SCOTTY: Previously, our Blockheads began work
on their second bathroom for the series.
And best mates from Victoria Ricky and Haydn
found themselves in a hole.
Yeah, this is House 4's pool.
That's close.
That's real close.
Brad!
Obviously, you guys don't want our pool close to yours.
Do you have any room out the back?
From a buying point of view, both of us are cooked.
We're stuffed.
Tonight, it's...
Waterproof Wednesday, baby.
But will any of our teams make their 6pm tools-down deadline?
JESSE: The plumber just said he's got three hours.
PAIGE: Three hours of what?
Of plumbing.
What has put us off track today?
That timber that you've exposed can swell.
I don't think you've got insulation up there, have ya?
You're skipping steps.
Oh, (BLEEP)!
I'm getting worried, that's all. Oh, I'm seriously concerned.
Hey, if we don't start moving,
I'll just send the waterproofer home, dude.
Start moving? I've been moving all day, mate.
Not sure I've got the right guy for the job at the moment.
(THUNDER PEALS, PENGUINS CHIRP)
(WIND WHIPS)
(STATIC BUZZING)
It's Waterproof Wednesday.
Waterproof Wednesday, baby.
Waterproofing Wednesday, yep, there is no two greater words
that you can hear than Waterproofing Wednesday,
especially when you have a waterproofer who's back from Dubai.
Yep, in case you missed it, Ricky got this phone call on Monday.
From Dubai?
Yeah, the OG tiler rang me.
PRODUCER: And what did he say?
"I'm in Dubai."
Was he in Dubai?
No, he wasn't in Dubai.
He was just tiling in Prahran.
Brahimi...
Obviously, English is Brahimi's second language,
but it's become apparent that comedy is potentially his third.
Classic stitch-up.
Now, regular viewers will be well versed
in our intensive wet-room inspection process.
It all starts with the subfloor and wall-frame inspection,
followed by an insulation check, wall and ceiling plaster inspection.
And only when those sheets are dry can the waterproofing process begin.
Now, ideally, you want to start waterproofing
by tools down on Wednesday so that it can dry overnight
and you can begin tiling first thing Thursday.
That's what everyone is aiming for today.
Organisation is key.
The night before, we'd spent the whole night insulating our skylight,
pre cut out all the installation for the floor, ready to roll so,
whenever the boys get on site, they would be ready to rock and roll.
Ready to go. We had a system.
Believe it or not, the two knuckleheads had a system.
They also had what they hope will be a winning design,
which includes a double vanity and a double shower
complete with a peach feature tile
and a specially designed on-trend curve
that runs from the shelf all the way up to the ceiling.
And let's not forget the...
Enormous skylight that takes up probably 80% of the ceiling.
It rakes down so some amazing plasterwork is required.
So, there's some serious wow factor in that ensuite.
So, the boys are confident in their design, and builder Miller
is positive that they'll hit Waterproof Wednesday with ease.
Got the plumbers roughing in right now.
As soon as they're out, we can get ticked off
by Dan the man for our subfloor, and we can insulate and lay floor.
Hoping to be sheeting by 11, plastering.
Across the road in House 4,
mum-and-dad team Kylie and Brad are also tracking well
to meet the Waterproof Wednesday deadline, but, in their haste,
it looks like they've put the cart before the horse.
We were on a roll Tuesday arvo,
and a sheet got laid before it should've been.
Shouldn't have done it, shouldn't have put it in.
Should've left the floor until this morning.
(HORSE WHINNIES)
It appears they've laid the subfloor before installing the...
(WRONG ANSWER BUZZERS)
Puddle flange.
(CORRECT ANSWER DING)
It's a leak-control flange.
It's to prevent leaks.
We need to get this under the bit of flooring that has gone in.
How are we gonna get that in? Don't know.
I'll just cut edge of that joist, edge of that joist,
stitch a piece to it and then drop this piece straight back in.
Yeah.
(INTROSPECTIVE MUSIC)
So, with the floor sheet impeding the installation
of the puddle flange,
builder Ben must now temporarily remove a section of the floor sheet
so that the flange can be installed
before securing the section of the floor sheet back down
over the flange ready for waterproofing.
# Every little thing you want
# Every little thing you need
# Keep it all for yourself my love
# 'Cause there are really none better than me. #
So, you cut that out to do this, did you?
Well, we put our floor down last night,
not realising the plumbers weren't...
Yeah, so now...
So now we have a small problem where, remember,
all butt joints need to have some form of plastic underneath them.
So, when water goes down in there,
because of any movement in the future,
that timber that you've exposed can...
can swell.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
So, now that the flooring has been cut and therefore compromised,
a waterproofing material
needs to be fixed to the timber floor joists underneath
to protect them from any future leaks.
(BELL DINGS)
So, we decided to remove the entire sheet,
rather than doing little bits and pieces, just to save time.
Don't want to put it all back up there again.
If it comes up again, I'm goin', packin' me (BLEEP), head home.
So, if I were to choose one word
to describe Courtney and Grant's Block experience so far,
it would be consistent.
Whoa! Wow!
They've had consistent positive feedback.
The quality is off the charts.
They've actually put a curve in here.
And they've come a consistent second by a consistent half a point,
which has been consistently disappointing.
Yeah, disappointing.
Dis-a-half-a-point-ting. Dis-a-half-a-point-ting.
This week in our master ensuite,
we're trying to tie it in to the other bathroom,
but obviously make it different,
stick to that 'moderterranean' style.
Their big-ticket items this week include their signature marble,
which they will feature in the shower niche and vanity benchtop,
checkerboard travertine tiles and a recessed mirror.
We can't do a curve in this room,
only because it would close in the space a bit too much, so, instead,
we've incorporated that curve into a recessed mirror.
What we want to do is curve the walls into the mirror.
So, Court found this for inspiration...
..which was a recessed mirror with flat top and bottom.
Although we won't have storage, in the mirror,
we'll have basically a 1.5-metre vanity,
so there's quite a lot of storage in there, anyway.
Sounds like you've thought of everything except for one thing.
Is that removable? This?
Yeah. Removable?
No 'cause we've screwed off all the way,
like, 150 round the whole back.
Have we insulated behind it, the external wall?
Uh, no, we haven't.
We'll have to do that, yeah.
I appreciate what Dan does
and, mate, I appreciate the amount of help Dan gives us and advice,
and, you know, coming from a past contestant.
We'll slot it in. Yeah, we'll slot it in.
Haul the batts down, put 'em in.
We should be able to reach down from the top.
Go an arm length up and an arm length down.
The issue...
How do we know it's not gonna squash up and have gaps and, you know?
Uh...
There's a chance we're gonna have to cut a hole
and then somehow put that back in, so you can visually see it.
We'll get it in. We'll get it in, yeah.
OK.
We'd like to get some plaster sheets up today,
but this is gonna slow us down.
I tell you what's not slowing down,
and that's the preparation for House 3 and House 4's pools.
Big Phil the concreter is forging ahead like a freight train.
The problem is the location for the pools is still up for discussion.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
Yesterday, Ricky and Haydn noticed their freshly dug pool
was very close to the markings
of their neighbours Kylie and Brad's pool.
Yep, this is House 4's pool.
Are you sure?
Ours is right there.
Like, if you were playing volleyball in that pool,
you'd be servin' out of your pool, over to the next one.
That's close.
That's real close.
Our major concern was that was gonna affect a potential buyer.
From a buying point of view, both of us are cooked.
So, we actually asked Dan
if we could hold off having their pool dug,
sort of, plan out, potentially speak to the builders in the morning
and ask them, you know, what are our options?
But, this morning, it appears no-one gave big Phil the concreter the memo
and he's ready to crack on.
So, time for a meeting.
Pool saga, poolgate.
Poolgate. Pool...yeah.
Yeah, well, I think, first thing,
like, in any sort of major disadvantage,
I think the first thing you need to do is
just throw the toys out of the cot and completely crack the (BLEEP),
and I think we nailed that.
Definitely not happy with where it is, man.
Like, by far, we're the worst house on the Block.
We've got, like, a tiny 2x2 deck
and you're three metres away from the next pool.
I don't really see there being much of a problem
having our pools that close together.
People live next door to each other all the time.
Generally, most pools end up nearly side by side with a fence.
We've decided we want it per plan.
I've got line of sight for my kitchen and my pool.
Yeah.
So, I want to leave it as per... Per plan.
As you can see, your pool, Haydn, is nearly ready to be poured.
Yeah.
If you guys want to move it... I want to move it.
..where do you want to move it to?
I want to move it out... out the back.
The boys are proposing to move their pool out the back
to be with their outdoor entertaining deck.
It's not happening out the back.
You've got so many services out the back and stormwater and sewer.
Yeah. We can't put it on top.
OK, option one is not an option.
How about option two?
Didn't you say you wanted it near the master bed or something?
Well, that was the only other option.
so you can see the pool from the bedroom.
Option two was to slide the pool this way to be further away
from Kylie and Brad's and in line with their main bedroom.
It could be possible. Further back.
But it's gonna cost, as well.
What's it gonna cost to move it back?
Probably looking at five to move it back.
If you do move it, we're not telling Phil.
Look at him, look at him.
(CHUCKLING)
Yeah. What's wrong?
Phil's about seven foot tall.
He's built like some sort of gladiator
from, you know, the Roman days, so he's absolutely terrifying.
Youse didn't work this out yesterday? Like...
Nuh?
Yeah, we had a chat. Yeah.
Can we give 'em an hour?
When Phil says, "I'm pouring conc in 15 minutes,"
he's pouring it in 14,
and he doesn't care if you're laying in the pool.
So, yeah, we've gotta make a decision fast
on what we're doing with this pool.
Phil must be feeling generous today because he's agreed to hold off work
until the boys have a chat with Block architect Julian Brenchley.
G'day, Julian. How you doin'?
Yeah, good, guys.
I'm not sure if you've seen our plans
or you've been briefed in any way?
Yeah. Uh...
So, the first thing I asked Julian Brenchley...
Mate, when I heard that... ..was, "Have you seen the plans?"
So, he probably knew we were idiots within the first, like, 30 seconds.
Because, right now, we feel as though we're in a bit
of a disadvantage compared to other contestants and their layout.
And any further we push it back,
the more likely it is that the house itself will start to shade the pool.
And, in our view, there's plenty of curtilage or space around the pool
for you to come up with a landscape solution that suits your house.
Yeah, turns out the architect actually knows what he's doing
when it comes to designing the house and the layout.
Thanks for your time, mate.
Thanks, really appreciate it, Jules.
Julian explained it to us
that we actually probably had more advantage
of having the two living spaces, or outdoor spaces,
that we could utilise rather than almost dead space
around the side of the house.
We'll tell Philsy to pour the pool. Yep.
That'll make him happy. Yep.
We went from "We have the worst house on The Block"
to "We have the greatest house in this hemisphere".
You feeling good now? From a loss to a win, eh?
Yeah.
How quickly things can change on The Block.
(PALM TREES CREAK, PENGUINS CHIRP)
Welcome back to The Block.
Time is ticking on Waterproof Wednesday, as the Blockheads race
to get their master ensuites ready for inspection by foreman Dan.
# Coming for you with a bang. #
House 3 set themselves a bold target this morning.
Hoping to be sheeting by 11, plastering.
That proved to be a pipe dream.
Uh, there was a couple of alterations
that had to get made to the floor.
(SIGHS)
Yeah, that's exactly where we need to be, that line.
I'd like to say the progress was really slow
but I think it sort of ground to a bit of a halt there for a bit.
(CLOCK TICKING RAPIDLY)
No, this line's wrong.
There's a really strict inspection process for Dan and the team
at Nine in Six but it's there for a reason,
and they're not working against ya.
A lot of the time,
they're really trying to help you achieve what you need to achieve.
Mate, it's nearly 2:30.
What's going on?
Are we hitting inspection or not?
Hope so, mate.
Boys, what's going on? 2:30! We need inspection!
Otherwise you're not gonna be waterproofin'.
We're not too far off.
It seemed like it just sorta went nowhere for a bit.
Sealing grids, insulation.
Haven't done all our nogs.
Yeah, if we can fill that gap in.
I'm just trying to help youse out
to get you past the line when we come and inspect.
Yeah.
We could've been ready for sheeting hours ago.
I'm a bit worried, that's all. I'm seriously concerned.
Hey, mate, I just wanted to say, like, we went in there an hour ago.
Nothing's changed. I know, man.
That's what I don't get.
That's why I'm annoyed. Yeah, I know.
Oh, yeah, I've gone in there multiple times
and seen nothing happening, yeah.
Yeah.
I was getting frustrated because I knew
not a lot had to get done in order to get these plasterers rollin'.
Hey, if we don't get movin',
I'll just send the waterproofer home, dude.
Like, I won't tell him to come. I can't...
We're gonna lose enough money as it is.
If we're not gonna start movin'.
Start movin'?
I've been movin' all day, mate.
I've got three sparkies and an apprentice sittin' there.
You're cutting the blocks.
Alright, I'm just sayin'...
I'm just sayin', dude.
I've been movin' all day, mate.
(TENSE MUSIC)
PRODUCER: How are you feeling about your builder?
Um, I think he's doin' the best he can.
Honestly?
Yeah, I think he's doin' the best he can, yeah.
Um, I'm just not sure if, um...
..not sure we've got the right guy for the job at the moment.
How are we lookin'?
Um, ages.
We had plasterers standing on by, we're payin' 'em by the hour.
I could tell Rick was getting frustrated.
I could tell Miller wasn't happy with how he was progressing.
I could feel the tension in the room.
And it just felt like the plan that we had in place wasn't working.
I knew that Waterproofing Wednesday was starting to get away from us.
('BREAK FREE' BY ARIANA GRANDE PLAYS)
# This is the part when I say I don't wanna. #
# 'Cause I can't resist it no more. #
I'm off to Camerich today to spend my $100,000.
Our.
Our $100,000.
# One more time. #
Back in Week 1...
It's Kristian and Mimi! (SQUEALS)
..Kristian and Mimi took out top prize for their bathroom,
as well as 140 grand in cash and prizes,
including a whopping, game-changing, potential auction-winning
100 grand Camerich voucher.
And what better day for Mimi to have fun spending her prizemoney?
# Oh yeah. #
Oh, my goodness!
This place is amazing.
I walk in there and I see a lot of beautiful furniture
that I can't believe is for free for me.
Oh, my God, you have everything.
There was just so many cool things in there.
I could not believe it.
Oh, my God, is that a lamp? Yeah.
What is that?
So, it actually sways.
(GASPS AND SQUEALS) Yeah.
I was like, "I'll take two."
Meanwhile, back at the Block...
Your PIR boards are gonna have to come down.
Installed ceiling batts that needed insulation on top,
and, when foreman Dan came and saw them, he said,
"No, you have to insulate before you put them up."
I don't think you've got insulation up there, have ya?
Nuh, I'm doing it. I'm gonna do it from this side.
You gotta do it first.
You gotta get photos of it.
What do you mean? You're skipping steps, like...
How can we get our photos to prove it's there?
You haven't done it and you're just gonna shove it all in.
How do we know there's no gaps in it?
Kristian has put the PIR board on without the R7 insulation,
and you can't get in there now to do it properly.
We have to inspect it, we have to take photos
to make sure it's not crushed, there's not holes or anything.
So, he's cuttin' corners again.
This is not the first week he's done that.
So, that PIR board is gonna have to come down,
we're gonna have to get the R7 batts in.
Can't we put the R7 batts from this side and slide 'em in?
How do we know there's no gaps?
Yeah, but...
We don't guess on The Block, we do it right.
Yeah, I know, but then...
The couches were so comfortable.
This is the best couch I've ever sat on.
I, like, sank into all of them. I was like, "Er."
(PLAYFUL MUSIC)
Oh, my gosh.
Meanwhile, Kristian is trying everything he can
to avoid pulling down the ceiling sheets,
even going behind foreman Dan's back to ask for a second opinion.
Strap the whole thing...
Did Dan ask you to pull the insulation, to pull it down?
Yes.
Well, then, that's what you gotta do.
I'm not...
You don't get to come to me and get me to override him.
Oh, (BLEEP).
How much is this couch?
Um, this one, I think, is about 17.
OK.
Did you manage to spend all your Camerich bucks?
I think I spent most of it.
This is perfect. I love it.
I bought a dining table, a lounge.
I definitely don't want to change the sofa.
Yeah.
So I'm literally working around the sofa.
A coffee table, dining chairs, a couple of lamps.
(SQUEALS)
All my outdoor furniture and some vases.
Bought everything.
It was really fun.
It was nice to be away from site.
(KRISTIAN SIGHS)
# I don't know where it all just fades to dark. #
Yeah, it was just... it was just not a fun day.
Oh, those inspections really get to ya.
I may have teared up due to frustration.
I'm (BLEEP) over it.
It's a nightmare.
Coming up, Ricky and Haydn's builder goes AWOL.
Is Mills goin' to a music concert tonight?
Yeah.
MILLER: I have to go. See youse.
It's Waterproof Wednesday, mate.
And House 3's week goes from bad to worse.
No, this is bad.
Is it? This is bad.
He even started waterproofing. Lucky G's seen it.
This is topcoat.
Yeah, pretty embarrassing for me to walk into that space.
(THUNDER PEALS, PENGUINS CHIRP)
BOTH: Yes!
To celebrate 20 fabulous seasons of The Block,
head online to catch up with your favourite Block All Stars,
and check out the Block Shop for great deals
on this season's winning design ideas.
It's all at the Block website.
('PADAM PADAM' BY KYLIE MINOGUE PLAYS)
Welcome back to Master Ensuite Week where it's...
BOTH: Waterproof Wednesday.
# Padam padam... #
Everyone is pushing hard
to get the floors down, walls up and plumbing and electrical in
so their plasterers can get to work
and our Blockheads can get their rooms passed on inspections
before the dreaded 6pm tools-down deadline.
So, you got a heater and fan? Yeah, we got both.
Good, great. We got two heaters.
That's what's gonna get you
probably across the line to waterproofing tonight.
Yeah.
Mum-and-dad team Kylie and Brad
have copped their fair share of criticism from the judges
in the last two weeks for their dark and moody style.
It gives off a mid-2010s nightclub vibe.
It's not working because it's not an Art Deco place.
The only thing that I like about this room is the skylight because,
when I'm looking up, I don't have to see anything else in this room.
Give us a hug.
I get it, they don't like where I'm going with my styling,
but why not comment on the positives?
So, today, a reluctant Kylie
has agreed, sort of, to meet with the friendly and brave Jack,
a designer from Freedom, for some styling advice.
Hello. Kylie, nice to see you again.
We met a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, you too.
Yes. How are you going?
Yeah, been alright. Clearly not good, so...
To be honest, I felt a little bit threatened, a little bit...
I'm pretty sure you used the word attacked.
Attacked.
By Jack? It was...
Not by Jack. Not by Jack.
The idea of meeting with Jack.
The idea of someone trying to help me with my styling.
I was really excited
to see your place go a bit more wild which I like, totally my vibe.
It's not wild.
Wow.
I love the skylight.
Yeah, look, that wasn't even a design choice.
That was just there.
That was just part of the plan. Yeah.
OK, yeah.
So, you said you're going for, like, a monochromatic vibe.
Yeah.
They've said this is too nightclub.
(PENSIVE MUSIC)
It actually went really well.
Jack was really helpful.
You've got the right idea with that timber,
that softens it, and things like that.
The key with monochromatic is to mix textures.
Like, that texture there with the black, it's perfect.
I would bring in more natural, like, teak timber or something like that
to contrast the...
Which is technically what we're doing in the next bathroom.
Great.
So, we've done a walnut vanity.
But I thought...I'm doing white tiles with black accents.
OK.
We sort of gave a bit of an idea of where we were going
with this bathroom and he was completely on board.
He was like, "I wouldn't change a thing."
So, sticking with a monochromatic colour palette this week,
Kylie and Brad have chosen a large-format white marble tile,
black fittings and fixtures, a black and white bath,
and they'll warm the space up with a walnut vanity.
You're on the right track. It sounds like you're...
It sounds like you're gonna do a great job.
Kylie and Brad's builders are also on track and doing a great job,
and are ready for their insulation inspection.
# Good morning I wish you well I just want to wish you well. #
Brad, mate, well done.
First team to be plastering.
I think you'll make Waterproof Wednesday.
# And I just want to wish you well. #
So, from the first bathroom week,
we were last to waterproof, which was Thursday,
and this week, hopefully, we'll be the first to Waterproof Wednesday.
Hopefully.
Well, let's check on the other teams' progress.
(BUZZER BLARES)
How are we lookin'? Twenty to four.
Where's your plasterers? He's here.
He's pre-cutted. Pre-cut walls.
Drying times and stuff like that?
We're not gonna be waterproofing today.
(BUZZER BLARES) Gonna be first thing tomorrow.
Over in House 5...
..Kristian has accepted that he won't be plastering today,
and has sent his plasterers home.
(BUZZER BLARES)
Oh, Jesse, sorry about that. That's alright.
That's sweet.
And in House 1, things are about to come to a grinding halt.
The plumber just said he's got three hours.
Three hours of what? Of plumbing.
It's not gonna happen. (BUZZER BLARES)
Where the (BLEEP) did that spanner come from?
Can I ask what has put us off track today?
Good question, Paige.
Today started well,
with Jesse cracking on with the fall in the shower.
Waterproof Wednesday, baby.
Their Beaumont tiles were delivered.
House 1? House 1.
Thank you for that.
But, as the day goes on, time is against us.
There's just a lot to do and it's a lot of fiddly things
to finish the floor, to finish the walls.
I'm gonna give you a heads up.
Your back of your niche is gonna need to be solid with something.
I think you have to build that frame.
We still have...
The plumbers have to cut in all their pipes.
You got no pipes in the wall.
Yeah, he doesn't even have it drafted.
Yeah, that's true.
I had to make the decision
of sending my plasterers home, which then means Waterproof Wednesday's...
That ain't a thing. Gone.
Alrighty, so we need to have a chat, right?
'Cause we're obviously not where we thought we'd be.
Yeah.
So, we thought we'd be waterproofing tonight.
Yeah. What's the new plan?
I think we need to re-evaluate at 6:00.
Yeah, but we also need to think about the bigger picture
because what if we don't have enough time to do floor to ceiling?
Ah, yes, who could forget this debacle in Week 1?
We fell short.
I felt really disappointed in myself.
I felt like a failure.
Which, in turn, sparked this blue on Monday
when Jesse decided to, once again, try for floor-to-ceiling tiles.
Lock it in. I don't like it but do it.
The tile looks (BLEEP) when, just, there's nothing above it.
He had decided that we were doing floor-to-ceiling tiles
without even having a conversation with me,
and I was like, "It's happening all over again."
We'll be fine. We'll finish this week.
Are we finishing with full wall-to-ceiling tiles?
Yep.
'Cause I was not prepared to make that choice on Monday.
Yep, we will.
Over in House 3, Ricky and his builder, Miller,
are working on some final additions
needed to pass their framing inspection.
Putting that in to support the cistern.
Yeah.
I'm getting 'em to put extra nogs in for the toilet roll holder.
At about 5:00, I was cutting these reefer sheets, still,
and, yeah, Miller dropped his tools and was like, "Yeah, I gotta go."
He said that he had something personal he had to take care of.
PRODUCER: Are you heading out for the day?
Yeah, I have to go.
See youse.
(UNSETTLING MUSIC)
So, with Miller the builder now gone,
he's left Mitch the apprentice in charge.
It's 195 for the curve.
Completely understand when someone has something personal going on.
You know, you can't question it
and put your own needs or priorities before someone else's.
But, yeah, it sucked.
Hopefully, Miller comes in tomorrow, I haven't heard from him.
Nuh, Mitch said he's back.
Mitch said he's coming back? Mitch said he's coming back.
He said he had to go to some music concert.
Mitch did? Yeah.
With his missus.
Mitch is going to a music...?
No, that Miller's gone to a music concert with his missus
and he's leaving at 5am and driving back here in the morning.
(SINISTER MUSIC)
What?
I thought Ricky already knew that was the case,
and that he'd already had a conversation with Miller about it.
That's what Mitch said.
That Miller's going to a music concert tonight?
Yeah.
That's genuinely what he said.
I love gigs.
I love festivals.
Love concerts.
So, I completely understand if there was something really important
that he had planned months in advance.
If he had've come to me whenever it was when he got the ticket...
I just would've loved that pre-heads up.
To then lie about it, I was...
I don't know, I don't...
I don't care whether you've got, like...
..dinner date with the prime minister, mate,
it's Waterproof Wednesday, mate.
Honesty and trust is, like,
it's paramount to building any relationship.
If you burn that early on, man, it's so hard to come back from that, eh?
Like, mate, are you for real?
That's what Mitch said.
Oh, mate.
Mate, he left in the middle of (BLEEP) Waterproofing Wednesday.
To go a music event at night.
(BLEEP).
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
There's no coming back.
What the (BLEEP), dude?
(THUNDER PEALS, PENGUINS CHIRP)
Welcome back to the beautiful Phillip Island,
home to idyllic beaches...
..captivating coastlines...
..unique wildlife...
..and who could forget those cute little penguins?
Every night, you can see these amazing sea creatures
waddle from the ocean to the safety of their burrows.
And if you're lucky,
you might catch a rare sighting of another quite peculiar penguin.
(QUACKING)
(HORN BLARING)
(WHIMSICAL MUSIC)
We're all sitting in McDonald's, and then...
(SCREAMS)
There's a penguin!
A penguin comes waddling in.
(QUACKING)
He looked hammered.
He was walking sideways. He looked hammered.
Jeez, mate, you're far from the beach.
(LAUGHTER)
You need protective shoes on, buddy.
Saying, "Quack, quack. Quack, quack."
(QUACKING) I don't think they quack.
Looked like a penguin's escaped the sanctuary.
(QUACKING)
(BOTH IMITATE QUACKING)
Is that Scotty Cam?
No, that's not Scotty.
Too short for Scotty, mate.
High five!
Who is this?
(QUACKING) Is it Dan?
(LAUGHTER)
It's foreman Dan.
And then he gave us a little penguin stuffed animal
with a little note on it, which basically said...
(QUACKS)
We've heard you're in town and we could really use your help.
Grab your tools and waddle down to the Penguin Parade Visitor Centre.
Your beachside neighbours are counting on you.
We're doing a challenge!
No!
Challenge!
Yeah, there it comes.
Yeah, right on Waterproof Thursday. Yeah.
Alright, let's roll.
Do you know where we're going?
To the Penguin Parade.
Do you know where the Penguin Parade is?
That way.
We haven't been this way before.
We haven't, no.
Cows.
Challenge day, baby!
What are we buildin'?
('DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME' BY SIMPLE MINDS PLAYS)
Oh, the Penguin Parade Centre is stunning.
Hello, gang. BLOCKHEADS: Hi!
So, we walked in and we saw Scotty and Shelley
standing there with a couple of guests.
Welcome to the iconic Phillip Island Penguin Parade.
How fantastic.
What is a penguin parade, I hear you ask?
Well, every night, about 3,000 penguins come out of the ocean
and waddle up this beach behind you into their nestings.
And every night about 3,000 humans
come to watch this incredible spectacle, so today
the Penguin Parade is the scene of your very first Block challenge.
Yes!
(CHEERS) Let's go!
Now, before we get going, I'd like to introduce you
to a few very important people, and that is Paula here,
who is a senior research officer at Phillip Island Nature Parks,
and Steve, a traditional owner of the Boonwurrung country
that we are standing on today.
And Millowl, also known as Phillip Island,
is a very sacred place so today we are gonna kick things off
with a very special welcome to country.
Over to you, Steve, thank you. Thank you.
(SPEAKS TRADITIONAL LANGUAGE)
Welcome here today, my friends.
So, there's two promises that we ask of all visitors,
and that is to respect our bubups.
Bubups are our children,
so you gotta respect our children on our country,
and also respect our barerarerungar, which is our land and country,
and, in doing so, you will receive safe passage
from our beautiful creator known as Bunjil,
the wedge-tailed eagle, the strongest bird of prey,
always flying above us,
making sure that we're abiding by those two rules.
So, I would like to welcome youse on country,
and then I want to cleanse youse through our smoke.
(TRADITIONAL MUSIC)
(STEVE SINGS AND VOCALISES)
(TRILLS LIPS)
It was pretty cool. Very captivating.
Yeah. It was amazing.
I invite everybody to please come up through the smoke
while I get the yidaki playing.
(PLAYS YIDAKI)
I actually got goose bumps while he was doing the welcome.
Yeah. It was really nice.
It was a really cool moment and to be a part of it was pretty special.
What a great way to begin your challenge life, hey?
What we need to do is help our little penguin mates out
because this is an example of the existing nesting boxes
that are on the island.
Now, these have become less favourable to the penguins
because they're a little bit too warm for them inside.
So, your challenge today is to design and build
an innovative nesting box using sustainable materials from Mitre 10.
These boxes need to be insulated but also ventilated.
We need them to be eco-friendly, using the sustainable materials,
things that complement our landscape, with enough space
for about four penguins to fit in a box but not too much space, yeah?
Because they're a burrowing species.
They're nice and cosy in their burrows.
Once you have designed and built your penguin box today,
we will be taking them down to the Penguin Parade
and placing them in position.
Paula will be judging which box is the best,
and that team will take home $5,000 in cash plus...
Here we go.
..the all-important...
It's the gnome.
..penguin bonus point.
(CHIRPING)
A peng-gnome.
A gnome-guin.
It's the new gnome for Phillip Island.
He's super cute and he's in a little tuxedo, so I want him.
Alright, happy building, off you go.
(CHEERING)
So, with a total of three hours to complete the challenge,
our Blockheads have no time to waste.
(UPBEAT MUSIC)
We could do it like a little cottage house.
We spoke to some of the wildlife park workers there
about a good form of, I guess, insulation.
We were thinking what if there was a way
to incorporate the unique foliage into the top roof?
Mm-hm, that's a very good idea.
It keeps it cool, it keeps it very blended in
and they can grow over time and that will keep it really cool.
We came up with the idea of using bower spinach on top of our roof.
And would we need to put, like, mesh on top for this to sit on in?
It does like to grow over trusses.
Yeah, truss.
Just be mindful
that whatever you put into the habitat has to be natural.
Has to be natural. Yep, OK.
So, Jesse and Paige's design
features a raised skillion roof with ventilation holes
that they will cover with bower spinach for insulation.
We thought this was a really good idea.
We are going to try and build a penguin pyramid.
All this will be insulating,
taking the heat, and all the sides will be taking the heat.
Kristian thought it'd be a good idea to do a pyramid.
A penguin-mid.
And I said, "Why don't we do
"an arched entryway and it'll be like an igloo?"
So, a pyrami-gloo.
So, let me get this straight.
A sparkie and a restaurateur
are building a pyramid with an igloo-shaped entrance.
And not only that, they'll also want to decorate the side
with ventilation holes in the shape of a penguin.
Very ambitious for two people
who have never built anything in our lives.
Now, all they have to do is answer the age-old question -
how does one build a pyramid?
There's no base. Is that a thing? No base.
Oh, you don't do a base 'cause it's...
Sand. No, we need a base.
No 'cause it needs a natural look.
I think we forgot that our builders weren't gonna be there.
We were like, "Wait, we have to make this?"
(JOVIAL MUSIC)
(PALM TREES CREAK, PENGUINS CHIRP)
It's sun's out, guns out
here at Phillip Island's Penguin Parade Visitor Centre today,
as our Blockheads get cracking on this season's first challenge.
The challenge today is we need to build
a penguin hut where they do the breeding or they do the sleeping...
I don't know. I don't know.
Burrowing, not breeding. Burrowing, that's the one.
With five grand on the line, as well as the all-important gnome,
sorry, penguin, up for grabs, our Blockheads have their game faces on.
After a woeful Waterproof Wednesday yesterday,
best mates Ricky and Haydn have found some inspiration
in today's challenge.
Penguins are Rick's favourite animal and they have been for many years.
Since 'Happy Feet', since 'Madagascar'.
Rick started sketching us some drawings.
I was thinking of doing, like, a bit of a trapezium type of shape
and then building, like, a separate roof to go over the top
to protect it from the heat.
Ricky and Haydn have changed their design
from a traditional square shape to a more triangular shape,
adding a pitched roof and insulating bamboo facade.
It's sorta hard to ventilate, though, without letting light in.
Precisely, yeah, that's the challenge, yeah?
Yeah, right.
Queenslanders Kylie and Brad are thinking outside the penguin box,
and have adopted for an entirely new shape for their design.
Oh, I better put it down.
I had, like, an igloo-type shape in my head.
I don't know why I was going there.
And then we just build, like, a little door.
Kylie and Brad have also changed
from a square design to a dome shape,
adding a ventilating outer roof to help cool the inner nesting cavity.
Let's go to Mitre 10.
With their plans in hand, our Blockheads head off to Mitre 10
to grab their eco-friendly building materials
required for their new designs.
# You say isn't it hard. #
Amazing.
How's that for service?
Let's get in and out.
Marine plywood.
Wet, can handle the wet.
Do we need that many? I don't know.
# Paddling out. #
Happy with that?
Yes, mate, love it. Yes, mate, let's do it.
Courtney and Grant have prioritised insulating
to beat the cooling requirements of the challenge.
You know, it was all about cooling, right?
So, I remembered my time back in the Tuscan hills.
We noticed terracotta roof tiles for the hot summer days,
so we go, "Let's go get some terracotta roof tiles."
Unfortunately at Mitre 10,
there's not a high demand for terracotta roof tiles.
Terracotta's insulative, right? Yeah.
Quite...
Quite...it's natural.
So, we got pot trays made of terracotta,
and we thought, why not do a mosaic?
Smash it and glue it onto the roof.
With their feature mosaic terracotta roof
combined with double-insulating walls,
House 2's design might just be the coolest box on the Block.
Thank you, guys.
We gotta run.
Thank you. Thank you, guys, appreciate it.
Arriving back on site at the Penguin Parade Visitor Centre,
it's finally time to get cracking on today's build.
And Mimi, for one, looks raring and ready to go.
I got on the tools.
I was on the circular saw.
It's my first time. Sweet!
First time ever with a circular saw?
Yeah. Nice work, Mimi.
Cut your fingers off straight away, that thing, you know?
I know. Well, don't...
Don't put the fear of death into her.
Yeah, Mimes. Good job, baby.
She's actually doing really well.
And I was drilling holes.
I was doing penguin ventilation.
And it kept getting stuck.
So, I was full, like, pulling it out.
When you pull the drill out, keep it going.
Oh!
Don't let go of the trigger.
So it'll come back out with you.
Oh, OK.
Oh!
Magic! Magic.
I was like, "You couldn't have come round earlier?"
It was very embarrassing.
I'm gonna start smashing these.
It was fun working together.
It was good.
Cut me two more while I work out what's goin' on.
Righto.
No confirmation I'll know what's goin' on when you get back.
Righto.
And just when Ricky and Haydn thought
they'd left all their troubles in their rear-view...
What's happenin'?
I received a phone call from my waterproofer,
and he informed me that waterproofing had been shut down.
What's goin' on?
Um, everything's stopped.
Basically, our waterproofer had started waterproofing
something that hadn't been approved.
You'll just have to go there,
see if you can go now and get someone to come and inspect it
and get it approved, and then I'll just have to try and do this.
What happened to your builder? Uh, he's left.
So, he should've got the approvals.
He should've got the approvals but he's nicked home.
No help, yep. No.
He hasn't been much help, has he?
Alright, go on, mate, let's get that approved.
Ta, cool. OK.
The challenges are very important, fun, great,
but finishing a room's more important to us.
One of us had to head back to site and sort the mess out.
Hey, gang, one hour to go!
# What?
# Let's get ridiculous! #
(SONG PLAYS THEN ABRUPTLY ENDS)
That's just a barn now.
Scotty came over and goes,
"Mate, do you know how hard it is to build a pyramid?"
He goes, "You're a sparky.
"You're not a chippy." "You're not an Egyptian."
You know what The Block's all about is knowing your limitations,
it's knowing about what you can and can't achieve
in the timeframe that we have.
As soon as he said that, we were like,
"Yeah, we're changing, we're doing the cube."
After ditching the impossible pyramid plans, Kristian and Mimi
plan to jazz up their box with a butterfly roof and entrance awning.
I'm embarrassed. About what?
Our inability to build.
We've won two weeks. We know how to build.
# You've got me feeling feeling. #
God, House 1, this might be yours to lose.
Look how you're goin'. You are crankin'.
Thank you.
You got your ventilation happening, got your little opening there.
This is good.
Thought about all the little things.
Five minutes to go! Five minutes!
Five minutes, Paigey.
There you go. Don't say I've never helped.
Thanks, Shell. Pleasure, mate.
Shell, there's a little bit out the front here that needs fixing.
Show it to me.
That's (BLEEP).
Fair to say, it looked like a dog's breakfast by the end of it.
It's called art.
(GRANT LAUGHS)
One minute to go!
It's stuck.
We need to unscrew the side part.
Here's screws.
(MUSIC RACES)
Five, four, three, two...
(SHRILL WHISTLE)
Tools down! We're done.
# I live my day as if it was the last
# Live my day as if there was no past. #
Well done.
I think our nesting box is...
(BLEEP) Mediterranean. ..(BLEEP) Mediterranean.
We tried to build as much as we could as quickly as we could.
We got a lick of paint on it.
It's a lot different to what we initially planned.
Bit hard working by myself
trying to hold it and screw it and fix it at the same time.
Yeah, I was thinking about H and what potentially might be going on,
but, hopefully, I can at least compete for the prize.
(PALM TREES CREAK, PENGUINS CHIRP)
After making the heart-breaking decision to leave best mate Ricky
to finish their first ever challenge alone,
Haydn has arrived back at the Block
determined to deal with House 3's latest setback.
Sorry, mate, have you seen Dan?
Yeah, they're all in there.
Thanks, mate.
After leaving the site early,
Miller is back and about to find out just how bad things really are.
What's going on?
There were some comments made
that we hadn't even had sign-off on the wall.
Waterproofing had started,
and then the attention turned to the curved wall.
Nuh, this is bad.
Is it? This is bad.
He even started waterproofing. Lucky G's seen it.
This is topcoat.
And when the boys started poking their fingers into it,
they quickly found that it was definitely non-compliant.
Yeah, pretty embarrassing for me to walk into that space.
And there's not even any paper or anything on it.
This is not a problem with the curving principle,
there's a problem with the curving execution, right?
The worst thing for G and I is the trust here,
that someone's come in afterwards
and added this in without our knowledge,
and then a waterproofer on top of that's happy to waterproof over it.
Strong words.
Dan did say we've gone behind his back,
and that makes me feel like we're being dishonest,
and that's...that's probably the lowest of lows
of what I can be called, to be fair.
That's completely not me, completely not Ricky.
To hear that, pretty shattering.
Let's just rip it all out and then, if you still want to do a curve...
Nuh, nuh, let's just... Rip it out.
Rip it out, square it, clean it.
Get some air in here to dry it out. Dry it off.
So it can get dried out so it can get waterproofed.
And then the waterproofing can happen.
And then we'll come back and inspect it.
Yep, no dramas.
We've got a lead builder in to help us not only build, be a chippy,
but to help us manage the entire project,
so, very disappointing that we got here, yeah.
Meanwhile, back at the Phillip Island penguin sanctuary...
..it's time to get down to business
of judging this season's first challenge.
Now that the houses are in-situ, I am very impressed.
They're looking very beautiful. They do.
This is number one.
What are your thoughts?
(TRANQUIL MUSIC)
We were so happy with what we created.
I think we created an awesome nesting hut.
I think we created a winning nesting hut.
I love how they're using the natural vegetation.
We know that things like this bower spinach will keep burrows cool.
So, they've really nailed that point.
In here, they've got the air flow, nice and cool.
Execution... It's very nice.
From a carpentry point of view, it's very good.
Beautiful.
I just don't know if it's, you know,
very different to what we currently do here, though.
OK.
Hold that thought. Number one.
Let's move to number two. Alright.
(LATIN STRINGED MUSIC)
Ours is a hot mess.
What have we created?
Fair to say it looks like a dog's breakfast,
but I feel like we had the most innovative ideas.
Oh, my God, look at that.
This is like a Greek villa with the terracotta.
Never seen terracotta quite like that on the little...
I haven't seen it ever quite like that, either.
I don't think anyone has.
What I want to point out that you can't see
is that there's a double lining with this stuff.
Coconut husk. Oh, coconut husk.
Yeah, I've really never seen that before.
No. Execution-wise?
Unfortunately, a part of that brief
was also how does it look aesthetic-wise?
Dog's breakfast.
I think it's clever.
OK, burrow number three, Paula.
(PEACEFUL MUSIC)
We wanted to just change the shape up from your normal penguin box.
It's like a tipi on a tipi.
I love that they have gone a completely different design.
This entrance here is looking a bit sad.
A bit sad.
But, other than that, you can see they've got little holes
for ventilation, as well, and the bamboo, they've tried to cover it up
so not too much light goes in there, as well.
And there's a nice flow through there
to keep the air cooler on the top of the roof.
Yeah. Hm.
Let's find number four.
Visually, it turned out at least 50% of what we thought.
We actually got some paint on it.
Very innovative.
Well, yes, we do have the typical penguin box inside,
but you'd never know it.
They've got this this wonderful bit on top there
to allow some ventilation through, which I love.
They do have a nice entrance,
you can't see it, but it is a bit of a tunnel entrance.
A little bit of a tunnel there. There is.
What they probably don't realise
is this is going to act like a great trellis for the natural vegetation
to grow up and over so it could work really, really well.
It's not quite finished in some parts.
But they've had a real good go.
They have.
(GOOSE HONKS)
I've got my eye on this goose,
and he's got his eye on me, just over the back...
You're not fond of the goose?
I don't do birds very well. Really?
Well, you're in the wrong spot. No, no, penguins are OK...
They're giant birds, too. Yeah, those big ones.
Shall we head up towards that big goose up there?
Well, that's where number five is, up there?
He's actually sitting on number five.
Great. Let's do it.
Kristian thought it'd be a good idea to do a pyramid,
a penguin-mid, and ended up doing...
A box. ..a box.
I don't know if you've driven past the Block site for this year,
but the roofline is mimicking one of the houses,
so maybe that isn't so great for the penguins
but it looks pretty cool for us.
I love it, I do love that connection,
and, look, it will keep a bit of that sun off the top of this burrow.
You've got a bit of ventilation going through here
so it will have some sort of a purpose.
I do also love, on the side, the ventilation holes...
Oh, yes, they're on this side, as well.
Yeah, yeah.
I do feel like it is lacking quite a bit, though.
You've got a big decision to make. We stay completely out of this.
There is five grand and a bonus penguin up for grabs.
No pressure.
Wait till we get them all together and you can do the announcement.
OK, good on you, Paula. Careful.
Careful of the goose, you goose. Stop it.
(CHUCKLING)
What a terrific day we've had looking after the penguins!
Absolutely, yes. (CHEERING)
First challenge down and under your belt
so that's gotta feel pretty good, too.
But, Paula, what did you think?
I thought they were excellent.
Thank you so much for your efforts
in protecting our little penguins here.
I can see elements of your boxes
that we can use in our designs going forward so well done.
Everyone did such a good job.
One house in particular
brought in all the elements that we wanted to see.
So, the winner of the first challenge...
..is House 4.
(CHEERING)
We won the penguin.
I'm taking it home.
We're not actually ever gonna use it.
Congratulations.
$5,000 for you.
Alright, now, do we get to hang around and see this penguin parade?
Of course!
Yes, good, thank you!
(TRANQUIL MUSIC)
We stayed and watched the penguin parade.
Freezing cold but I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Oh, my God, is that one down there?
Aw!
All of a sudden, you start to see these penguins
just appear from the water, waddle up.
(SOFT CHATTER).
Oh, my God!
There was thousands of them.
They were just so cute.
They were like little drunk men, like, waddling up the beach.
WOMAN: There's Mimi, Saturday night.
(LAUGHTER) MIMI: No!
It's a miracle how they can stand up and walk.
Like, they're on, like, a 30-degree tilt.
And they go all the way up the mountain.
It got to the point that we thought they were gonna go in our houses.
Look, they're running. Go, quick, quick, quick.
Oh, my God, get in there!
(GROANS)
It's like being at the races.
If a penguin actually goes into its hut, shouldn't we get double?
Ooh!
He's looking, he's like, "I love these terracotta tiles."
Look at this one, he's going to House 5, for sure.
I don't think any of them's going to our house.
MIMI: This is the best thing I've seen in my life.
(LAUGHTER)
It was hard to, sort of, enjoy that moment and be there knowing that,
like, your ensuite is on the line.
It definitely didn't feel like it was the right place to be, hey?
We could and should be on site
ensuring that our team has everything they need
and we're doing everything we can do to get our ensuite done.
So, the boys make the call to head back to site early
knowing that failing to get their ensuite waterproofed tonight
will almost certainly render them incapable
of delivering a room this week.
Yeah, little bit of pain today.
A few little hiccups,
things that probably could've been better managed by us,
could've been better managed by a few other people involved,
but we're getting there.
Waterproofing Thursday's better than not waterproofing at all,
so still on track to complete.
Welcome to The Block club, baby, whoo!
Tomorrow night...
(TENSE MUSIC)
(RINGSIDE BELL DINGS) We're at worst-case scenario.
Brutal.
I've never witnessed this before.
They just need to stop.
The hits just keep on coming.
And it's a cliffhanger right up to the final round.
(RINGSIDE BELL DINGS)
When you left Waterproofing Wednesday,
that was a kick in the guts and you left us to (BLEEP) burn.
Oh, it's just devastating, man.