Episode 38 Recap | The Block moved into its first huge landscaping week on Tuesday night, but before the contestants could worry about pools, terraces and dwindling budgets, the fallout from Courtney and Sev’s perfect score exploded into copycat accusations, judging complaints and one of the frostiest Open For Inspections of the season.
The morning after Courtney and Sev collected three perfect 10s for their kids’ bedroom and redo room, there was little enthusiasm among some of their rivals to celebrate the result.
The biggest issue was their revamped living room.
Courtney and Sev had added a number of features also seen in Adam and Jolene’s earlier winning living room, including an identical fireplace and a mirror wall, although their version used darker tones and panelling.
For Jolene, the similarities were difficult to ignore.
She was already frustrated that Courtney and Sev had received three 10s for their redo when Adam and Jolene’s original room had not earned a perfect score.
“What p****s me off is they got three tens for a redo room.
We didn’t even get a ten and it’s done so much better.
It’s a bit s**t from the judges,” Jolene said.
Lisa was equally unimpressed.
“An interior designer copied someone’s winning room and gets three tens,” Lisa said.
But Courtney and Sev were well aware of the criticism being directed their way.
Sev rejected the suggestion that the redo room had simply been copied from Adam and Jolene, saying a fireplace and mirror wall had always been part of their original vision.
“It was always our intention to put in a fireplace and a mirror wall.
It was only until Scotty came in and told us we could only spend $15,000 that put out those fundamental things,” Sev said, referring to the earlier living room week when the pair had been pulled up over their spending.
“They can tell themselves all they want that we copied them.
She’s not the first person to slap a mirror on a wall, let me tell you that.”
The tension only increased when the contestants headed into the latest Domain Open For Inspections.
Rather than simply admiring the winning rooms, several teams went searching for evidence that the judges had applied different standards.
Jolene, Lisa and Rosco scrutinised Courtney and Sev’s work closely.
Jolene quickly spotted an issue with the ceiling.
“How do you get a 10 when your ceiling looks like that?” Jolene asked.
She was not alone.
Rick also noticed the unfinished section and was frustrated because he had previously been penalised for similar finishing problems.
Lisa and Rosco found incomplete caulking as they inspected the room.
For Lisa, it reopened the frustration from the previous judging.
The judges had suggested Lisa and Rosco could have been in contention for a perfect 10 for their kids’ bedroom and redo guest suite had they painted a small strip of skirting board.
That became particularly difficult for Lisa to accept after Courtney and Sev had received two 10s the previous week for their laundry and rumpus room despite also having unpainted skirting.
The length of unfinished skirting that had cost Lisa and Rosco dearly suddenly became a symbol of what they believed was inconsistent judging.
But the copycat accusations were not flowing in only one direction.
Chantel, firmly on the side of Courtney and Sev, argued Lisa’s own redo room had borrowed heavily from Chantel and Wyatt’s guest suite.
She pointed to the similar curved bedhead and even orchids positioned on the bedside table.
With accusations of copying, complaints about judging standards and old grievances still bubbling away, the start of the week was anything but harmonious.
And there was no time for the teams to recover.
The competition had officially reached Outdoor Terrace and Pool Week.
That meant five enormous decks, pools and entertaining spaces now had to take shape while several contestants were already running dangerously low on money.
The scale of the challenge varied significantly between properties.
The uptown houses were facing approximately 100 square metres of outdoor space.
For the downtown properties, Houses 4 and 5, the workload was roughly double at about 200 square metres, along with an additional central courtyard.
The suggested budget was just $20,000.
For some contestants, that figure was barely going to make a dent.
For Courtney and Sev, however, their run of victories had left them considerably better placed than many of their rivals.
They were able to put money directly towards landscaping and had enlisted Troy Lovett to help deliver their outdoor plans.
Others were not so fortunate.
Rick and Tayla were staring at an enormous backyard while already dealing with financial pressure.
Despite that, they were not scaling back their ambitions.
Their plans included an outdoor kitchen with a matching marble bench, stairs leading towards a glass-fenced pool, travertine tiles, a lounge zone featuring two daybeds, a dining space with a concrete table and a sunken olive tree.
It was an ambitious design at precisely the point in the competition when cash was becoming harder to find.
Things were even more precarious for Lisa and Rosco.
They were entering their first outdoor space without their landscaper and were preparing to rely instead on their existing construction team.
Their plans included an outdoor bar table and stools, a Kimodo smoker and a kitchenette.
Around the pool, they wanted an outdoor shower.
They were also doing something no other team was attempting, choosing a dark Plungie pool.
But without more money, parts of the plan were in danger.
Chantel and Wyatt were also searching for a financial miracle.
Their terrace design included a sink, bar fridge and small round table, with a glass balustrade and two lounge chairs.
They also planned additional seating around the pool and had extended their deck on the driveway side.
Then Scott Cam arrived with exactly the announcement the struggling teams needed.
Every team would receive an additional $50,000 as part of CommBank Yello Week.
Suddenly, the mood around the site changed.
For Lisa and Rosco, the injection meant they could proceed with their landscaping plans and bring in help rather than attempting to tackle the enormous job entirely with their existing crew.
For Rick and Tayla, the extra money meant they did not have to send their landscaper home.
For the already cash-rich Courtney and Sev, it added another sizeable amount to an already strong financial position.
The team that had managed its landscaping budget most comfortably was Adam and Jolene.
Their finances had been helped enormously by their mammoth $110,000 kitchen week win, although despite having the money available, they had only secured their landscaper the previous week.
Their outdoor design was also substantial.
They planned to use their winning Dekton from Cosentino for an outdoor kitchen complete with a bar fridge, barbecue and pizza oven.
A large island bench would form another major element of the terrace.
They were also planning a sauna, a four-seat high table, a Plungie pool deck and outdoor furniture.
Money may have been one less thing for Adam and Jolene to worry about, but neighbour relations certainly were not.
The simmering tension between House 1’s Adam and Jolene and House 2’s Chantel and Wyatt continued to worsen.
One of the most important issues was access.
At that point, the side of House 1 provided the only route for Chantel, Wyatt and their trades to reach part of House 2’s yard without moving directly through their own house.
Adam and Jolene were now planning to close that access off.
The move threatened to make an already difficult landscaping job even more complicated for their neighbours and added another layer to a feud that had been building for weeks.
Away from the site, Courtney and Sev got another chance to enjoy the rewards of their winning run.
The pair headed off on their Chery Getaway to Cassis in Red Hill before joining Scott Cam for their winners’ dinner at 10 Minutes By Tractor.
There was another substantial prize waiting for them.
After earning their three perfect 10s, Courtney and Sev collected $30,000 in Big Bikkies from Arnott’s.
Back at the share house, the remaining contestants were preparing for a considerably less celebratory evening.
Chantel and Wyatt were on cooking duties for another family dinner.
Given the tensions around the table, it was always likely to be an awkward meal.
The existing frustration between Jolene and Chantel and Wyatt was still evident, with old complaints over chores and washing-up once again hovering around the group.
Eventually, Chantel and Wyatt left the table and announced they were heading to the gym.
Almost immediately, the conversation turned to them.
The remaining Blockheads began discussing Chantel’s brother-in-law, Travers “Candyman” Beynon, and speculating about whether the wealthy businessman could already be a potential buyer for Chantel and Wyatt’s property.
There was just one problem.
Chantel and Wyatt had not actually left.
They were still standing outside the front door being interviewed by a producer.
Once it became clear they could have heard what was being said, Tayla decided there was little point pretending the conversation had not happened.
She went outside and directly asked the couple whether Candyman intended to buy their house.
Rather than shut the speculation down, Chantel and Wyatt decided to have some fun.
“We are going to go last at auction so he’s just going to pay $1 more,” Wyatt said.
Chantel immediately added: “So, we’ll win.”
The pair were joking, but their response left Tayla momentarily stunned and turned an uncomfortable moment into one of the episode’s more mischievous exchanges.
By the following morning, the focus returned to budgets.
While most contestants appeared to have given up trying to accurately predict their final weekly spend, Lisa remained determined to keep her numbers under control.
She and Rosco had already won the $10,000 budget prize three times and were hoping to make it four.
Lisa revealed the method she uses to stay ahead.
“You always overestimate because things always go wrong and then at the very end of the week, I get all my invoices, then Saturday from noon onwards I go to the shops and I spend what I have left, to the cent,” Lisa said.
It was a calculated strategy designed to leave enough room for unexpected costs before using whatever remained late in the week.
After another day of landscaping work, Scott Cam arrived with a change of pace.
The contestants were told they would be taking part in an athletics carnival challenge at neighbouring Toorak College.
The teams arrived wearing their respective team colours and were greeted by students cheering them into the school.
Wyatt was enthusiastic about the sporting challenge.
Tayla was considerably more interested in the costumes.
But before any serious competition could begin, Scott had another surprise.
Waiting for the contestants were family members who had been flown in to see them.
The mood changed instantly.
After weeks of construction pressure, judging disappointment, financial stress and increasingly strained relationships inside the competition, the Blockheads were finally reunited with the people who had been supporting them from home.
The reunion delivered tears, long hugs and a much-needed emotional boost.
For contestants who had spent the episode arguing over judging, copying, money and neighbours, the appearance of their families briefly pushed the competition into the background.
And with the first landscaping week now underway, the contestants were warned that another special guest would arrive in the next episode.
