The Block 2026 Episode 18 recap: Courtney and Sev are forced to give up their prized secret weapon

It’s always the quiet ones. Just when you thought Adam wasn’t a game-player, he showed his dark side by hoarding another team’s insulation batts and lying about it without batting an eye.

After narrowly missing out on bathroom week — thanks to Tayla and Rick playing their bonus point to clinch victory by half a point — Chantel and Wyatt planned to get a jump on living, dining, and alfresco week. With Monday being a public holiday, they decided to save on penalty-rate trades by insulating the room themselves.

That plan quickly came unstuck when they discovered they were missing crucial batts. The reason for the shortfall? Their neighbour Adam had thoughtfully brought all the batts out of the rain… straight into his own house.

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Chantel goes begging for batts.

Even when Chantel came begging for spares, Adam played dumb. “No, there’s nothing. Believe me, I have scanned the whole site,” he claimed.

By Tuesday, Wyatt and Chantel were still waiting around, completely unaware that their insulation was sitting next door. To make matters worse, a delivery mix-up saw Adam receive extra stock while Wyatt and Chantel got none, leaving Wyatt high and dry with nothing to do — or, as he so elegantly put it, “standing around sucking farts all day.”

Wyatt contemplates his lack of batts.

Eager to finally score a win, Adam and Jolene were the only couple to hire trades on the public holiday, reasoning that such a massive space couldn’t afford a quiet day.

Sensing the mammoth task ahead, Foreman Dan also stepped in to announce extended working hours for the week.

Meanwhile, big spenders Sev and Courtney were forced to scale back.

“Every time I see trades on site, I just think money, money, money!” Courtney admitted after blowing her budget in the first weeks.

To streamline the end-of-week trade chaos, the pair opted to lay their flooring early.

They also claimed to have a secret weapon: a custom Christian Cole dining table.

But is a Christian Cole table really a secret weapon anymore, or just a standard Block fixture? They certainly don’t come cheap.

“Before I even got on the show, I called Christian,” Sev explained, following in a long line of past contestants. However, when host Scott Cam dropped by to remind everyone of the $20,000 recommended budget, Sev realised spending roughly $20,000 (even at “mates’ rates”) on a table was an unwise move.

Courtney adjusts to life without a Christian Cole dining table.

Sev’s hesitation became Jolene’s opportunity. Realising a standard store-bought table wouldn’t fit their sprawling room, Jolene called Cole herself. Even with a timber-only quote of $7000 and a promise to “look after” her the piece was bound to break their budget.

“We can’t afford it, but we are going to stretch ourselves,” Adam admitted, right on cue as another irritating, AI-generated jingle played. But will bigger actually be better? Once they locked the table in, the farming couple struggled to find a layout that would enhance their prized city views.

Lisa was having layout nightmares of her own. Still reeling from harsh judge feedback over her faux crazy-paved bathroom floor, the pregnant paramedic was second-guessing every decision. Having arrived on The Block set on installing a roaring fireplace — because fake fires gave her the “ick” — she now couldn’t figure out where to put it and burst into tears.

To top off a chaotic start to the week, Foreman Dan caught Rosco making a rookie lighting mistake. Having measured the space before the flooring went down, Rosco’s alfresco wall lights were now sitting at eye level, threatening to blind anyone walking through the door.

Dan orders Rosco to clean up his room.

Dan also took aim at the West Australian’s messy site, ordering him to clear a massive pile of construction trash. When Rosco protested that the heavy debris was too difficult to lug down the narrow scaffolding stairs, Dan shut him down, telling him everyone else was doing it without complaint and he needed to saddle up.

“I’ve skinned my knuckles. The scaffold stairway is too skinny,” Rosco vented, complaining that clearing waste was taking three times as long and eating into actual build time. Yet, less than an hour later, he had cleared the entire pile himself — completely unscathed.

MISSED AN EPISODE? HERE’S ALL OUR RECAPS SO FAR

Episode 1: First tears shed on season 22 of The Block

Episode 2: ‘I will shut you down’

Episode 3: ‘I won’t help them again’

Episode 4: ‘You will only last five weeks’

Episode 5: Block couple ready to quit after scandal

Episode 6: ‘Everyone is in on it’: Chantel and Wyatt cry foul

Episode 7: Gloves are off as Courtney accuses Rosco of treachery

Episode 8: Dan fuming as Tayla barely lifts a finger

Episode 9: A huge prize causes bitterness in one contestant

Episode 10: Jolene and Tayla fume over controversial bathroom win
Episode 11: Lisa and Rosco fall behind again

Episode 12: Block star’s sad health update