The WORST episodes of Holmes on Homes
Every episode of Holmes on Homes ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Holmes on Homes!
Construction and renovation expert Mike Holmes visits unlucky families who have been swindled or abandoned during their home improvement projects. Mike uncovers shoddy construction methods, improper techniques and down right rip-offs. You'll see Mike correct the problems, as well as explain how the homeowners could have safeguarded themselves from unscrupulous builders and dishonest contractors.
#1 - Kitchen Catastrophe
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/3/2003
Wayne and Gilda paid a contractor close to $20,000 to renovate their kitchen. After gutting the kitchen, the contractor stalls for six months with numerous poor excuses. Mike Holmes and his crew step in to mediate and gives the homeowners a brand new kitchen- in just one week.
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#2 - Holmes for the Holidays
Season 3 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/23/2004
Janice and Craig, a young couple with big dreams, bought a small bungalow on a large lot with visions of transforming it into the house of their dreams for their four young children to grow up in. After grossly underestimating the quote and the job, the contractor abandoned them, leaving the family living for over seven months in the dank, dirty basement of this dangerous and poorly supported skeleton of their former home. With Christmas just around the corner, and with all their money and hope drained, they ask Mike Holmes to take on the monumental task of giving this horror story a happy ending. Mike and his team of dedicated pros take on the biggest challenge of their lives. In just eight weeks they transform 4,000 square feet of cold rafters and dust into a finished awe-inspiring dream home, just in time for the holidays.
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#3 - Falling Flat
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/1/2005
A photographer wants to build a photo studio in his backyard. He does everything by the book - has blueprints drawn up and approved and takes out construction permits and deals with puzzling stop work orders from various city officials. Only after the Mayor intervenes, is the work finally completed. Or so he thinks… Three years later, the studio's flat roof is plagued by constant leaks. Mike Holmes immediately identifies the problem - the waterproof roof membrane was never actually finished. The Holmes On Homes™ team discovers that the water damage to the flat roof is so extensive, they have no choice but to pull it all down!
#4 - For Annie
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/9/2006
This is story about hope for the future in the face of heartbreaking tragedy, when "Making It Right" takes on a new meaning- completing an unresolved renovation and making it possible for a family to finally begin the healing process after the loss of a loved one. The connection between the emotional health of a family and condition of their home is a strong one. Mike and the team heal a house left in limbo, and make it a home once more.
#5 - Clean Slate
Season 6 - Episode 11 - Aired 10/11/2007
Living in a century home, Kjirsten and John had their bathroom remodeled with a custom slate tile shower, featuring built-in bench seating. Soon afterwards, they notice a strange substance leaching out of the tile grout and that the shower doesn’t drain properly. When the bathroom ceiling starts to peel away, they realize something is wrong below the surface. Mike confirms their beautiful looking, new slate shower, is only skin deep- and much more lurks beneath the surface.
#6 - Hullaba Loo
Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 6/23/2005
After a large bathroom company turns a simple bathroom renovation into a nasty experience for a homeowner, Mike Holmes and his crew hit the scene and provide the beautiful bathroom that should have been built in the first place.
#7 - Best Laid Plans
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/17/2005
After three different contractors try and fail in fixing a moisture problem in a homeowner’s kitchen, Mike Holmes is called in and discovers that a series of small problems were creating one large one. Mike and his crew fix he moisture problem once and for all.
#8 - Kitchen Coleslaw
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 1/6/2005
Don and his dog “Parker” bought a beautiful one hundred and twenty year old Victorian town home and decided to completely renovate the kitchen. The job required not only a new design, but also moving existing plumbing, electrical, vents and ducts. Mid-way into the Reno, things were far behind schedule and Don began noticing that things just didn’t look right. Smartly, he decided to sever ties with the contractor and cut his losses. As it turns out, the contractor was actually a glass installation specialist who just did contacting on the side. His lack of experience was quite apparent to Mike Holmes, who tore away the drywall and floor to find not only the previous contractor’s mistakes, but decades old issues that the previous contractor neglected to address. The entire main floor contained a century of countless hodgepodge renovations. Poor HVAC, questionable plumbing and potentially dangerous electrical wiring had to be removed and/or corrected before Mike could even think about finishing the kitchen. Once the whole main floor was brought up to code, Mike and his crew executed Don’s dream kitchen design flawlessly, giving Don the space that he has waited so long for.
#9 - This Mold House
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/17/2005
When a major mold problem leaves a family with chronic respiratory problems and allergic reactions, Mike Holmes brings in a crew of mold abatement experts to eliminate the mold at the source. The result is a healthier, allergen free home for the family.
#10 - Unfinished Business
Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 6/21/2005
A couple decides to be their own general contractor on a large second story addition to their home. Everything goes extremely well until the last sub-contractor botches all the finishing work. Mike Holmes and his crew are called in to inspect the sloppy work and Make it Right.
#11 - Shaky Foundation
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/9/2006
When a homeowner discovers that his newly built house has a crumbling foundation with 1/3 of the minimum strength required by code, he calls host Mike Holmes for help. Mike and his team build a new custom foundation within walls of the existing foundation and devise a plan to protect the weakened exterior from further damage.
#12 - Ceiling the Deal
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/2/2006
This story highlights the work of a modern day "Snake Oil Salesman"- a contractor that doesn't fit the stereotypical con-artist profile. His slick computer assisted sales pitch and impressive portfolio eventually gave way to sloppy workmanship and incompetent engineering. The basement façade put up by this contractor finally came crashing down when the newly installed ceiling collapsed, prompting the homeowners to place a distress call to Mike Holmes.
#13 - House to Home - Part 2
Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 4/23/2005
In part two of the is two-part season finale, Mike Holmes and his crew finish a wheelchair accessible bathroom for the homeowners’ disabled son, repair a leaking foundation and roof and provide a much deserving family with a safe and proper addition.
#14 - Sunny Side Down
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/10/2005
After a homeowner mistakenly hires an inexperienced contractor to renovate a sunroom, a leak left in the roof results in her grandson slipping and getting hurt badly. Enraged at the accident and how poorly the job was going, she fires the contractor and calls in Mike Holmes to make things right.
#15 - House Arrest
Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/10/2005
Living in a construction zone is an unpleasant reality for homeowners undertaking a renovation. The hope is that the mess and discomfort will be as short-lived as possible. For Alex and Marie and their two children, a planned three-month renovation dragged out to a year and a half with no end in sight. Living out of one bedroom with only partial water service, this family was trapped in a never-ending renovation nightmare. They were beginning to feel like prisoners in their own home- until Mike and the team arrive on the scene.
#16 - House to Home - Part 1
Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 4/14/2005
After re-mortgaging their home to add a wheelchair accessible addition for their disabled son, a couple is confronted with improper work and a crumbling foundation. In part one of this two-part season finale, Mike Holmes comes to the aid of a family in dire straits and begins one of the toughest and biggest jobs of his contracting career.
#17 - Taking a Bath
Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/6/2006
Mary Jo and Ron moved into a brand new subdivision two years ago. In that time, each of their two bathtubs has been replaced four times. That's eight tubs in two years! The problem? Tubs that warped and buckled and mould growth. The builder maintained the tubs were installed correctly and that there was no manufacturing or design defect with the tubs. So, each time the tubs were replaced with the same model tub and installed the same way. Yet the problem persisted. Eight tubs later, the homeowners got fed up and called Mike Holmes to get to the bottom of their bathtub problem.
#18 - Let's Rejoist
Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/16/2006
Jane and Dan had a tiny quarter sized water stain on the bedroom ceiling of their six-year-old townhouse. They had a roofing contractor come and repair the balcony above the leak. The contractor ended up having to rip up the existing balcony membrane only to discover the engineered joists below were completely rotted through. The homeowners could not find a contractor willing to take on fixing this structural mess and asked Mike if he was up for the challenge.
#19 - Wall of Shame
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 9/15/2004
When Nancy purchased her home there was an existing retaining wall holding up the raised backyard from the sidewalk. She hired a contractor "friend-of-a-friend" in the neighborhood to rebuild the wall. The contractor laid weeping tile on the bottom but no above ground drainage. After the first winter, the retaining wall bowed dramatically and the contractor did not respond to any of her requests to return. She feared the retaining wall would fall over onto the sidewalk and hurt one of the many children who walk by each day. Mike Holmes and his crew are called in to make it right.
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#20 - Drain Disdain
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 10/7/2004
Barb wanted to surprise her son with a new basement bathroom and exercise room when he came home from college. She hired a friend's son who worked as a contractor to do the job, but soon after the work began, so did the delays, shoddy work and countless excuses. She threw them out and called in a professional. Mike was appalled at the very sloppy work and complete lack of planning or craftsmanship. He was also quite skeptical that the plumbing was done correctly. After deciding to relocate the bathroom to accommodate the very low ducting that the previous guy located the shower under, Mike found countless plumbing disasters and had to re-route everything right back to the main drain. A few weeks later, and a full year after the work originally began, Barb and her son were finally treated to a deluxe bathroom and exercise room complete with a built-in sound system, mirrored walls, slate tiles and halogen lighting throughout.
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#21 - Bungled Bungalow
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/1/2005
Bill and Marie retired to a bungalow that had originally been a small cottage. Over the years, the bungalow had seen five additions of questionable workmanship, so they decided to completely renovate the home. They hired a contractor who had promised that the job would be completed in three months time, so they moved in with their daughter for the duration of the renovation. As the renovation progressed, issues arose with the historical board, building code standards, and the contractor himself. After many delays and a skyrocketing budget, Bill paid off the contractor and completely severed ties. One full year later, they were left with a half finished job and were still living in their daughter’s home. Having spent a good deal of money, they had no funds to cover hiring a new contractor. Fortunately, Mike Holmes decided to undertake the huge task of finishing this very problematic renovation – and finish it he did. With the help of his hard working crew, Mike battled his way though the age old issues and gave Bill and Marie the beautiful retirement home the should have gotten in the first place.
#22 - Smoke and Mirrors
Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 8/18/2004
Vicki and Dave bought a house that they were truly happy with. In order to make it the home of their dreams, they wanted to do a few minor cosmetic changes. They hired a contractor who came recommended to them, who ended up starting all the jobs they wanted, but bailed before any of them were complete. The biggest job left undone was a fireplace in their family room. After being left with a functionless fireplace and little repairs half done all over their house, they called in Mike Holmes. Mike and the crew will fix the fireplace and turn this nightmare into the dream home it should have been.
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#23 - Holmes Inspection - Part 2
Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired 11/2/2006
On moving day, some of the deficiencies in Chris and Ihor's house became obvious as soon as they tried using the shower and fixtures in the basement. The pungent smell of sewage wafted through the home. It was the first in a series of creepy crawly, smelly and dangerous discoveries. For Chris and Ihor, and for the thousands of Canadians who have been caught in the same trap, it will take the frankness of Mike Holmes to uncover the myth that is "the Home inspection", and help this family get what they thought they had already paid for.
#24 - Window Well to Hell
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/27/2005
After moving to a new neighborhood, Olivia decided to turn her basement into a comfortable living space for her daughter and grandchildren. She was going to redesign the layout and have larger windows installed to allow more natural light into the room. She hired a contractor who started out well, but it wasn't long before Olivia started feeling uneasy. As the job went on, the contractor started showing up late, or not at all. One day, Olivia came home early from work to find him sleeping on the couch. After spending almost all of her renovation budget and feeling strongly that she was being taken advantage of, Olivia stopped the job and was left with a poorly finished basement and window wells that were filling with water. Upon inspection, Mike found that there were no proper lintels over the new windows to support the weight over them, and that there was no proper drainage system in place. Inside, he found some small telltale signs that suggested that the whole basement renovation was going to have to be demolished and built again. There was questionable plumbing and electrical that not up to code. Outside, a proper lintel was added over the window, along with the foundation protection under the window and a drainage system tied into the existing weeping tile. Inside, Mike and his crew took down all the drywall, and safely reinstalled all the plumbing and electrical. After installing new drywall and painting, Olivia was reintroduced to her beautiful finished and safe basement. She was very happy to finally be able to provide a comfortable living space for her family.
#25 - Out of the Ashes - Part 1
Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/9/2006
A string of bad luck leads Mike to the front door of a homeowner named Franca. Her home sustained major damage from an electrical fire. Immediately afterward, Franca suffered a series of personal tragedies with the unexpected passing of her mother, and then her husband. The contractor repairing the fire damage took full advantage of Franca's fragile situation. Upon inspecting the reno-in-progress, Mike intervenes to avoid yet another disaster in the making.