Holmes hits nail on head with new magazine

Holmes hits nail on head with new magazine. Mike Holmes, right, signs an autograph for Edward Kazak during an event at Union Station Monday to promote the launch of Holmes Magazine. Staff photo/NICK PERRY

The Riverside native - who grew up near Broadview Avenue and Queen Street East and attended Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute - recently launched his own magazine, HOLMES: The Magazine to Make it Right.

In a phone interview on Thursday, Nov. 26, he said the goal of his latest endeavour is the exact same one he's spent the last two decades working towards.

"I'm pretty sick and tired of seeing (renovations and construction) done wrong and I'm sick and tired of seeing people getting screwed," said the no-nonsense contractor.

"The magazine to me was a logical choice."

The host of Holmes on Homes, Holmes in New Orleans, and the new series Holmes Inspection, he said his new magazine is a chance to further expand on the topics discussed in his television shows and two books, MAKE IT RIGHT: Inside Home renovation with Canada's Most Trusted Contractor and THE HOLMES INSPECTION: Everything You Need to Know Before You Buy or Sell Your Home.

"The magazine is an opportunity to give people even more information," he said, adding he feels frustrated when renovation/construction publications provide incorrect information to readers.

"This is the magazine homeowners need to help them with their renovations. It's the magazine I was searching for and couldn't find. So, I had to make my own magazine, and Make it Right," he said, in a release.

Published by Dauphin Media Group Ltd., HOLMES: The Magazine to Make it Right launched across Canada on Nov. 23.

It will feature the latest information on home renovations, new technologies and innovation and green building. Some of its regular features include 'Ask the Pro', an eco-section, and 'Spotlight Trade', which highlights some of Canada's top trades' people.

As a youngster, Holmes said he wasn't sure what exactly he wanted to do when he grew up, but knew from a young age he was into building go-karts and tree forts.

Holmes said he was officially bitten by the construction bug after renovating an uncle's basement (under his father's watchful eye) when he was just 12 years old.

"I just kept learning and learning and then all of a sudden it just happened," he shared, adding by the age of 18 he was asked to manage Tri-Wynn Contracting.

He did, for two and a half years, and then decided it was time to branch out on his own.

Just over 10 years ago, Holmes was retained to build a custom home for an executive producer at the Home and Garden Television channel.

Holmes relayed to him how he essentially proposed a television show idea about renovating and building the right way.

Almost instantly that idea evolved into a television pilot and before long Holmes was heavily involved in its production.

"And, I thought I was busy as a contractor," he chuckled.

Holmes, who is also the founder of the Holmes Foundation, a charitable organization that assists Canadians in need of help or resources after botched renovations, said his next project is the Mighty Mike television cartoon.

He said he feels the cartoon is a great opportunity to educate young people about correct construction methods as well as shed a positive light on careers in the trades.