And to his delight, they inherited his talent and passion for building.
Mike:Go ahead, Mike.
Michael Jr.:I was going to say this was 20 years in the making.
[Something] like that.
My dad started “Holmes on Homes” and then it just kind of evolved from there.
I guess that’s the short answer to how “Holmes Family Rescue” got started.
It just made sense to be “Holmes Family Rescue.”
So what is it like actually working while on camera?
Does actually doing all this construction and stuff while on camera affect your work process?
Sherry:It takes more time than it would should we not have been on the camera.
It never goes perfectly well.
It’s a lot slower.
We need to see to it we catch everything and explain everything properly.
It’s also, I remember it being quite nerve-wracking when I started.
I was terrified to work in front of the camera.
Michael Jr.:Yeah.
It’s definitely a longer process.
I can see that.
And how do the homeowners on the show find you?
What’s it been like working for them?
Michael Jr.:They all go tomakeitright.caand tell us their story.
[With a] good story.
And what that does is allows us to meet a wonderful family.
It gets more encouragement to go just all out as much as we can to save their lives.
Mike:You know, it’s always great working with your kids.
Of course, there’s up and downs.
That’s my personal opinion.
What do you guys think?
Sherry:I honestly would agree with that.
I feel like there are challenges to it.
We are a family, so you’re going to argue, you’re going to bicker.
I think we’re really good at that back and forth and communicating.
And also we can’t stay in any kind of argument or tiff after work.
So I think it’s been really good for us.
Michael Jr.:Yeah.
And your parent has to learn that too.
And then you’re learning how to work for your parent.
And so there are growing pains, but I’d say now we’re closer than ever.
Did you two always want to go into construction?
Was this something your father encouraged you to do?
I wanted to do something on my own.
And I wanted to be a firefighter when I was younger.
Sherry:Mine is similar because I absolutely did not want to work in construction.
I don’t think it’s so much of not wanting to work in construction.
It was definitely not wanting to do what my dad wanted me to do.
I was more of a nomad.
So I used to like backpacking, and to me, work was work.
I just needed to make money.
It didn’t matter.
One being I was terribly shy, and two, I’m really bad at math.
So I was embarrassed about that kind of skillset.
I finally agreed to join the crew when I was 21 years old.
What do you think?"
I can learn to read a measuring tape and do my math.
And you just get to see what you might do with your bare hands.
And the people you get to help are just phenomenal.
I’ve never turned back, obviously.
Michael Jr.:That’s an easy one.
Mike:Well, go ahead.
Michael Jr.:I was going to say … Actually, no, that’s not so easy.
There was two for me.
And he ended up tearing down this house completely and rebuilding it from scratch.
And that was an exhausting build.
We’ve never dealt with heat or humidity like that before.
At least, I haven’t in my life.
And that was really challenging and to get that job done in two months was really tough.
Sherry:I think that’s a really tough question.
I’m not really sure.
I think every job has its difficulties in different degrees.
Definitely some more than others.
I have favorite jobs, which sounds terrible.
Probably just the ones we put the most hours in, but those are also some of my favorites.
So I can’t say.
I don’t know.
I don’t have a full answer to that.
Mike:“Lien On Me” would be the hardest job.
The one that my son said.
The reason why was because they didn’t have any money.
The contractor took all they had and then liened their property.
The first thing I had to do was put them up for a year.
I paid for where they lived.
I paid their electrical bills.
I paid their telephone bill.
I paid their legal bills.
And that was a home that will withstand a hurricane, a tornado, and the test of time.
It was financially huge.
We had to do it.
It still cost the company a million to save their lives.
It’s got to be a dollar minimum.
Build a house that will withstand Category 5 hurricanes.
Save the families that are down there.
Tell the story at the Lower Ninth and …
I’m telling you, I’ve never felt humidity like that in my life.
We begged for rain.
And then we begged for air conditioning.
Sherry:That was still my favorite job.
Were there other ones?
Sherry:I have two favorites.
My very first job was New Orleans.
I was 21 years old, never learned construction.
I was scared of the camera.
We worked seven days a week nonstop.
We would work before seven in the morning.
We’d work until after eight at night.
And it was still one of the best things I’ve ever done to this day.
And the second would be High Park.
We built a castle playground and it was phenomenal for how many people can say they build a castle?
And I actually met my husband building that project.
Mike:That’s right.
The last question was, can you tell me a little bit about “Holmes for the Holidays”?
Mike:“Holmes for the Holidays” is such a family-oriented show.
And it’s going to be one show that everyone out there is going to adore.
Sherry:It really just brings back the magic of Christmas.
And that’s what I found to be so important.
I love the holidays, so very fun to do.
Michael Jr.:Yeah.
And it’s something different.
We all work together as a family, but then it created this different family element.
Sherry:And it’s something outside the job site too.
