<\/p>\n
Scott Cam has repeatedly warned The Block contestants about their spending as costly rooms continue to attract criticism over execution. Picture: Nine<\/p>\n
The Block contestants have burned through $428,336 in three weeks, despite unfinished rooms, defective tiling and costly finishes criticised by the judges.<\/p>\n
Almost $49,000 separates Courtney and Sev and neighbouring Rick and Tayla across the same room weeks, yet their raw judging totals differ by just two points.<\/p>\n
Courtney and Sev spent $101,690 on their family bathroom, main bedroom and walk-in robe and main ensuite, compared with Rick and Tayla\u2019s $52,775.<\/p>\n
RELATED: \u2018F**k that up\u2019: Lazy Block star called out<\/a><\/p>\n Block eyes Queensland switch after property hunt<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Can\u2019t tell\u2019: Star exposes $7k Block gap<\/a><\/p>\n That is a $48,915 gap, with Courtney and Sev spending about 93 per cent more.<\/p>\n But their raw judging totals were just 67.5 points to 65.5 before Rick and Tayla used their bonus-point gnome in ensuite week.<\/p>\n The figures cover the three weeks after contestants settled into their permanent Mount Eliza houses following the house decider.<\/p>\n Cam had suggested each team spend $20,000 on each of those room weeks, putting the combined suggested spend at $300,000.<\/p>\n The Block host Scott Cam has warned contestants they need to preserve enough cash to complete their Mount Eliza homes. Picture: Nine<\/p>\n The five teams instead spent $128,336 more, almost 43 per cent above that mark.<\/p>\n And despite the cash being thrown at the builds, expensive rooms have repeatedly arrived at judging unfinished or with execution problems.<\/p>\n Courtney and Sev spent $53,272 on their family bathroom, more than two-and-a-half times the suggested $20,000 spend.<\/p>\n It delivered a room win and a $250,000 E&S kitchen and laundry appliance upgrade.<\/p>\n Courtney and Sev have emerged as the biggest spenders across the three comparable room weeks analysed.<\/p>\n Defects and unfinished work have plagued several room reveals despite contestants spending heavily on their builds.<\/p>\n But their $22,177 main bedroom and walk-in robe crashed to last place a week later with 17 points.<\/p>\n Judges criticised problems with its execution, including its tiling, while Shaynna Blaze compared its statement bedhead to a \u201chigh-end coffin\u201d.<\/p>\n Their $26,241 main ensuite recovered to score 25 points, but judge Darren Palmer questioned the amount of expensive finishes being used.<\/p>\n The Block judge Shaynna Blaze has repeatedly scrutinised the design and execution of this season\u2019s rooms. Picture: Nine<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not spending the money on a feature that\u2019s a problem,\u201d Palmer said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s overusing the feature, and that\u2019s wasting budget.\u201d<\/p>\n Cam has also warned Courtney and Sev their spending could eventually leave them unable to complete their house.<\/p>\n \u201cYou might be the first team in the history of The Block not to finish based on money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Lisa and Rosco\u2019s family bathroom was unfinished at reveal after problems with its tiling disrupted the build. Picture: Nine<\/p>\n Lisa and Rosco have spent $93,253 across the same three weeks, despite arriving at judging with two unfinished bathrooms.<\/p>\n Their $36,343 family bathroom was left incomplete after defective tiling had to be removed.<\/p>\n They rebounded to win main bedroom week after spending $28,561, but their $28,350 ensuite was again unfinished and placed last.<\/p>\n Judges branded its faux crazy-paving floor \u201cFlintstoney\u201d and criticised the number of competing finishes.<\/p>\n Adam and Jolene also failed to finish their $23,516 main ensuite after their original tilers made little progress.<\/p>\n Chantel and Wyatt have spent heavily across the opening room weeks while chasing their first room reveal win. Picture: Nine<\/p>\n Chantel and Wyatt\u2019s main ensuite earned strong praise from the judges for its polished execution. Picture: Nine<\/p>\n Chantel and Wyatt have meanwhile spent $92,784 without winning any of the three room reveals.<\/p>\n They spent $35,934 on their main bedroom and walk-in robe, $7373 more than Lisa and Rosco, but lost the week 27 points to 25.<\/p>\n At the opposite end of the spending scale, Rick and Tayla spent just $16,359 on their main ensuite.<\/p>\n It was the cheapest ensuite of the week and earned 25 raw judging points before their gnome lifted them to 26 and their first room win.<\/p>\n The Block 2023 winner and SJO Architects founder Steph Ottavio says strong design still needs to be properly executed.<\/p>\n The Block 2023 winner and SJO Architects founder Steph Ottavio said good design could not make up for poor execution.<\/p>\n Ms Ottavio believed Courtney and Sev\u2019s family bathroom was the strongest design of the week, but said its execution had not reached the same level.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can have the best design, but if you\u2019re not executing it well, then why are you winning?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Ms Ottavio said contestants were also facing tighter working conditions because the Mount Eliza houses were classified as new builds.<\/p>\n \u201cThey actually have less time to execute,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Chantel and Wyatt spent $35,934 on their main bedroom and walk-in robe, with Steph Ottavio questioning whether the extra spend was visible in the finished result. Picture: Dylan James Lark<\/p>\n She had previously questioned where Chantel and Wyatt\u2019s additional $7373 bedroom and walk-in-robe spend could be seen.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t even look like it. You can\u2019t tell,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Ms Ottavio said spending on expensive features was only worthwhile if teams could execute them properly.<\/p>\n \u201cOtherwise, you may as well not spend the money if you haven\u2019t executed it correctly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The Block 2025 contestants Alicia and Sonny Aplin completed every room during their season, with Sonny warning this year\u2019s teams to protect their cash.<\/p>\n The Block 2025 contestant and Apples Contracting director Sonny Aplin said contestants needed to be selective about the weeks they spent heavily.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily the biggest spender wins the room,\u201d Mr Aplin said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou just can\u2019t do it every week.\u201d<\/p>\n The Gold Coast plumber said Block Bucks covered many products, making contestants\u2019 cash particularly important for paying trades.<\/p>\n \u201cYour money that you\u2019re spending should really only be on pretty much your trades,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mr Aplin said the level of incomplete work had stood out compared with his season, when he and wife Alicia finished every room.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of unfinished work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Rick and Tayla have taken a more restrained approach to spending than several of their Block rivals.<\/p>\n Rick and Tayla\u2019s main ensuite became their first room win after they played their bonus-point gnome.<\/p>\n He also warned contestants against adding costly treatments to too many surfaces.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you need to pick your hero piece and roll with that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t be scared of the paint.\u201d<\/p>\n Rick and Tayla spent $16,359 on their main ensuite, the lowest spend of the week before taking out the room reveal.<\/p>\n Mr Aplin said contestants still faced major spending on kitchens, living and dining areas, alfresco spaces and landscaping.<\/p>\n And he feared teams burning too much cash now could leave themselves unable to properly complete those areas.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they\u2019ve got no money, they can\u2019t actually fill the place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe place will look terrible.\u201d<\/p>\n Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here <\/a>to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.<\/p>\n MORE: \u2018Challenging\u2019: Vic buyers face tough spring market<\/a><\/p>\n
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Tones and I star\u2019s huge secret money blow
<\/a>Sad blow for Block stars in Ch9\u2019s failed act
<\/a>david.bonaddio@news.com.au<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scott Cam has repeatedly warned The Block contestants about their spending as costly rooms continue to attract criticism…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":610666,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[93,61,60,282],"class_list":["post-610665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/610666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}