorough. Not necessarily poking holes in walls thorough, but at least checking every stain and crack, maybe taking some wall plates off to check wiring, checking the main systems (circuit box, water heater, HVAC), all the plumbing, chimneys, exhausts, etc...

[beastiegirl]

Sherry is the blonde, Kate is the brunette (from the Holmes on Homes crew,changed her hair color) and Mikes daughter Mandy is the one behind the scenes.

Thanks, romanian; I did know all that, I just meant that by the end of this latest episode it looked like there were two blondes - i.e., Sherry and a possibly re-blonded Kate.

Re: the inspection process, from what I've heard it's different in Canada than it is in the States. A friend who has bought in both countries says American inspectors are a lot more thorough whereas in Canada it's practically just a walk-through. It wouldn't surprise me if Mike was trying to change that behind the scenes as well as educate viewers; it's like the Holmes Inspection version of the HOH mantra: "Minimum code sucks."

[barshi50]

What's the chance we will get to see this show some time soon in the US?

I know his old show is on HGTV, but I could use some new Mike :-)

[Taeolas]

CBC Marketplace started a new season with Mike again, this time touching on home inspectors missing the signs of a former growop. By the looks of it, Mike's got another grow-op ep coming up to clean up someone's house and touch on the signs for detecting a grow-op house. Should be an interesting one; the last one he cleaned up was one of my fav eps, and while this house doesn't seem quite as bad, I suspect the problems will be just as bad. (Could be a good ep to play "Find the CBC Camera crew" on too when it airs, since Leslie was right with the home owners when Mike did some of the reveals.)

[romanian]

According to the HGTVoffical and the Make_it_right twitter accounts Holmes Inspection will be coming to us in the USA! About time!

[eon.girl]

According to the HGTVoffical and the Make_it_right twitter accounts Holmes Inspection will be coming to us in the USA! About time!

I can't wait. I love Mike.

I grew up in apartments all my life and bought my first home in the mid 1990s. I knew absolutely nothing! I found the book "The Virgin Homeowner: The Essential Guide to Owning, Maintaining, and Surviving Your First Home" and it saved my sanity. In the first paragraph of the book the author talked her mistake of waving at the home inspector and letting him do his thing. The author taught me to follow the inspector and ask questions. I had no idea the inspector had to run the washer, dryer, dishwasher and even boil water in the microwave.

Whenever I found out friends or relatives were planning on purchasing a home I recommended this book. I had to stop a few years back, the copyright is 1997 -- kind of old now.

Hmmmm ... Mike should write a book ... or has he?

[Taeolas]

He's got a few books and a magazine out, but none on Home Inspections/buying the first Home. The only book I'm famliar with is the one he did during HoH, which IIRC is about Home Renos.

[Shayol]

I can recommend Mike's Holmes Inspection. It's really useful, with red flags to watch out for.

Speaking of new toys, I'm enjoying the spiffy graphics in this show. My favourite is still the electrified beams in the basement (they were metal, and would have been live if they had rubbed off the wire insulation, because the contractor hadn't used plastic grommets).

[Taeolas]

Just saw the latest ep, (which could either be called Conjunction Junction or This Mold House but was actually called 'no breathing room'). Man that house was in rough shape. I agree with Mike and crew, how the hell did any inspector miss that stuff? One look in the attic and I'd have said torch it.

The crew did a fantastic job as usual. That kitchen was incredible, just incredible. I suspect that when/if mom sees this ep she's going to want a new sink and countertop (for the ones we just got... though I agree with mike, the Undermounts are the way to go). Looks like Tankless Hotwater heaters are finally catching on up here too. (and about damn time too; 10-15 years ago I was wondering why we heat up a whole tank of water and keep it hot (and run out!) when it should be easier to heat on the fly.

Mike Jr. had lots of scenes. He's really come a long way on the show. Loved how he just jumped up, grabbed the rafter and lifted himself up to see the non-venting stove vent.

Sad memorial at the end there. Robert Graves, the Roofing Contractor Mike usually goes to, passed away last September. They gave him a memorial at the end of this ep.

[Taeolas]

Another great ep. They really went all out for that former Cop.

Some nice moments between the siblings too when Sherry saw the spider and Mike Jr taunted her about it. :)

Another beautiful kitchen there. Wow.

And what the heck was with the in wall powerbars that was there? Looked like about 20 outlets and 6 switches all lined up at the head of the stairs.

[beastiegirl]

Holy cow, this most recent house was a killer. I'm so glad I know what to look for with termites now - I never would have known those tracks were from bugs, they just looked like dirt stains to me. I can't believe the house didn't come crashing down. And how could an inspector miss asbestos? Honestly, this almost felt like it could have been another two-parter, there was so much going on.

Really enjoyed Damon's righteous anger, too; he's getting almost as good as Mike at getting hugely pissed without letting it take over the whole show. And he's totally right about people who put "lipstick and mascara" on bad houses for a quick sale. It's not only dishonest, just think of all the energy used and waste products created by any reno, and then it turns out to be all for nothing.

[Taeolas]

Agreed. Considering they had the rebuild that basement wall from the inside, I was sure they would film that as a 2-parter; it certainly had enough work to warrent it.

150,000$ worth of work, JUST to make that house safe and livable again. Damn. That would buy a condo down here.

It did turn out very nice in the end, but if I were those homeowners, even after Mike and crew fixed it up, I suspect I'd still have my doubts every time the place creeks in the wind. Once bitten, twice shy.

[Taeolas]

Oh man... there wasn't anything RIGHT in that house was it? Talk about a money pit. 300k to gut and redo it, and out here the house itself probably wouldn't be 300k. And I think that 300k estimate was before they discovered the foundation issues.

20ish year old house; structural walls removed at one point. Second floor about to collapse. A support beam on a glass wall that extended below ground, a chimney flume going out through the ground, mold, asbestos in the ENTIRE house, tar inside, live wires hanging out of a stainless steel backsplash, no air return, foundation wall bowing inward... Sheesh....

And the original home inspection was basically "Slight water issues, a few issues due to the house settling, and a deck that needs to be replaced" with no mention of all the rest.

Considering what came after last week's ep, I can see why last week wasn't a 2-parter.... Because THIS week they had a 3-parter worth. Those poor homeowners. :( They're in complete shock when they saw the cleaned out part.

And then Mike told them they have to tear down the front porch/inside wall. And the brick walls caving in... Money Pit doesn't begin to describe this nightmare. Wow.

[kathyjo27]

It's pretty obvious HGTV US is NEVER going to show us all the episodes of Holmes on Homes. Just the same old dozen or so episodes over and over again in the 6pm slot. And the one new episode on Sunday nights. Some of the weekday eps I have seen at least four times.

So I went ahead and signed up for Netflix. They have seasons 1-5. I added every single disc to my queue. However, season five is the only one available now. All the others say "unknown" in the availability slot. That sucks because I was so looking forward to seeing season one.

Edited by kathyjo27, Jun 11, 2010 @ 9:25 PM.

[beastiegirl]

Considering what came after last week's ep, I can see why last week wasn't a 2-parter.... Because THIS week they had a 3-parter worth.

That's just what I was thinking: "Oh, THAT's why they didn't do a two-parter last week." I guess that this must be the last episode of the season - the first half of the season ended with a two-parter as well, as I recall.

Whenever I watch these I try to figure out what neighbourhood they're in but the show does a pretty good job of disguising the location. However, anywhere in downtown Toronto $300K wouldn't get you much more than a decent-sized one-bedroom condo. If these current homeowners were downtown, I'm almost positive they'd have spent a good half-million on that house, which turned out to be a total waste of money. It makes you want to weep, doesn't it?

There were some things that you wouldn't expect an inspector to catch, but how he missed the asbestos is beyond me. More proof that Mike's on the money when he says there need to be regulations for home inspectors.

[sarahendipity]

Wow, this episode was unbelievable. So much wrong with the house. I can't believe the floors were sloped that much and it didn't raise a red flag with the homeowners. Three inches??? So much coverup done, some of it was totally obvious. The wedge above the kitchen cabinets and the extra baseboards should have been a big clue. I can't understand why the buyers believed the sellers home inspection. That's nuts.

[Taeolas]

Seven Months... Dayam. That's a big project. Would probably have been easier to just knock it down and rebuild in the end with all they did.

You know it's a long project when Mike shows up at least 2 times in mid project to help out.

They got a few new people on the team, Yvon was helping Kate and Sherry there, but he still seems very camera shy. :) Hope he works out in the end.

The header when they took out that ugly jutout... Ugh, that wasn't wood, that was saw dust. As soon as he knocked it down, it dissolved on them.

They have a new flooring guy too I think. He isn't camera shy. Loved him talking about the maple hardwood. :)

And the final result of their work (mostly Adam and Sherry according to Daymon ) was beautiful. That was an incredible job they did on that place.

But Seven Months... that's got to have been a record.

[Taeolas]

The next season of Holmes Inspection is announced.

The new season will start with the new year. New eps of Holmes Inspection, Season II Begins January 6 at 9pm ET/PT.

Edited by Taeolas, Nov 24, 2010 @ 2:15 PM.

[Taeolas]

And the Series premier of Holmes inspection in the States is December 19th. Just next week.

[wyndham]

Saw the first episode of the Holmes Inspection tonite. Not sure I like the new format. Mike does the inspection, then takes off and Damon and the crew do the work, with Mike coming back periodically to see how they are doing. A good part of the enjoyment of the show for me was watching Mike doing the work with his crew. Despite the black clothing and strategic placement of his arm in front, its very apparent that he has put on a good bit of weight around his waist. Guess the fame and fortune is taking a toll.

[trojan69]

Every once in awhile, MH reeeeally has to stretch to find an issue. That whole reveal of the electrical panel was way too much time devoted to very minor concerns. Yes, it needed modernizing. But given how precious each second is in this format, TPTB messed up.

I would MUCH rather have learned what the additional recommendations were. If the point of this show is to educate, why the heck weren't we clued into additional fixes?

Color me unimpressed with this premiere ep.