TV personality says he is a contractor first

Mike Holmes didn't get into the television world to get rich. In fact, he emphasized he is a contractor, not a television guy.

But he is driven by a need to make it right  - to reverse the damage and destruction of renovations gone bad, and to give homeowners the information they need to avoid further mishaps - and television helps him make it right for a wider population.

The renowned contractor of the HGTV show Holmes on Homes was in Sudbury on the weekend as the guest speaker at the Sudbury Living Lifestyle and Home Show. He spoke to more than 600 people at the Rainbow Cinemas about common home issues, including structure, design and materials used.

“I didn't get in this to do TV, I got in this to make a difference, and honestly, what I want to do is change the industry, and I will,” he said.

Hesitant to host his own show, but sick of the “bad information” being provided on television, Holmes finally agreed when the producer said, “I've noticed you like to teach and educate one family at a time. How would you like to educate everybody else at once?” Holmes recalled.

Although he's doing what he loves, he said working on the television show is “actually depressing.”

“If you see what I do on television - and that's helping 13 families a year, now 26 because I'm shooting Holmes Inspection - imagine the ones that I can't help out of almost a million e-mails a year. How can I help everyone?” he said. “I do home shows and people come up to me - husband and wife - and start crying because they're in big trouble.”

Contracting work is something Holmes has been doing for the better part of his 46 years. His father started teaching him construction techniques at the age of six.

“My dad was a jack of all trades and a master of none. I didn't know that until I got older, I thought he was Superman. He really wasn't, but the thing was he had heart and integrity, and I think that's what you need in this industry, so you learn from your mistakes and correct them.

“Work on a home like it was your own - that's what he did teach me,” he continued. “I took it from there from a very early age and kept learning to this day.”

By 19, Holmes had started his first contracting company with a crew of 13 employees, and by 21, he had founded his own renovation company.

Like his father, Holmes has passed his trade down to his own children. Amanda is a production assistant for Holmes on Homes, while Sherry and Mike Jr. are member's of their father's construction crew.

“I was a little frightened to bring my kids on the show because getting into the world of television, all of a sudden everyone knows who you are ... you have no privacy,” he said. “But I'm proud of my kids. It's a thrill having them with me. Besides, it's how I get to see them.”

The contractor has launched a second show this fall, Holmes Inspections, which profiles home inspections gone wrong. He is also the author of two books, Make it Right and the Holmes Inspection. He will be launching a magazine, Holmes Magazine, next month, which he said “gives the real truth in plain English. I think it's going to be a real educational tool.”

But where does he find the time for everything?

“I work eight days a week,” he said. “But it's not about TV, it's about me believing in what I'm doing, and I'm going to keep pushing and keep doing it.”