Holmes on Homes

Consult Program Guide

It's "buyer beware" when a homeowner contracts a home repair. Renovation expert Mike Holmes believes in doing a job right the first time and, in the HGTV series Holmes on Homes, makes it his mission to expose poor workmanship in the building industry.

The Latest

When the Contractor Won't Return Your Calls

So You Want to Start a Renovation - How to Shop for a Contractor

Get it in Writing: A Contractor Talks About Contracts

About The Show

S7 | E1

Hit The Deck

Mike meets Marlene after her second story deck falls, seriously injuring herself and three friends. He discovers that this tragic accident was caused by incompetent workmanship. A year later, the ladies are still traumatized, both physically and emotionally. But they get a boost on their road to recovery as Mike rebuilds a rock solid deck and gives the historic home a fresh look.

S7 | E2

Rocky Reno

Yvonne and Tadashi had an addition added that included a covered front porch and entranceway. During construction, they began to get worried when the renovation in progress did not exactly match the building plans. When the contractor began asking for the substantial completion payment before the job was finished, they refused and offered to have a lawyer hold the payment in trust until the work was done. The contractor walked off the job, and they called Mike Holmes to make it right.

S7 | E3

Island Cottage Rescue

Retired cottage owner Anne had difficulty trying to find contractors that would venture out to her island cottage; the one that finally did, seemed to spend more time fishing than working. Mike and the Holmes on Homes team head up to the back woods to fix this cottage, and find the water obstacle a challenge as they renovate the bathroom and repair dock ramp railings.

S7 | E4

Re-Inventing

Christine and her husband bought a brand new town home in an upscale suburb. Their dream home had virtually everything a homeowner could ever wish for - except enough heat. After six years and countless band-aid repairs by the builder, they called Mike Holmes and his team to get the bottom of things. Preliminary evidence suggested that the improper installation of the flexible duct work inside the walls and ceilings might be the culprit. Mike discovers the only way to make this situation right is to painstakingly remove the existing drywall, design and build new bulkheads, create new ducts and vents, and install an entire HVAC system that performs correctly.

S7 | E5

Eroding Brick Work

When Mike Holmes arrived at the home of Val and Dave, he thought it was only to repair some exterior brick work - then he stepped inside and found that the homeowners were literally drowning in their own possessions. There were piles stacked floor to ceiling in almost every room in the house, and there was so much junk crammed in the basement that it was not even possible for Mike and the team to do a basic electrical and HVAC inspection. Mike decides that a clean-up intervention is needed, to save the homeowners from themselves.

S7 | E6

Blind Faith

Al and Jennifer attended a charitable auction to raise money for their church. One of the prizes being offered was $15,000 value towards a bathroom renovation. Al and Jennifer won the prize - it seemed like a win-win situation. And because the contractor was affiliated with their church, they simply trusted that everything would go well. It didn't. After spending a total of $30,000, all they had to show for it was a roughed in bathroom- and a big hole in their family room ceiling, where the contractor put his foot through. They had finally had enough with this unholy terror. Mike and his team arrive to make things right- and restore a little faith in contractors.

S7 | E7

Behind the Scenes

A typical episode of "Holmes On Homes" takes just one hour to watch. Yet, to make that one-hour of television takes weeks, sometimes even months, to complete. This behind the scenes episode takes viewers from the scouting and planning stages, through the construction and filming stages, right to the post production editing stage. What the audience gets to experience is just the tip of the iceberg. For every finished episode, there is 20 to 30 hours of footage that never gets used! For the first time ever, we show viewers what they have never been able to see before- how the whole Holmes on Homes family works to Make it Right.

S7 | E8

Heavyweight Kitchen Knockout

The story itself was all too familiar- a botched kitchen renovation. The big difference here was the person who wrote the letter - former heavy weight boxing champion, George ''Boom Boom'' Chuvalo. The three-week kitchen renovation had gone into its third month. George and his wife Joanne had lost their patience, and the contractor finally made a hasty departure, leaving behind a badly laid out kitchen - featuring dangling pot lights, no working electrical, and no countertops. During George's boxing career, he went the distance with Muhammad Ali, twice. Ali stated that, ''George was the toughest guy he had ever fought.'' And now, ''Boom Boom'' Chuvalo's kitchen disaster goes toe-to-toe with heavy weight contractor, Mike ''Make It Right'' Holmes!

S7 | E9

Pane in the Glass

Jon and Candice seemed to be having problems with their window installation contractor. Proof that things were going badly came to the homeowners in the form of a DVD. A neighbor across the street documented the entire contracting mess from a home security camera. For the first time ever Mike Holmes and his team get to witness a bad renovation as it happens. If a picture speaks a thousands words, this footage says, ''It's all coming down!''

S7 | E10

Gut Ache

Jeremy had a total kitchen renovation- or so he thought. There were new cabinets, new counters, new appliances, new paint and a new tile floor- all the cosmetic items were brand new. Unfortunately, his renovation company only dealt with the finishing items. Everything below the surface was still the same old kitchen. Mike and the crew have to completely gut this kitchen to deal with all the problems that are bubbling under the brand-new, finished surface.

S7 | E11

A Different Slant

Lee and Bailey bought a brand new townhouse two years ago. It came with many modern conveniences like a fridge that made ice cubes. One item they didn't ask for was an attic that made snow cones- enough snow that they had to shovel it into plastic bags to prevent it from melting into their house. After the builder showed up to do several band-aid fixes, they called in Mike Holmes to get to the bottom of things, on the top of their house.

S7 | E12

Rock Bottom

Walter and Adele spent a year planning their dream house- a custom home. Unfortunately, what they ended up getting was a custom headache! On the top of their list was a cultured stone skirt around the base of the house, and one year after the install, the skirt was falling down. In this episode, we look at the pitfalls of building a custom home, and what can happen when no one will take responsibility for the work they do.

S7 | E13

Bath Reno Gone Wrong

Gwyn and Andrew, self confessed ''Holmes On Homes Junkies'', had seen every episode and read Mike's book. They took all of Mike's advice and thought they did everything to make sure their bathroom renovation went smoothly; yet things turned out very wrong. Mike uses this example to show how far we have come in preventing renovation disasters, and to also show how far we still need to go to avoid being ripped off by unscrupulous contractors.