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.
#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.
#3 - Frozen Assets
Season 6 - Episode 11 - Aired 10/25/2007
Jane, a single mom, lives in a typical new home development with her two kids. Since the day they moved into the brand new home, they have been plagued with repeated plumbing and heating issues. During a recent winter cold spell, the porch ceiling caved in, exposing questionable minimum building code practices and building materials- luckily, Mike and his team have the right answers
#4 - For Annie
Season 5 - Episode 5 - 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 - House to Home - Part 1
Season 4 - Episode 10 - 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.
#6 - House to Home - Part 2
Season 4 - Episode 11 - 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.
#7 - 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!
#8 - 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.
#9 - 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.
#10 - 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.
#11 - 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.
#12 - House Arrest
Season 5 - Episode 1 - 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.
#13 - Third Time Lucky
Season 6 - Episode 13 - Aired 11/29/2007
Kathleen, an elderly lady who lives alone in a high rise building needed to renovate her bathroom to make it handicap accessible. A degenerative illness had necessitated the use of a wheelchair. After a year of renovations and two different companies, Mike arrives to find that the bathroom is nothing but a concrete shell- the last contractor tore out all their work before leaving. Mike makes it right, and then transforms the rest of the apartment into a wheelchair friendly space.
#14 - 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.
#15 - 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.
#16 - 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.
#17 - 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.
#18 - 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.
#19 - All Decked Out
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/11/2004
Pat bought a two-story house, and two weeks after moving into the house, a city inspector stopped by to inform her that there was an outstanding work permit on her home. Among several other problems that needed to be brought up to code, the existing back deck was incredibly unsafe and had to be replaced. After nine years of litigation against the home inspector and the lawyer, Pat won a small settlement and wanted to move forward with bringing her home up to code.
#20 - Lack of Truss
Season 6 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/31/2007
Julie and Joe needed another bedroom in anticipation of adopting a second child. The high-pitched roof on their new suburban home seemed to have a large enough attic space to accommodate an extra room. Their contractor advised them that it was an easy retrofit because exterior walls and roof are not touched. The reality is quite different. In order to utilize the volume inside the attic, the contractor removed the crucial structure that supported the roof, and created a dangerous mess. Mike and the team have no choice but to tear the roof completely off and build the attic space properly.
#21 - Unfinished Business
Season 4 - Episode 12 - 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.
#22 - 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.
#23 - Country Kitchen
Season 6 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/15/2007
Nancie and Woody moved into a 25-year-old townhouse that required some updating- particularly the floors and the “tiny” kitchen space. As renovations got underway, Woody was unexpectedly hospitalized. The contractors were left virtually unsupervised while Nancie tried to manage her job, visit Woody and take care of their daughter. All of the contractors were very sympathetic to her stating, “don’t worry about the renovations- you are in good hands.” What they left behind was simply one big mistake- one that Mike and the team will correct, with the help of a Country singing guest star.
#24 - Smoke and Mirrors
Season 3 - Episode 6 - 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.
#25 - Roof Goof
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/22/2004
Sandra and Daniel hired a roofing contractor to fix their flat roof, but immediately after they were finished, the roof leaked. Water pools on the roof creating a marshy swamp land for mosquitoes. The contractor admits he did a poor job, but refuses to correct the roof. Mike Holmes steps in and demolishes the existing flat roof, and with the help of his team, refinishes it with a brand new water-tight membrane.