Backyard and Garage Week began with a question several contestants couldn’t answer by lunch: which of these spaces is the front yard, and which is the back? What they did know was that the money was running out, and nobody was sharing the excavator politely.
Key Moments Today
- ARGUMENTHouse Three’s excavator is taken by the neighbours’ tradies: “If you want to take my machines, you come and talk to me.”
- ARGUMENTWheelbarrows of concrete cross House One’s property: “They need to talk to me.”
- DRAMAJolene spots a curved wine cellar in House Four’s photos, a direct rival to House One’s secret weapon.
- DISASTERHouse Four’s budget jumps to $125,000 and the custom wine cellar is cancelled: “The math ain’t mathin’.”
Monday Morning Open House Roast
With House One’s 29-point win in the bag, the contestants inspected each other’s work and criticised it, as they do every Monday. The sauna on House One’s balcony took the most flak. Wyatt: “Would you sit here and then have someone sitting in the sauna?”
House Two’s terrace got a better reception, though the flamingo was called “a little GC”. One voice insisted “We were robbed” about House One’s 29 out of 30, and House Three’s dark pool gave someone the shivers: “I feel like an alligator’s gonna eat me.”
Wine Cellar Wars
House One and House Four had picked the same garage showstopper: a custom wine cellar. House One’s is “like 35K”, a figure that came as news to one half of the team. Jolene then spotted a curved wine cellar in a photo during the open for inspection at House Four, and wasn’t thrilled.
House Four’s cedar concave rack from Cellar Creations had been meant for the rumpus room. The verdict on the design: “This rack is art.” Sold to “the lady in the hard hat”.
House Four’s $18,000 Hole
Then the invoice arrived. The girls thought they were working to $100,000, but Troy’s budget was $125,000, leaving them about $18,000 short for the garage. The production team stepped in to check the numbers, warning that overspending could end in disqualification.
Courtney called Cellar Creations to pull out, after the craftsmen had given a heavy discount and worked all weekend. A tense chat with Troy followed, with the cellar labelled “a gimmick”. By nightfall the girls changed course, took the gamble and cut landscaping to pay for it.
“Gotta risk it for that biscuit.”
House Four
The Excavator Heist and a Wheelbarrow Row
Lisa and Rosco booked the excavator in advance for once, only for the Cursios (the tradie crew working for House Two) to walk over and take it mid-dig. The argument that followed was less about the digger than about who decides when someone is “not doing anything”.
Later, Jolene found concrete spilled across her ground, with wheelbarrows running down House One’s side. Wyatt believed he’d had a chat; Jolene said he hadn’t. Wyatt’s counter was a double-standard claim, and Adam wanted a proper sit-down.
Cheryoke, Budget Blues and Block Royalty
Scott’s challenge: write and perform a one-minute song about the Block journey within 24 hours, for $10,000 from Chery. The 2023 Hampton East sisters, Eliza and Liberty, introduced it by video. The cash matters, because the budgets this week were a long way from Scott’s $30,000 recommendation:
- House One: $85,000.
- House Four: $86,000, “all in”.
- House Two: $34,000 to start the week.
- House Three: about $70,557, or in their words “all of our money”.
- House Five: about $29,000, with nearly double the land.
To lift spirits, 2023 winners Steph and Gian turned up with baby Ilaria, toured the houses and joined an Aldi family dinner at the share house. Meanwhile, Adam took Rosco to Point Leo for the winner’s dinner at Laura, because Jolene was sick. Lisa’s verdict on that arrangement was bleeped.
What’s Next
Tomorrow: the Cheryoke performance at headquarters, a wine cellar war that continues and a share house rift that reaches crisis point over the extra guests (Kai, his mate Nick and a contestant’s dad, Jim). See you back at the Block, and see the gardens page for how the backyards finish.
