[Gus Dering]

I discovered this show this week and started recording all of them.

I must say it is a breath of fresh air to see a contractor / remodel show that features a "REAL" contractor doing a great job. :clap:

I have mixed feelings that all he does is fix some of the world's worst remodel work of the previous wanna be contractor though. I wish they could just show him going in and running a smooth job with no emphasis on a nightmare contractor. But I understand how the formula works.

Seems like he is in Canada somewhere. Are there alot of these kind of situations that need fixing up in the great white north? Seems strange that he can jump from one to another like that.

Anyway cool show and I love his style. No doubt at all he is in complete and total control of his job. I'll stop short of a man crush but he seems real good.:thumbsup:

 

[JT Wood]

he is from canada. (ontario) but he travels all over the country.

He's a bit of a celebrity now, he's been on the air for years.
I like him too. I just wish a guy could find a homeowner as commited to quality (financially) as he is.

 

[GDFC]

I discovered this show this week and started recording all of them.

I must say it is a breath of fresh air to see a contractor / remodel show that features a "REAL" contractor doing a great job. :clap:

I have mixed feelings that all he does is fix some of the world's worst remodel work of the previous wanna be contractor though. I wish they could just show him going in and running a smooth job with no emphasis on a nightmare contractor. But I understand how the formula works.

Seems like he is in Canada somewhere. Are there alot of these kind of situations that need fixing up in the great white north? Seems strange that he can jump from one to another like that.

Anyway cool show and I love his style. No doubt at all he is in complete and total control of his job. I'll stop short of a man crush but he seems real good.:thumbsup:

I am glad his show has been on the air up here in Canada for a few years now.

He presents a "third party integrity" scenario to the clients.
As a result, we have many more clients that appreciate quality and construction considerations for their projects.

As for him jumping down some shoddy tradesmen work,... keep doing it Mike... the louder the better !

GDFC

PS... Some of our crew worked with him a Habitat for Humanity project in Windsor, Otario a few years ago... they all had good things to say about him on the site.

 

[wyoming 1]

Watching it right now. I like the show too and it shows the pitfalls of going with a low priced hack contractor.

 

[Greg Di]

I dunno, Gus, I've only seen bits and pieces, but what have seen him is do is questionable at times.

All of those hosts are unwatchable as far as I'm concerned. You can tell when a producer just told them "you need to show the audience how to do this" and it's clear the host themselves have no idea what they are doing.

 

[katoman]

Don't get me started on Mike. It's a pet peeve of mine.:furious:

Ok, to be fair, he does fairly good work, uses licensed trades, goes for permits, etc. In other words he runs a legit outfit.

The biggest plus is that he is getting the word out to the public to not hire these "hacks". On that point, I tip my hat to him.

He works in the GTA (greater Toronto area) has his own forum, Dewalt loves him, etc. Mike is doing very well promoting Mike.

Here's my beef - He goes on and on about how important it is to use quality, licensed trades. But he holds no license himself. He is not a licensed carpenter, and actually, he is not allowed to do any work himself.

He probably has a GC license, which clearly states - all work to be done by licensed trades. That leaves him out!

So when you see him swinging his hammer, he's breaking the law.

I went onto his forum and asked about this. Big mistake! They cut me a new one, and wouldn't address the question.

So here, I'll ask Mike again - If you really know your stuff, go and write your exams Mike. I'm betting you don't pass.

 

[The Coastal Craftsman]

He has also done some shows in the US from what i remember. Whats funny is when i use to do work for my bro in law he always wanted me to do the job on the cheap and hack my way through it. I would never listen to him and he would say i was anal and wasting time and then i got him to watch a few of these shows. Now what a difference! he is so worried about the stuff going bad he is as anal as me.

What is good though is he shows how some building codes are just wrong and the people writing them ain't got the first clue and how many inspectors ain't got any idea what is and is not code.

What is funny though is when they do mess something up. I'm surprised they don't remove it from the show but they show everyone still makes mistakes but they can be fixed.

Has anyone noticed that he has almost every tool dewalt but not the table saws? It looks like a Rigid!

 

[JT Wood]

I dunno, Gus, I've only seen bits and pieces, but what have seen him is do is questionable at times.

and it's clear the host themselves have no idea what they are doing.

I'm not in love with the guy at all.


But I don't get the impression he is one of those guys

 

[JT Wood]

He has also done some shows in the US from what i remember. Whats funny is when i use to do work for my bro in law he always wanted me to do the job on the cheap and hack my way through it. I would never listen to him and he would say i was anal and wasting time and then i got him to watch a few of these shows. Now what a difference! he is so worried about the stuff going bad he is as anal as me.

What is good though is he shows how some building codes are just wrong and the people writing them ain't got the first clue and how many inspectors ain't got any idea what is and is not code.

What is funny though is when they do mess something up. I'm surprised they don't remove it from the show but they show everyone still makes mistakes but they can be fixed.

Has anyone noticed that he has almost every tool dewalt but not the table saws?

I need to figure out how to get sponsored by milwaukee, or makita.
even dewalt would work:laughing:

 

[The Coastal Craftsman]

I need to figure out how to get sponsored by milwaukee, or makita.
even dewalt would work:laughing:

Lol if you see my trailer you would think i am sponsered by Makita.

 

[loneframer]

I need to figure out how to get sponsored by milwaukee, or makita.
even dewalt would work:laughing:

Huh, I thought I'd at least have an Azek T-shirt by now.:laughing:

 

[SLSTech]

Katoman - thats interesting, down here a GC license allows us to do whatever we want with the exception of Elec, HVAC & Plumbing

I started taping him about a month and half ago - he makes some great points and I wish more HO's would watch this

I guess my only issue with the show was one brought up in another thread - where the HO might have only had a 30K budget to start with he comes in and does a 65K job

 

[The Coastal Craftsman]

Katoman - thats interesting, down here a GC license allows us to do whatever we want with the exception of Elec, HVAC & Plumbing

I started taping him about a month and half ago - he makes some great points and I wish more HO's would watch this

I guess my only issue with the show was one brought up in another thread - where the HO might have only had a 30K budget to start with he comes in and does a 65K job

Thats the problem with all the shows on HGTV. They do bathrooms on some shows with a $1000 budget but the shower valve they use cost half that and the tiles costs 4x that. Sam goes for living rooms, kitchens and so on. They never seem to price the work correctly. Then when you goto home owners house they wonder why your price is 10x more expensive for same thing and they say well on HGTV they done it for 10x less than that :blink:

 

[Gus Dering]

The money part is completely unrealistic, no doubt.

I watched one show where a couple had a room put into their attic and were already out 20 k. he comes in and tears it all out and builds a proper job but no mention of financing. I did not get the impression the young couple was flipping the bill. We all know how hard it would be for them to come up with that kind of money after the initial cash swirled down the drain.

I still think it is the best representation of how a real job should be run. I gotta hand it to them for that.

 

[katoman]

Yes, they spend untold amounts of money to 'make it right'. The average HO can't afford this work.

Here, when you get your 'Renovators License' (GC license) it clearly states ' all work to be done by licensed trades '.

Another reason why carpentry gets less money than plumbing and electrical. All carpenters should have to pass these exams, same as the electricians, etc. have to.

To work on a union site here, you must have your C of Q (certificate of qualification ) as a General Carpenter.

That would weed out all the hacks, and elevate the status of carpenters, so we could charge what the plumbers get.

But never mind the money, I want to get carpentry back to when that meant you were a real craftsman - knowledgeable, skilled, talented, respected. Then the public will pay for your services, and we can attract the young into this field.

Pipe Dreams ?

 

[jarvis design]

I know a lot of contractors who simply hate the guy becuase they think he is giving contractors a bad name. In reality, he is giving the hacks a bad name - which is good!!

I can also tell you that I have done at least a dozen jobs where the HO will make a comment about the products I am using (usually Schluter) as something Mike Holmes would use. They all seem relieved!!

I don't agree with everything Mike Holmes does and I will admit, I don't like the fact that he is the poster boy for Home Depot - I think that gives people the impression that their installation services are good:shutup:

 

[jarvis design]

I am glad his show has been on the air up here in Canada for a few years now.

He presents a "third party integrity" scenario to the clients.
As a result, we have many more clients that appreciate quality and construction considerations for their projects.

As for him jumping down some shoddy tradesmen work,... keep doing it Mike... the louder the better !

GDFC

PS... Some of our crew worked with him a Habitat for Humanity project in Windsor, Otario a few years ago... they all had good things to say about him on the site.

Is that you Ron??

 

[BamBamm5144]

Gus - I have been watching this show for a past few years. I dont believe he has any new ones that come on anymore.

I am also sure that the homeowners do not foot the bill but the network does. The episode that you mentioned would cost the homeowners at least 50k more than they already put into it.

I am sure it is like most TV shows - He shows up and talks for awhile and has others do the work, then comes back and does a little but at the end to show how its done.

We were going to go on a TV show to install a new type of roofing system but the product was not right for that type of roof so we refused to do it. It seems the producers always know best. I am excited to see that episode come out and hear about the future problems with it.

I do enjoy that he basically pounds the fact into your head that the types of jobs he has to fix are usually those of unlicensed and uninsured companies.

 

[The Coastal Craftsman]

Gus - I have been watching this show for a past few years. I dont believe he has any new ones that come on anymore.

I am also sure that the homeowners do not foot the bill but the network does. The episode that you mentioned would cost the homeowners at least 50k more than they already put into it.

I am sure it is like most TV shows - He shows up and talks for awhile and has others do the work, then comes back and does a little but at the end to show how its done.

We were going to go on a TV show to install a new type of roofing system but the product was not right for that type of roof so we refused to do it. It seems the producers always know best. I am excited to see that episode come out and hear about the future problems with it.

I do enjoy that he basically pounds the fact into your head that the types of jobs he has to fix are usually those of unlicensed and uninsured companies.

The thing is many of the people are proper licensed and insured company's. Thats even worse than hacks doing the work bad. The shows good because they show that even the pro's dont do stuff right.

 

[BrianFox]

Huh, I thought I'd at least have an Azek T-shirt by now.:laughing:

Lone my Azek rep in philly gave me 3 tees and 2 sweathshirts...pm me your address and ill throw em in the mail:thumbup:.

Ive worked on a handful of movies and a couple of the home improvement shows here and I can assure you that Mike has a whole unseen team behind him doing the actual work.

Sometimes him ragging on other contractors gets old. I realized pretty quickly after one job to just price it right , fix it and talk about it later to the HO. I walked them through everything that was wrong with the previous carpenter pointing everything out or as I like to say the Mike Holmes technique. It REALLY sent the customers spiraling and just worsened their mindset on carpenters and contractors.

I always laugh when you see homeowners on shows like trading spaces painting their walls all kinds of wild with the roller. Shortly after a union scenic painter pushes them out of the way and paints it right.

Alot of smoke and mirrors.

BUT, the main thing he is doing is educating people to ask the right questions, ask for licences and insurance etc.. But mainly showing people that you get what you pay for and that in a perfect world a guy who undercuts me by 25% is going to give them the same level of craftsmanship and quality....we all know its not a perfect world.