Outdoor terrace and pool reveal day came with two certainties: it was going to rain, and somebody’s deck wasn’t going to be finished. Nobody had “a tiny garden gnome decides the week” on the bingo card.
| Rank | Team | Score | Judges’ Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1st | Adam and Jolene (House One) | 29 | “This does that so perfectly.” |
| 🥈 2nd | Courtney and Sev (House Four) | 28.25 | “This is a different level.” |
| 🥉 3rd | Chantel and Wyatt (House Two) | 25.5 | “It still looks luxury.” |
| 4th | Lisa and Rosco (House Three) | 22 | “A huge mistake and a non-negotiable to fix.” |
| 5th | Rick and Tayla (House Five) | 21.5 | “At the end of the day, it’s not finished.” |
Key Moments This Episode
- DRAMAAdam and Jolene’s Secret Gnome wins them the week by three quarters of a point, and Courtney and Sev miss out on a sixth win.
- DISASTERHouse Five is “literally 70% done” on hero week: “At the end of the day, it’s not finished.”
- ARGUMENTHouse Three’s “there’s a sign” excuse for the missing pool steps earns a bleeped-out verdict from Darren.
- RIDICULOUS PURCHASERick’s Bunnings run: “I need 7000 of them.” Seven thousand screws, one trolley.
- DRAMATayla bombs into House Two’s brand new pool mid-deck. Chantel: “Aren’t you meant to be finishing your deck?”
- DISASTERChantel and Wyatt’s pool still wears the wrong tiles: “Turns out, Tayla picked those tiles.”
- RIDICULOUS PURCHASEShaynna on House Two’s inflatable: “The flamingo doesn’t sell the dream.”
Archery, Massages and a Very Public Swim
With reveal day looming, Saturday began with masseuses in the living room for Rosco and Rick, and ended with most of the site at a brewery. Twin Block winners Alisa and Lysandra dropped by, took everyone to St Andrews Beach Brewery, and Olympic medallist Alec turned lunch into an archery contest.
- The prize: $20,000 in total, being $10,000 cash from al.ive and a $10,000 Sentinel safe.
- The result: Adam and Jolene led on 45 points, then beat Rick and Tayla in a play-off by two points, despite a perfect score from Rick.
- The cost: Contestants were off site while decks sat half built, so Nine in Six extended tools down from 3pm to 6pm.
Earlier, Tayla had heard House Two’s pool was being filled and wandered over for a swim, bomb included. Chantel’s welcome: “How are you guys going?” Tayla’s: “Not good.” She then went straight back to work, where a bra found in the water turned out to be hers. Her report on Scott: “He’s proud,” though he would have preferred more working than swimming.
1st: Adam and Jolene, the Kitchen That Beat a $10 Million Postcode
House One won the week with a Cosentino Dekton outdoor kitchen, a sauna, a gym with doors that peel back and a deck of spotted gum. The judges’ only gripes were clutter and a dining table that turns the view into the backs of chairs.
“I reckon if you logged on to Mount Eliza right now to look at properties for sale, there would not be an outdoor kitchen as good as this.”
Marty Fox
Adam and Jolene scored 29 and played their Secret Gnome, picked up from Domain, on Shaynna’s score. Without it, Courtney and Sev would have taken the week. It was their third win, and it comes with a Chery getaway to Pt Leo Estate and dinner at Laura.
2nd: Courtney and Sev, a Knockout That Ran Out of Screws
House Four’s deck is the size of a small airfield (Marty guessed “20-plus metres wide”), and the judges walked out and gasped. Darren said the girls chose the house for a reason, and “now the reason is clear”.
It wasn’t finished, with decking boards still missing and Shaynna querying a bar table that was too high and a cattle grate that looked like a drain. The curved glass pool fence, though, was called “incredibly custom”. One judge: “Apart from those decking boards, this would definitely have been a 10 from me.”
Their score of 28.25 was three quarters of a point behind.
3rd: Chantel and Wyatt, Space, Luxury and a Flamingo
House Two built on a “very finite budget” and still got “luxury”, Darren said, with the deck extended and a big rectangular Plungie pool on the tiles that were meant for somebody else. Marty also liked that you could properly see the pool from the furniture, calling it “visually more impressive” than next door.
The sticking point was the barbecue. There wasn’t one outdoors, because it lives upstairs and goes down in the lift. Marty: “At this price point, this is your bare minimum expectation.” Darren thought it was campaign ready; Shaynna disagreed, citing mismatched planting, a “mean, stingy bench seat” and bathroom towels at a pool. Then came the flamingo.
“The flamingo doesn’t sell the dream.”
Shaynna Blaze
4th: Lisa and Rosco, a Gift Horse in the Mouth
House Three had the best view on the block and the only dark pool, and Darren loved its “billabong feel” and called it “chic and luxurious”. Glass wrapping three sides also won praise from Shaynna.
Then the list of problems arrived:
- The pool fence: a metre-wide walkway that Marty said could hurt buyer confidence: “a huge mistake, and this is a non-negotiable to fix.”
- The steps: none, only a sign explaining why. Darren called that excuse a bleeped-out word.
- The lighting: “not one bit of lighting out on this outdoor area,” Shaynna said.
- The seating: one daybed, “a cracker”, and not nearly enough of them.
Darren said the house was a gift from Courtney and Sev and they hadn’t made the most of it. They scored 22, but did win the CommBank Better Budgeting Award, worth $10,000.
5th: Rick and Tayla, 70% of a Hero Week
House Five had a lovely stone, an 86-inch TV, a 400-kilo hand-poured concrete table and an olive tree rising through the deck, which Shaynna called a standout. Darren praised the palette and said the block’s best backyard was theirs. Tayla’s verdict: “Had we have finished, we would have got three 10s.”
They hadn’t finished, and the judges noticed. After 7000 Bunnings screws, the deck was only part laid, the light switches sat behind unlaid tiles, and Shaynna wanted the bar and dining areas swapped. The judges’ summary: “Four finished homes and one that’s literally 70% done.”
“At the end of the day, it’s not finished. And this is the hero week.”
The judges
The Wrap-Up
A gnome, a screw shortage and a missing pool step made for a very close finish. Next week is Garage and Backyard Week, with the gardens in the spotlight, a share house at breaking point and “budget chaos”. Grab a coffee and get comfortable.
