Tonight, on The Block, the contestants begin main ensuite week—their second bathroom challenge in four weeks—and the pressure is already showing. With a $20,000 room budget and a $10,000 CommBank prize for the closest cost estimate, every design choice and schedule delay matters.
Domain open for inspections give the Blockheads a chance to compare last week’s main bedrooms and wardrobes. House 4 Courtney and Sev are stung by harsh feedback after placing last, with contestants echoing the judges’ comments that their room felt cold and coffin-like. House 5 Rick and Tayla receive praise for soaring ceilings and sleek design but also laughter over a too-short curtain. House 1 Adam and Jolene’s rammed earth wall impresses, though their bedroom is seen as needing editing, while House 2 Chantel and Wyatt’s luxe wardrobe and styling earn approval. Winners House 3 Lisa and Rosco remain the benchmark, with their wardrobe designed by Courtney and Sev widely considered to have given them the winning edge.
Main ensuite week divides the site into two very different challenges. Houses 1, 2 and 3 are working upstairs and must build subfloors before they can progress, while Houses 4 and 5 are on ground-floor slabs with screeded floors already set. Adam and Jolene struggle early to secure a tiler but find one through their real estate agent, while Lisa and Rosco urgently search for a water proofer.
The teams lock in their bathroom concepts at Beaumont. House 1 Adam and Jolene plan a marble focal point with coordinated floor and wall tiles and a contrasting finger tile. House 2 Chantel and Wyatt continue their neutral palette with a contemporary vanity, semi-inset basins and curved mirrors. House 5 Rick and Tayla simplify their scheme with one tile across the floor and walls, a timber vanity and a calmer shower-focused layout after dropping the bath. House 4 Courtney and Sev, buoyed by their previous bathroom win, repeat their successful tile choice and add a timber vanity, stone top and custom shower seat.
House 3 Lisa and Rosco take the biggest design swing, chasing crazy paving for the floor, micro cement in the wet area and a double shower along the back wall. Their plan unravels when Dan confirms they cannot delete the window, forcing them to redesign, shift plumbing and move shower heads to the left wall. The setback leaves them well behind schedule, with Dan warning they must waterproof the next day or risk not finishing.
Budget estimates add another layer of competition, House 2 Chantel and Wyatt nominate $28,000, House 5 Rick and Tayla $17,000, House 3 Lisa and Rosco $23,222, House 1 Adam and Jolene $21,592, and House 4 Courtney and Sev $24,149.21 as they try to learn from earlier overspending. On site, House 1 is already a day behind, House 2 is progressing well after taking advice to plaster before waterproofing, and Rick continues carrying much of the workload while supporting Tayla as she learns.
The week takes an emotional turn when Courtney suffers an SVT episode, with her heart rate spiking dramatically. Although the crew want to call an ambulance, she works through the episode with guidance from Lisa, who is a paramedic, and manages to bring it under control. Sev is shaken, recognising both Courtney’s determination to appear strong and the pressure she feels to be respected on site.
Meanwhile, Lisa and Rosco’s Chery getaway to Alba on the Mornington Peninsula gives them a brief reprieve from the stress of their unfinished ensuite. The modern minimalist villas reflect the Mount Eliza buyer brief, while Scott Cam’s dinner advice encourages them to reconsider the risky micro cement and tile the shower instead. Back at the share house, guest Darren Palmer delivers a buyer-data masterclass, reminding the Blockheads that this is one of the most specific briefs in the show’s history and urging them to introduce some colour to their designs for a sophisticated, trend-forward market.
