Knowledge Is Power
Trying to get contractors to build better than the minimum required by code–and don’t get him started on the inadequacy of minimum code requirements–is like trying to teach an old dog new tricks. “Not gonna happen,” he says. He urges homeowners to educate themselves about their home’s building envelope because he believes that the only way to change building practices is for them to demand better products. “We need to be absolutely more educated about how things work.”
Holmes wants homeowners to start finding the beauty not just in interior finishes, but in products like low VOC paints, BluWood (lumber treated with a non-toxic finish that prevents mold and rot and repels termites) and closed cell spray foam insulation. “We need to look at products that off-gas”–and that’s just about everything, he says–”and try not to use those in our homes.
“I was the type of guy who always did my homework,” he says. “When I was three, I used to take my toys apart to see how they worked.” Now Holmes want to imbue homeowners, and LBM dealers, with that spirit of inquiry.
That’s the message Holmes is trying to get across through his television shows, books, magazine (Holmes, The Magazine To Make It Right), website (http://makeitright.ca), syndicated column, and building projects (including a Holmes Homes development called Wind Walk in Okotoks, Alberta, where each of the 457 houses planned will be certified LEED Platinum).
Living the Toxic Life
“The average person is living in an incompetently built home,” Holmes says. “We are all living in a toxic atmosphere. We don’t build totally sustainable homes because we’re used to what we have, and we are resistant to change.
“Almost no one is looking at building better. We have to teach the new technology in schools and in the trades, and this demand has to come from the public.
“Look, I talk to many big-box stores and I tell them, ‘You have to stop selling crap, start selling BluWood and green drywall and mold resistant caulk.’ They don’t want to, because it’s driven by demand.”
But Holmes is not a man to be deterred by obstacles. “The bad guys don’t like me; [they say] ‘He’s causing us problems and he’s costing us money,'” he says.
“I am the boss. I’m a Leo, and I’m a pretty confident guy; been confident all my life.” And the boss is confident that he is heading in the right direction, and determined to take us with him.
–Kate Tyndall is a contributing editor to ProSales.
