Kitchen and bathroom renovations are a good way to increase the value of your home. Even if you are not selling, a beautiful kitchen lets you use that space for...
Holmes Family Rescue Reno: A Beloved Bungalow
By Mike Holmes
Mikeโs Advice / Design & Renovation Inspiration
Thursday, February 13th, 2025 @ 8:00am
Life Can Change In A Moment
Sometimes, life changes on a dime with no warning. Thatโs what happened to John when he suddenly had a stroke. John and Lesa, homeowners from Holmes Family Rescue Season 2, had been in their home for 30 years, and they had no intention of moving. They loved the neighbourhood and had an โopen door policyโ with all their friends. Some even called John the โmayor of the streetโ!ย
John was a tiler by trade and had a heart of gold – always helping people. Then, suddenly, John had a stroke and that closed the door on the coupleโs future renovation plans.
John was a tiler by trade and had a heart of gold – always helping people
This wasnโt a story of a bad contractor. It was a story of an unfortunate circumstance happening to a good person that changed his life and his wifeโs forever. We wanted to make this home a safe, accessible, functional and cozy home for this wonderful family.ย
We gutted the house, reframed it and moved a few windows to get the best functionality, but the whole project kept getting bigger and bigger as we found more issues, including a sagging roof!
We wanted to make this home a safe, accessible, functional and cozy home for this wonderful family.ย
Smog-Reducing Roof Shingles for a Safer, More Energy-Efficient Home
We always stress the importance of ensuring the exterior envelope of your home is secure before doing any upgrades on the inside. The exterior envelope of your home includes the roof.ย
John and Lesa had experienced some water damage, mould, and some sagging because John cut out all the collar ties.ย
The roof is your home’s first line of defence against the elements.
So we removed two layers of old heavy shingles and replaced them with a whole new roof using cool roof technology shingles.
- Installed new collar ties, resheathed with plank board, and added a high-quality underlayment between the roof sheathing and the shingles – this will help protect against ice and water damage
- Installed shingles with smart cooling technology – the shingles reflect the sunlight, reducing the heat absorbed into the attic, which helps with the overall energy efficiency of your home
- The shingles also have smog-absorbing technology – helping clean the outdoor air around your home –ย the average size roof reduces the same amount of smog that two to three trees would do.
We worked with Better Contracting to get the roof installed by the pros.
Atlas Designer Shingles made with Scotchgardโข Protector by 3Mย you have the trusted 3M brand and limited lifetime warranty providing long-term protection and peace of mind for your roof.
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Designing a Functional Galley Kitchen with Improved Flow and Storage
Lesa loved cooking and baking, but her old kitchen was cramped and lacked functionality, which was more of a concern with Johnโs mobility issues. So, with the help of Kimmberly Capone Interior Design, we designed a modern galley-style kitchen with plenty of storage and better flow.ย
Galley kitchens are great for maximized storage while keeping the flow open and airy.
We also extended the kitchen to create an open concept dining room that can comfortably fit 8ย for all those weekly get-togethers with friends.
Redesigning the main floor was the main focus of this project, but with Johnโs accessibility issues, we needed to ensure the entire floor was one level, eliminating all the tripping hazards from before – this included the bedroom, the living room, and the bathroom.
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Accessible Bedroom and Bathroom for Johnโs Mobility Needs
The bedroom remained the same size. However, we included a walk-in closet with lots of storage space. To eliminate trips to the basement for laundry, we also added a state-of-the-art washer and dryer combination.
While we didn’t make the bedroom bigger we redesigned it with accessibility in mind for John.
Love how this laundry room came together and I know yellow is my daughter Sherry’s favourite colour.
The fully accessible bathroom allowed for more maneuverability, high-end finishes and storage options.ย
Curbless showers are great especially for easy mobility in and out of the shower.
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Creating a Comfortable Living Room with Easy Mobility
In the living room, we created a wall to give space for a TV. We also installed a double-sided electric fireplace to complete the transformation of this much loved home.
We added durable, high-quality vinyl flooring throughout to eliminate any transitions and tripping hazards for John.
New Backyard Deck For Entertaining Friends and Family
The back deck of Lesa and Johnโs house had to go. It was incorrectly tied to the roof, causing water damage. Also, it was simply unsafe.
We installed helical piles and built a wooden deck with aluminum rails.
My daughter Sherry helping install the wooden planks on the deck.
Sammy, our site supervisor, purchased and installed a beautiful interlocking stone. This helped create a nice level surface throughout the entire backyard which will be safer for John.
We created an additional seating area that was sheltered so the family could enjoy their pizza nights even on days when the weather isn’t great.
We also added a new grill, fridge and counter space for cooking on the deck.
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Optimizing Window Layout for Better Light and Flow
When we start a home renovation, we consider all our options, and often we need to move things around, like windows and doors. This typically happens when we are working on a small, older home and want to make it a more open concept.ย
This was the case for Lese and Johnโs home. We removed the window in the dining room, bricked it back in and cut a hole for a window further into the living room area.
We made sure the house still had plenty of light coming in. And of course, the new brick never matches the old brick.ย
Because we wanted to add more usable wall space, we also removed a couple of other windows and then bricked in the area as well.
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When you repair the brick on an old home, itโs almost impossible to match that brick. However, we find that staining the brick gives much better results than painting the brick. Painting the brick doesnโt allow the brick to breathe and will likely peel, but by tinting the brick, you retain the texture of the brick, and layering the colours can almost match the existing brick – minimizing the evidence that a window was ever there. Plus, it lasts a long time.ย
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Building a Safe, Accessible Front Porch
The more we investigated the front porch, the more we realized it had to be replaced.ย The concrete and blocks on the front porch were so badly damaged by water and very unstable, especially with John having mobility issues. There were also no footings, so we had to tear the entire foundation out, and start fresh.
Since we used helical piles for the back deck, it made sense to do the same for the front porch.
We matched the black aluminum railings on the wooden front deck with the back wooden deck.
Maximizing Space and Storage with Clever Design Choices
John and Leseโs home is small, but it was important for us to create a space that evokes light, flow and storage without feeling cluttered. We maximized light with fixtures, rearranged some of the windows, and added new exterior doors with glass openings.
The flow was also important so Lese and John could move throughout the house easily, and we added clever furniture choices that provided additional storage, like the hydraulic bed with plenty of storage underneath and an ottoman with storage.
The flow was also important so Lese and John could move throughout the house easily.
As we all know life can turn on a dime, and I donโt wish it on anyone, but it happens. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and it’s not about bad contractors, but this is where people help people. Together my family and crew fixed all the issues in this family home, the dangerous back deck, and structural problems within the attic space, and so much more.ย
We gave John and Lesa a safe, extremely efficient and more functional home – all new windows and doors, a new front porch, a new back deck with railings, a new roof, gutters and downspouts. Pretty much everything is new and Iโm so grateful that we can continue to help homeowners in need. It feels good to make it right for good people and it feels good giving them their home back.
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