Courtney and Sev have had plenty of wins on The Block this season, but as the competition enters its final week, the celebrations have hit a bit of a speed bump.
The girls are facing a landscaping budget blowout, and while many are questioning why they got themselves into this mess, there’s another small detail fans are calling out.
The team has just $25,000 left for the front yard, but landscaper Troy Lovett has quoted $45,000 to finish the job. A separate carpentry bill of about $20,000 has added pressure, sparking a tense on-screen exchange between the girls and their tradies.
After weeks of room reveal wins, the timing couldn’t be worse, with the girls worried they might fall at the last hurdle after weeks of solid performance.
Now, Courtney and Sev must find a way to finish their outdoor space with $20,000 less than their landscaper’s quote, but a comment made about the fiasco has frustrated fans to no end.
The Block fans have questioned the cost of the work
While many believe Courtney and Sev are to blame for the current situation, a few empathetic viewers have questioned the quote of the job.
“Wow so Troy is wanting another $45,000 to complete this week, so for all 3 areas he wants $175,000? His team didn’t even finish the deck in pool week. I don’t get it,” one viewer wrote.
Another said they were “astronomical prices”, while a third said, “Troy may be a great landscaper, but the money he charges is just ridiculous… Never would have chosen him in the first place with his costs.”
It’s fair to say the figures have got people talking. But while viewers are entitled to question what they see on screen, their comments do not establish whether the quoted costs are unreasonable.
The easy-to-miss comment that has riled viewers
The majority of viewers claim Courtney and Sev have no one but themselves to blame about the budget debacle, with a particular point of contention being their decision to divert money towards their infamous wine cellar.
Many have even called for a penalty or disqualification, so it won’t surprise you that there was a collective roar on the internet when Troy spoke about “absorbing” the labour costs to make ends meet.
“I’m still confident that we’re going to do something really nice. If I’ve got to absorb all the costs and the bills of Tommy and everything like that, well, that’s a conversation with myself. Because it’s as much on me as it is yourself,” Troy said.
Cue an absolute frenzy.
“Sick of them blaming everyone else for their failure to maintain their budget. AND Troy should not have to absorb the cost due to their failures!!!” one fan said.
“Troy isn’t allowed to work without payment,” another said, while a third encouraged him to just walk away from the project and leave them to deal with it themselves.
Ultimately, Troy and the girls have decided to work through it, but as fans watch at home, the situation only reinforces the belief that the team keeps getting extra help while others get none.
There have been many examples viewers have pointed at: the Cursio brothers being pulled from House 2 to help finish their bathrooms, the Nine in Six team covering their tradies‘ cost after a tiling mishap, the judges seemingly being “biased” towards them.
Even Tayla called it out, telling WHO she was shocked by the revelation while watching the show back.
“I’ll tell you right now, from what I do see and what I have seen in the previous episodes, Nine in Six never stepped in for us if we needed something,” she said, referring to earlier help.
It’s been a longstanding gripe among viewers, and the latest situation with Troy is only fanning the flames.
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