[Bill]

Mike Holmes is cool. I like to watch this program. My problem is he always razz's all the trades. Since this is a plumbing forum I will stick to the plumbing aspect. I just think that all that BS and razzing about how the plumbers screwed up gives HO's the wrong impression. It would not be so bad if he did not word it quite like he does. Makes us sound like idiots all the time.

 

[threaderman]

He knows carpentry .I've seen his plumber do illegal tie-ins so I don't watch the guys show.I watch very few for that reason,I see what in my area is illegal and I start to yell at the TV,it's not worth it.Flippers are the worst,make it look pretty by masking larger problems.Gotta go to church now.

 

[Kyle]

there are alot of scabby ass plumbers though. so i believe it. i see guys at work everyday do bad stuff for whatever reason.

 

[Marlin]

there are alot of scabby ass plumbers though. so i believe it. i see guys at work everyday do bad stuff for whatever reason.

Yup, they are everywhere. We have one at our shop, he knows better but just doesn't care.

 

[Cal]

Mike is pretty cool ,,,, but SSSOOO COCKY !! Like he is the
ONLY one that knows anything !

Cal

 

[gear junkie]

The guy is living the dream. Try to do construction where you don't have to deal with the customers wants and budget. He gets a screwed up house and gets to fix it the way he wants to without worrying about anything that the rest of us deal with.

 

[Mike Jessome]

I watch it all the time and I laugh at some of the things he does to try to make people look bad, or they didn't do enough he goes on about how code only calls for 2x4 or 2x6 so I'm gonna use 2x8 or 2x10 when home owners watch they don't realise the job was speced for 2x4 or 2x6 and if they actually used they there price would near double. Just realise its TV though so thats why they show all this bad and shoddy work to get viewers you will never see tradesmen that know more or are better then him (which there always is)

 

[GrumpyPlumber]

PRO: He raises the bar for builders & remodelers, enlightens homeowners to expect more.

CON: His cocky attitude tends to run off as an industry standard, not good for the image.

I don't watch because he's annoying.

 

[Redwood]

I watched it once or, twice then watched his plumber install an all plastic closet flange before they put down the thick tile floor....

Yea do it right!

Spare me....:whistling2:

 

[I'mYourTourGuide]

I watched it once or, twice then watched his plumber install an all plastic closet flange before they put down the thick tile floor....

Yea do it right!

Spare me....:whistling2:

Lmao

 

[Kyle]

like you said anything to raise the standerds bar though because alot of it is not applied beyond paper

 

[Scott K]

He knows carpentry .I've seen his plumber do illegal tie-ins so I don't watch the guys show.I watch very few for that reason,I see what in my area is illegal and I start to yell at the TV,it's not worth it.Flippers are the worst,make it look pretty by masking larger problems.Gotta go to church now.

Can you tell us some details about these illegal tie in's? I also assume you have explicit knowledge of Canadian/Ontario Plumbing codes?

 

[Scott K]

Mike is pretty cool ,,,, but SSSOOO COCKY !! Like he is the
ONLY one that knows anything !

Cal

CAn you give some examples of where he is being CAWKY?

I must say I don't think he's cawky, I think he's confident. If you had 2 contractors providing equal prices and one sounded more confident in his or her work I'm sure we all know which one you would pick. It's especially satisfying that a pro can not only do the work but understands the codes and he understands why they are there and how they came about, and he can break it down and explain it all to you in plain english.

I also appreciate his pride in being a professional. I really think that with the advent of the "trades boom" where I live where all these people are trying to cash in on there being a shortage of skilled workers due to the retiring baby boomers, that this is something that is really missing in todays world.

 

[ILPlumber]

Can you tell us some details about these illegal tie in's? I also assume you have explicit knowledge of Canadian/Ontario Plumbing codes?

CAn you give some examples of where he is being CAWKY?

I must say I don't think he's cawky, I think he's confident. If you had 2 contractors providing equal prices and one sounded more confident in his or her work I'm sure we all know which one you would pick. It's especially satisfying that a pro can not only do the work but understands the codes and he understands why they are there and how they came about, and he can break it down and explain it all to you in plain english.

I also appreciate his pride in being a professional. I really think that with the advent of the "trades boom" where I live where all these people are trying to cash in on there being a shortage of skilled workers due to the retiring baby boomers, that this is something that is really missing in todays world.

Welcome to the board Mr. Holmes:laughing::jester:

 

[Scott K]

I wish I could say I was Mr. Holmes because then I wouldn't probably be here. But in all honesty I take his show differently then you guys do. I take the way his show is portrayed as a challenge to learn everything and anything I can in my trade to help myself be more of a professional, and to help convey confidence to the homeowner, who in turn instill their trust in me. Because I think Mike is a pretty knowledgeable guy who I know if I was a home owner and he was on my project I would trust him.
While the pay is great, I also get a kick out of getting paid to do quality work for people. I always look for ways to improve my installations, make them last longer, be more durable, and overall look great. To know not just where the pipes go but why they are arranged in that fashion. An to be able to understand not just what codes govern me but also why they govern what I'm doing.

That is why I use resources such as this discussion board - to get better, and learn more. And guys like Mr. Holmes have in a sense created a challenge not just to home owners to do their research, but to other tradesman to try and be the guys these researchers find. To be one of the "good" and not "the bad" or "the ugly."

Tradesmen are often perceived as people who smoke, drink, and do drugs and who do dirty, stinky hard work, and I think his show, attaches more prestige to trades than is commonly believed. It shows a bunch of guys who care not just about their work but about the customer.

I find it ironic that people on here are so threatened by him and his apparent "cawky" attitude, when in reality he is encouraging people to find ways to look for good, hard working, honest tradesman out there. The only people I could see being threatened by him are hacks - are you a hack?

 

[ILPlumber]

I have never even seen the show. But, I like what you have to say about yourself and our trade. I agree 100% with always wanting to improve.

I'll have to search it in the Tivo.

 

[patrick88]

I so enjoy the DIY shows. They make me laugh. Holmes is real quick to say a plumber did this or that wrong.
Well we all know home owners are real quick to say no to what we all say needs to be done. He doesn't point that out. I have been told more than a few times "Well the last guy just patched it" "What the other plumber put the roofing tar on that?" I know they are mostly talking about a Handyman or them selves.

 

[Pipemaster]

CONFIDENT OR COCKY ?

Look the reality of every job is there are 500 and half dozen ways to do a job, everyone has a method they prefer or like better,
ask four plumbers for an opinion you'll get 4 different opinions.

what I dont like about the guy is he thinks his way is the only way and the best way, on several shows i can find moderate to severe bad ideas but what the hell they pay for the show and materials so let them make the mistakes and figure it out themselves.

the guy has some good idea's and some real quacks he subs out to it's entertainment for christsakes.

But i'll be dam imagine the liability policy the discovery channel must have eh ?

 

[pzmember]

yeah scottk has the right idea. its all about getting the best product to that customer, and keep learning every day. plumbing has advanced more in the past 25 years than it has since the romans. and its our job to weed through the bs find the best product and bring our a-game to install it. and while i dont agree w/ every word mike holmes says, i like his attitude. customer first, well trained techs, and always remember no inspector can fail your job for doing it better than code states.

 

[Scott K]

I so enjoy the DIY shows. They make me laugh. Holmes is real quick to say a plumber did this or that wrong.
Well we all know home owners are real quick to say no to what we all say needs to be done. He doesn't point that out. I have been told more than a few times "Well the last guy just patched it" "What the other plumber put the roofing tar on that?" I know they are mostly talking about a Handyman or them selves.

When he points out that a plumber is wrong - since the codes he is basing his points are the same codes I work by (Canada comes out with a new National Code every 5-8 years and then each province adopts it with amendments - the most recent Canadian plumbing code was so good and all encompassing that each Canadian province had very few amendments before they adopted it as their provincial code a year or two after), I have yet to see a situation where he isn't right. How else do you want him to point it out? "Oh the Poor PLumber (or more correctly probably not a licensed plumber, but a hack) was having a bad day and didn't know his code and needed a hug?"

And yes - you have a point. There are all sorts of scenarios out there where people are ripped off, and you can clearly see they either didn't do their homework, or when they heard the ultra cheap bid which was more than likely a hack, they could only think of their pocket book and not the fact that the other 3 bids were all within a few hundred of each other and more expensive than that one bid. But a lot of the people Mike chooses to renovate aren't all these scenarios but hacks who bid similarly to the professional. The message on Mikes show to homeowners is to do your research and actually go out and physically look at previous work by the guy. His show is also aimed at trying to create more rules in place to protect homeowners and go after crooks who are under contract to do said work but who are really just hacks who shouldn't have started their own company. In this case these are just civil matters technically but when you see some of the work they you think in your head it shouldn't be civil but a felony. Mike's mission as I perceive it is all about weeding out the hacks - making it tougher for them to operate. If he seems cawky for this attitude, how else would you suggest to go about it? There is no way to say it then the way he says it. You can't cover it this type of sentiment with hugs and kisses. And ultimately weeding out the hacks makes things better for us.