Reno Rumble

Scotty Cam meets two brand new teams of renovators in an aircraft hanger. The Red Backs are Kyal and Kara from The Block 2014, Josh and Jenna from The Block 2011 and 2012, Michael and Carlene from The Block 2014 and Ayden and Jess fresh from 2015! The Blue Tongues are Carly and Leighton, House Rules Series 1 winners, Michelle and Steve, House Rules Series 1, 2nd place. There’s also brothers Nick and Chris who came third place and Jemma and Ben who came 4th place. They will renovate houses and the lowest scoring couple will be eliminated each week.

The Red Backs are working well together, they’re all enjoying the make over, just eight hours in to the renovation. Morale is at an all time high. They are all very nervous about the weekly elimination. None of the teams have had to renovate with the chance of being eliminated before, and it’s the only thing making them all a little edgy. The Blue Tongues are finding hard to work together. Ben is stripping out the bathroom even though Carly and Leighton are renovating the room. Ben talks to Leighton about what room they’ll be renovating. The Blue Tongues get together to work out who is doing which room. Although Ben’s done all the preparation in Leighton and Carly’s bathroom, the rest of the team agrees to now start from scratch and stick with their rooms. Nick and Chris get the kitchen and Carly’s not all that happy that the room has already been planned as a team effort. Michelle and Steve feel that they’re getting a bad deal. Red Back captain Josh is very excited about his split system air-conditioning system. And Ayden is very excited about sharpening his carpentry skills by putting in his first lintel in the ceiling. Nick and Chris are planning a real timber feature wall for Michael’s bedroom. They’re going for a more “blokey” than “beachy” and Michelle thinks they need to stick to the brief. Michelle and Steve think they’re sticking to the brief, and they’re using leftover floating timber flooring for a feature wall. The boys have used real wood and think that they’ve got the upper hand! But their real timber feature wall isn’t beachy. Builder Aiden agrees with Nick and Steve and Carly about putting down real timber floorboards in the Blue Tongue’s house. Next door the Red Backs are putting down real timber. The Blue Tongues rush through a special order for real timber flooring, with just 19 hours until the first room delivery. Chris rushes back to the showroom and chooses a new flooring. The girls in the Red Back team all go shopping at the same time, keeping in contact with each other about what they’re buying for each space. Both the teams work through the night. The Blue Tongues roll and brush their paint on but the Red Backs get the spray guns out and power through the painting. The rooms are completed and the judges are ready. First up for judging are Steve and Michelle. They’ve had a budget of $6000 for the master bedroom. Romy is happy with most elements but thinks the bedhead and bedsides are a little lacking in texture. Both Darren and Romy are very impressed. Nick and Chris are next up with 23 year old Michael’s bedroom. They had $4000 to spend. Darren thinks it looks great as a teenage space, and Romy thinks that the space isn’t masculine enough. They think that the decor and the colour scheme are both too young. Ben and Jemma’s guest bedroom is next up. The timber bed head impresses the judges but Romy doesn’t think the rest of the room is at all coastal. Both Darren and Romy think that the room is generic. Next up Romy and Darren visit Carly and Leighton’s room, its Hailey’s new room, which used to be a garage. Darren likes the chair and the rug and the coffee table. Romy is wondering why the chair is in Hayley’s room and not in Lisa’s room. She feels the space is too adult. Darren loves the ceiling,s the lighting, the wardrobes, the pendant light. Romy thinks that they’ve responded to trends, instead of what the home owners have requested. The Red Backs are up for judging, starting with Josh and Jenna. They’ve had $6000 to makeover Alex and Angela’s bedroom. Darren likes the doors and handles, as well as the air-conditioning and the chair that was given as a gift. Romy thinks the artworks are a bit jarring for a master bedroom and the bedside tables should have storage. The bedside wall lights aren’t very functional either. Next for judging is Michael and Carlene’s bedroom. They’ve decorated Jaimee’s room and Darren thinks its been designed well for Jaimee. The mirrors make the room feel bigger and they both like the bed head. Dot’s room is next up and Ayden and Jess had $6000 to spend. Both judges agree that the room is great, Darren like the black detailing and the bed linen. Romy agrees, the only fault she can find is that the rug is too small. Alex’s man cave is next up. Kyal and Kara have delivered a fantastic room and Darren and Romy are both really impressed. They had $15,000 to spend. They like the doors and the sofa. They both agree it probably isn’t Alex’s style but think he’ll love the room anyway. The like the bar, and the use of the side table. Darren can’t fault the room and says he’ll struggle to choose a winning couple.

Kyal and Kara are awarded immunity in the first judging. They are safe from elimination this week. The Blue Tongues are nine points behind the Red Backs when Scotty reveals the scores. This makes them more determined to try harder on the rest of the house. They know they will need to meet the homeowners brief to score higher with the judges. Jemma and Ben strategise, if they don’t beat the Red Backs this week, they must beat the boys Nick and Chris to stay in the competition.

Jemma and Ben know that their entrance hall has the potential to impress the home owners and judges with high ceilings. They also have to renovate the dining room. The boys Nick and Chris are banking on their fireplace impressing the judges this week. Michelle doesn’t think the brothers are sticking to the brief and the fireplace proves hard to install. Jess organises a tap for her kitchen sink just in the nick of time. Chris is picked up by his mum to go to a wedding, leaving Nick in charge of finishing off their room.

The Red Backs are feeling good as they finish their rooms. They feel like they’ve filled the brief and all the team members agree that the Blue Tongues are too far behind in the points tally, being nine points behind. Carly’s shell light pendant gets a big thumbs down from their builder Aiden, who thinks they should change it. Carly isn’t happy when she gets the call from Leighton with the bad news. Carly yells at Leighton on the phone and stresses out about how she’s going to find another light fitting in time. Carly looses her cool and yells at everyone about the pendant light. Michelle tells her to get her act together, calm down and go and get another light. Towards the end of the 72 hour challenge, the Red Backs decide to make a small courtyard which involves concreting and planting. Their builder Shiran doesn’t think it’s a great idea. Josh likes the idea of the courtyard but wants them to finish the house first. The installation of Nick and Chris’s fireplace doesn’t go to plan.

It’s a new week which means two new houses for the teams to renovate. The Red Backs are determined to fight back and win this week, especially after the shock departure of Michael and Carlene last night. But the Red Back team struggles for the entire first day with indecision about whether or not they will do floorboards or carpet in the house. Steve and Michelle are in charge of the Scandi style master bedroom and Steve’s job is to order a bed from Sealy. He rings the wrong number and instead of leaving a message for Sealy he leaves a message for CSR! The outcome is that he hasn’t been able to order a bed and Michelle isn’t happy. The rest of the Blue Tongues find it hilarious that Michelle and Steve are fighting!

Team captain Ben makes a mistake as the team captain when he fails to find a floor sander who can prepare the timber floors in three bedrooms for the Blue Tongues. Michelle and Nick argue about where Michelle has parked her car, in the middle of the driveway so that Nick can’t get his sofa past. The teams meet Scotty to hear feedback from the judges. Darren and Romy love Carly and Leighton’s room so much that Darren Palmer feels clucky! Carly is so happy that she’s impressed the judges. Carly and Leighton win immunity and they’re so happy! Their team mates know they need to improve this week and impress the judges if they want to stay in the competition.

Josh and Jenna are fighting in front of everyone and Scotty arrives just in time to witness the fighting. He remembers the fighting well from All Stars and back in Melbourne for their first competition! Carly takes photos of Josh and Jenna’s completed teenage room. She sees Josh and Jenna as their fiercest competitors. Winning immunity has given Carly confidence. Scotty pays each team a visit to check on progress. Michelle and Steve have a huge fight over Steve’s decision to lay the tiles vertically rather than horizontally. She isn’t happy and threatens divorce. But Michelle was out shopping when the tiling decisions were made. Steve makes their tiler deal with Michelle! Then Steve walks off site, he’s had enough. Michelle then starts arguing with the tiler about the situation. Michelle and Steve have decided on something special, a drawer fridge in their laundry. The fridge that is also a freezer, you can use it as a pantry and its also a wine cooler, valued at $3,500! The Blue Tongues have budget issues, with Ben and Jemma not allocating enough money for tradesmen.

Kara convinces some of the tradesmen to do some early morning yoga. Josh goes digging through the skip bin for spare tiles. He has to wipe food off any white tiles he can find! He thinks they’re going to have enough for the kitchen. The Blue Tongues face disqualification when they discover that their budget is looking shaky. They receive a late invoice for $7,240 and are forced to return items to shops for refunds. Leighton and Carly have immunity but they don’t want to return their rug to help out the team’s budget. If the Blue Tongues can’t sort out their budget before the siren goes off then one couple will be going home. Jemma runs her car into the “Budget” truck! A sad irony with all their budget problems! Nick and Chris are eliminated from the competition, they’ve scored the lowest this week. The home owners see their completed homes and are overwhelmed with what the teams have been able to achieve in a week! Reggie is so excited about his bunk bed and his new guitar. Daughter Maggie loves her dreamy new room and Kaye loves her new master bedroom. They can’t believe the transformation in their kitchen and living room.

This week the teams embark on the biggest structural change in the competition yet, removing all the structural walls to create a Hamptons-inspired open plan home. Michelle and Steve are this week’s captains and Carly and Leighton think it’s going to be difficult to take instructions from them! Michelle and Steve take control of the budget, holding a team meeting to set aside $30,000 in a kitty for building costs. Carly doesn’t want to help her team mates out, and says she doesn’t really want to shop for recycled timber for the whole team. Ben thinks that Carly and Leighton are only worried about their own room. Everyone wants recycled timber for part of their rooms, but Carly seems to be worried only about her own room. Ben and Steve have noticed that Leighton and Carly are leaders not followers. Ben and Jemma decide to expose the brickwork in their bedroom. Carly and Leighton see their handiwork and decide to do the same thing to their room. Jemma wants a team meeting so that everyone in Team Blue Tongue is on the same page.

Kyal and Kara win immunity with 19.5 out of 20. They’re safe from immunity this week. Jess and Ayden 18.5, Josh and Jenna 16.5, Total score 54.5 out of 60. Blue Tongue scores are Ben and Jemma 17, Michelle and Steve 16.5, Carly and Leighton 17.5, Total score 51 out of 60. So the 72 hour challenge begins! And another team will be eliminated.

The teams inspect each others rooms and the Red Backs don’t like the black doors that Michelle and Steve insisted on. Josh and Jenna are happy they’re not involved in the Blue Tongues team. The kitchens are delivered and there are skylights installed to flood the rooms with light, in both houses. The Blue Tongues fight over budgets and who has been allocated enough money for their rooms. Michelle argues with Ben about how much Ben and Jemma want for their bathroom vanity. Ben thinks Michelle is being strategic and withholding funds to give themselves (Michelle and Steve) the advantage. The bathrooms in both homes are causing huge problems, for Ben and Jemma and Josh and Jenna. Kara arranges for some brand new Smeg appliances for their kitchen. Carly wants the same kettle and toaster but Kara was first in first served! Ayden wants their kitchen fridge door changed from one side to the other, so that its easier for the owners to open. Kara gets the job done, by asking the kitchen installer.

Steve and Michelle get emotional when they talk about their room and their love for Carly and Leighton, despite all the fighting! Josh and Jenna’s tiler Fabian is very stressed about completing the tiling in the bathroom. Jenna has chosen an intricate herringbone pattern and Fabian fights with Josh and Jenna. Michelle has a big win on her shopping trip, finding exactly what she’s looking for in record time. Ben isn’t happy with MIchelle’s efforts in the final push to complete their house. The kitchens and living rooms are revealed and the judges are very impressed! The winners are the Red Backs. Michelle and Steve are eliminated. Scotty announces a game changing move! Some of the team members have been saying they’d be happy to swap teams so Scotty thinks why not! Carly and Leighton have had the highest score for the Blue Tongues throughout the week so they are new team captains, and must say good bye to Ben and Jemma! They become Red Backs and Carly and Leighton must choose another team to join them. They choose Jess and Ayden to join them as Blue Tongues. Kara tries to avoid eye contact so she’s not chosen. Jess thinks their decision is strategic and they’ve been chosen as the weakest link so that Carly and Leighton progress further.

It’s a new week with two new homes, and two new teams. The Red Backs are now Ben and Jemma, Jenna and Josh, and Kyal and Kara. The new Blue Tongue members Jess and Ayden have joined forces with Carly and Leighton. Jemma is a little intimidated by the Red Back girls Kara and Jenna! Ben says Carly and Leighton are strategic with their renovating and are here to win. The Blue Tongues start renovating and discover that there has been a termite infestation and the stud wall frames all need replacing. Also some of the floor joists need replacing, meaning that the whole back of the house is effectively being re-built.

Josh and Ben take the ute to pick up their huge load of Besser Blocks and the ute is overloaded so they off load some blocks and have them delivered, they’re worried that they may damage the ute. Scotty comes to check on progress and look at everyone’s rooms. Carly loses confidence when she walks through the completed Red Backs room. She’s feeling intimidated and thinks that Josh and Jenna have an advantage, renovating in their home city and being renovating experts. Ayden and Jess have a very funny argument about the definition of modern and contemporary. Carly’s car is towed away from a clear way while she’s out shopping. Kyal is frustrated when he discovers that someone’s drilled through the in-wall toilet cistern and it needs to be replaced. He’s lucky that the supplier can get them another one in time for installation. Everyone in the Red Back team is impressed by the automatic sliding door into the laundry. Ayden feels that they’re the underdogs completed to the Red Backs. Ayden and builder Aidan get pumped up with Eye of the Tiger, the theme song from Rocky. They even get their tradies singing along to the music! Jenna and Kara go shopping together for their rooms and Jemma goes shopping alone for all her furniture. She bounces ideas off Kara and Jenna.

The teams complete their rooms and the homes are judged by Romy and Darren. Ben and Jemma’s Besser Brick bench seat gets a big thumbs up from the judges! Ben and Jemma are eliminated from the competition. Scotty announces that next week there will be a double elimination and two teams will be eliminated. Finally, Scotty’s favourite time of the week arrives when he shows Alice and Simon, as well as Earl and Steph and family their new homes.

Scotty meets the teams to remind them that they’ve been renovating for a whole month! He tells them that one team, either the Blue Tongues or the Red Backs will be eliminated. If they win this week, they’ll be either winners or runners up in the competition. In the Blue Tongues house decisions are made very quickly and Ayden decides to knock down a wall to change the sizes of the bedrooms. Their builder discovers that the Blue Tongues have more room than they thought so they decide to change the layout of the space. It means they’ve wasted time pulling out a wall when they didn’t need to. There’s plenty of stress and anxiety in both homes and Jess and Carly escape to the shops to find the items they need for their homes. Kyal and Kara find it awkward when they watch Josh and Jenna constantly fight. The Blue Tongues have a huge panic at the end of the day and Ayden decides to get everyone working on the back of the house to try and catch up and make up some time.

Carly is confused by the Shaker style, and has a lot of trouble making decisions shopping for her room and styling it for the judges reveal. The rooms are completed and the judges love what they see! The teams both receive the same score of 58 out of 60. Scotty tells them they’ll flip a coin for the $10,000 prize but then tells them he’s only joking. Both teams will get an extra $5000 for their homes.

Both teams are very ambitious and keen to win this week so they’re not eliminated. Carly isn’t confident with the Shaker look and consults Jess to make sure they’re on the same page and that the look in the home will be cohesive. Leighton isn’t all that happy that Ayden and their builder Aidan aren’t have collaborated to make more decisions that he’d like. The Red Backs can’t agree on a window for the living room. Josh wants a large two square metre window but Kyal wants to make the neighbours happy by putting in a highlight window. Kyal has so much to do and isn’t happy about such a huge work load. Ayden has his plaster sheeting delivered on the back of a tow truck! Leighton finds this week that its difficult working with Ayden, mainly because he’s not as organised at Leighton and doesn’t communicate as well.