Is Canada's best handyman right here in Burnaby?
He could be - but we'll have to wait a few weeks to find out.
Burnaby firefighter Todd Wynes, 43, is one of the 12 finalists battling it out on Canada's Handyman Challenge, a new show on HGTV that premiered last Tuesday.
Wynes' lips are sealed about what will happen in the upcoming episodes and how he fares against the competitors from across the country.
But one thing is certain: his skills must be impressive to have gotten him past hundreds of hopefuls from across the country into a final group of only a dozen competitors.
"I think they had maybe 700 people apply for the Vancouver (tryouts)," said Wynes, noting that additional tryouts took place in eastern and central Canada.
It all began when the wife of a co-worker spotted the tryout information and immediately suggested that Wynes, known among his fellow firefighters for his handyman skills, should check it out.
The first step was a short application explaining why he should be considered, which wife Kerri Gilmour helped with.
The application proved persuasive, and he made it to the next round: going before the judges with a hand-built project to prove his skills.
"You had to make something out of a four-by-eight (foot) sheet of plywood. I made that at home, and then brought it in," he recalls. "I finally went in (to the judging room). I was the last one to go in, and I had waited hours and hours, and then you stand there in front of (the judges) Mike Holmes, Bryan Baeumler, and Scott McGillivray, and they take a look at it and tell you if they like it, what they think of it."
"Yeah, you're pretty nervous," he adds with a laugh.
But, his skill showed in the custom toolbox that he had designed and constructed. "They told me they loved it, right off the bat, and (asked) could I make two more of them."
The first episode follows him and fellow West Coast hopefuls as they pass through the next challenge: building a functioning garden gate in just two hours and working on a complicated crown moulding project.
Just four were chosen, and Wynes was among them.
"Yeah, that was pretty exciting," he said.
As to how he'll do in upcoming episodes, Wynes is mum but will say that, so far, everything has been a lot of fun.
"Because it's a challenge, that's difficult. You have 20 minutes to complete something. That changes everything - you just have to get going," he said.
Wynes, a Coquitlam resident, said he learned most of his handyman skills from his father, and then over the years he honed his talents by working on various home renovations. Aside from the projects and challenges, the best part of being involved, says Wynes, is meeting the well-known judges, each of whom hosts their own popular shows on HGTV.
"They were awesome, they were super nice," he said. "It was just nice to meet them, they were great guys."
When asked if the show may be an opening into a new career as celebrity handyman, Wynes laughs.
"I'm pretty happy as a firefighter," he said.
He's based out of the No. 5 station, working in the technical rescue division.
As for that toolbox that got him through to the next round, Wynes has high hopes for it: it's been signed by the three celebrity judges, and he's hoping to auction it off at the upcoming firefighters charitable ball to help fund a hot lunch program for kids from lowincome families.
The show, which is being hosted by Jillian Harris of The Bachelorette fame, runs every Tuesday at 10 p.m. Episode 2 aired last night, and episode 3 will air next Tuesday, Jan. 24.
