TV Personality Mike Holmes Awards Homes Built Using Spray Foam

Mike Holmes is a famous television personality whose show, "Holmes on Homes," airs on HGTV. As the host, Holmes doles out expert advice to homeowners caught in home repair quandaries. Now, the home renovation celebrity has launched a quality control program called "Holmes Approved Homes," where he celebrates builders who go above and beyond industry standards, according to a recently published report.

The Montreal Gazette reports that Holmes began the program through his company, the Holmes Group, and that the goal is to highlight builders throughout North America constructing homes that exceed the expectations set forth by industry watchdog groups and government regulators. The homes profiled by the organization tend to feature energy efficiency measures and are built to strict environmental standards.

The program launched in Calgary in March and is expected to reach other Canadian cities over the coming months, according to Holmes Homes director Seth Atkins. Atkins told the news publication that while the homes chosen may look like traditional houses, the techniques used during construction set them apart.

Homes selected by Aktins' discerning eye were built using premium products that prevent mold, termites and fungus from forming. Moreover, builders of the houses often use products like insulating spray foam to provide an additional layer of waterproofing and insulation to the homes. Among other uses, spray foam helps ensure that cool and hot air doesn't escape through the cracks and leaks that can plague the foundation and surround windows and doors, boosting energy efficiency.

While the premium products can cost more than traditional ones used in construction, homeowners benefit in long-term savings, according to industry watchers. Atkins affirmed that the program rewards builders for going above and beyond the call of duty in their adoption of clean energy and other tough building standards.

"We believe that you should build from minimum code, not to minimum code," Atkins said in an interview. "The real reason the code was put into place in the first place was that it was a life and safety document. It simply was created to ensure that buildings were built to a minimum level that permitted it so that you wouldn't die or get seriously hurt. We believe that unfortunately it became the building standard."

To achieve a designation of being a Holmes Approved Home, houses are put through a battery of tests, which includes inspections during and after construction. "And at the very end, we do a thermographic scan, we make sure everything is the way it is supposed to be, and then we provide the builder and the owner with a Holmes Approved Homes certificate," Atkins asserted.

Spray foam can help lower utility costs by improving the energy efficiency of a home. Though it is marginally more expensive than traditional insulating tools, it's medium- and long-term cost savings are far greater.