# Forum Home Renovation Waterproofing  the block

## intertd6

any body notice the weird precedence of tasks in the latest bathroom, they waterproofed then laid the screed with out the wall being sheeted, then when the floor tiles were laid wrong they just cut the excess off & moved the wall, I wonder how that wall (shower) is sealed now or how the other wall floor junctions are sealed?
inter

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## phild01

Caught my eye as well.  They try to convince everyone that things are done to code, but surely questionable how they push the build to ridiculous time frames.

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## ringtail

I haven't watched it for years. Total rubbish, built by twits

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## intertd6

you missed out on some real gems then, i havent watched it for ages, but some things caught my attention while it was on in the background while the family was watching it, the other striking thing was the interior finishes being completed while the building wasn't weathertight, the mould would be growing in all the worst nooks & crannies.
inter

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## phild01

> I haven't watched it for years. Total rubbish, built by twits

  I stopped watching it for so long too, but not much entertainment these days.  Had this series on in the background only watching the construction bits. A PVR helps me bypass all the crap.  The only expense in producing this crap is the cost of the building and the trades.  They would recoup this back with sponsor supply and the reserve sale.  Cheap crap TV.

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## sol381

there is no way the internal corner of wall and floor is sealed properly.. waterproofing before screed is fine.. thats how ive always done it but wall sheets need to be in.. you cant waterproof without wall sheeting and not expect problems.. . the screed looked very sloppy as well.. My tiler has it very dry...the waterproof membrane has to go up the wall at least 200mm..people still buy these places even tho they see how dodgy some of the work is..baffling..

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## PlatypusGardens

I've tried watching this a few times...but the reality Tv format is so annoying. 
They clearly pick the "contestants" basd on their personalities so there's drama and arguments.
The endless cutting and showing snippets of what's "coming up after the break" plus Scotty Cam's monotone TV voice drives me up the wall. 
Ooooooo Keeef the big bad building inspector is coming, everyone panic!
He's bound to find something to complain about!   
I'd rather watch Grand Designs or that other british fella who always starts by gutting the house and paiting everything white.

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## Marc

I think the best reno show to watch (if you want to punish yourself that way) is 'Selling houses Australia" By far more practical and less BS going on. No one want's to make up they made by hand something that was machined before, or she has done something that is done by an army of tradesmen off camera.

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## PlatypusGardens

I watched a bit of The Block when those two older blokes were on.
They had some cool ideas. 
Felt sorry for them though as they busted their balls and one even had a heart attack (or something) and in the end they got bugger all for their efforts.
Granted, what they did, didn't appeal to everyone, but at least they did something different and added character to their rooms.   :Smilie:

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## johnc

BIL used to work for one of the major suppliers to the block and the wife is addicted to it. The part that annoys me is how much they push the contestants and then seem surprised when things go wrong. You can easily see it is little more than planned chaos during filming and there is a large contingent of builders doing other work to finish the sections that the contestants don't touch such as the structural. You can just imagine the tension to meet deadlines, I don't particularly like the way they play on the personalities but really without that there is not much else there other than sweat and pain.

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## PlatypusGardens

It's a drama show mostly aimed at people who never have and probably never will do any renovations themselves.
But love to sit on the couch and make smug comments like "I wouldn't have painted it that colour" 
Scotty Cam is a walking billboard for Mitre 10 and whatever brand workclothes he wears. 
Sure, a show like this needs to have a bit of the "drama" to be interesting, but the drama seems to have taken a front seat and most of the actual work is just shown in montages.
How much footage of the contestants driving around in their cars and arguing over which colour cushions to buy do we really need to see?   :Unsure:   
But it's fun to complain about it   :Rofl:

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## phild01

> . . the screed looked very sloppy as well.. My tiler has it very dry...

  Sloppy alright, had me wondering if it was only a Bondcrete mix.

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## pharmaboy2

Can't help the irresistible urge to punch a designer in the face..... 
Seriously, those dingbats are more concerned with whether a Chair is in their way than if the floor doesn't drain - and then say 'oh it's too cluttered, that will turn buyers off."   WHAT?  Do they think normal adults can't conceive of furniture in a different spot - the rest of us have arms, legs, and brains you know!

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## johnc

Design is a personal thing, very few people have any real design flair, these shows actually put some good ideas out there. However the build side I do not like, to rushed, to rough, what a lot of people don't realise is that after the contestants leave there are several months before the auctions take place and in that time the behind the scenes construction crew is going flat chat fixing things up, when the kitchens and bathrooms are done in a week that doesn't mean they are working, water may not be connected, drains may not be functioning. There is a big effort made to ensure things aren't substandard and in fairness you buy a new property these days and it is not unusual to have some problems when you take possession.

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## intertd6

of course there is going to be drama, when you get a bunch of the unskilled together doing complicated renovation in such a short time frame, it gets the ratings, but as a tradie i look beyond that for the technical aspects & Id be sure Im not the only one when the defects start plaguing the owners for years afterwards. they seem to have cut back on what they actually do, they are mostly limited to demolition, design, furnishing & painting
inter

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## toooldforthis

complete fakery

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## David.Elliott

Not sure why it's called "Reality TV"? 
The one thing you can guarantee is the the situations are contrived, the editing dodgy, the pressure created, all in order make what some folk call good TV.
Part of the selection process is monitored by psychologists to select different (clashing) personality traits to ensure conflict, tears, anger, and (I'm ashamed to admit for this country) ratings... 
The bosses daughter and husband are hooked on this show or the other similar one, whatever that's called. Scarily they are convinced that it only takes 4 hours to build, clad, and flush a series of some pretty sizeable walls. They watched it, it must be true!

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## PlatypusGardens

I think the only reality TV as such would be the early productions of Big Brother.
There's rumours of the more recent ones being planted with actors being fed instructions to "keep it interesting"  
I glance a bit at the US thrash reality TV Shows.
American Pickers, scripted to the eyeballs. 
Auction hunters/storage wars/pawn shops/american restoration. 
All have interesting elements and items being shown and discussed.
But a drag to watch. 
One of the best ones would have to be RBT.
Can't think of anything I'd rather be doing than sit on the couch watching people get breath tested on TV. 
Riveting stuff   :Rofl:

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## Random Username

Reality TV killed TV for me.  Haven't sat down in front of the tele now for 15 years as I was too fed up with the programs I wanted to watch being shuffled around to fit an extra half hour of Big Brother or Australian Idol in.  It was even worse than having my programs pre-empted by sporting finals!

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## goldie1

> Reality TV killed TV for me.  Haven't sat down in front of the tele now for 15 years as I was too fed up with the programs I wanted to watch being shuffled around to fit an extra half hour of Big Brother or Australian Idol in.  It was even worse than having my programs pre-empted by sporting finals!

  x2   I have pretty much given up watching tv most of it is complete crap.  In the future when archaeologists 
talk about the stone age, iron age, dark ages etc  the early part of the 21st century will be known as 
 the shallow age

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## JB1

I wouldn't worry about the waterproofing. 
I have heard they redo sections of the house before they sell it. Last thing they want is bad publicity following the show on how bad the workmanship is and how many shortcuts the contestants take. 
The buyers will get warranty for the building, so it's in the builders interest (whoever channel 9 contracts out to) to ensure the building is compliant.

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## Marc

> I think the only reality TV as such would be the early productions of Big Brother.
> There's rumours of the more recent ones being planted with actors being fed instructions to "keep it interesting"  
> I glance a bit at the US thrash reality TV Shows.
> American Pickers, scripted to the eyeballs. 
> Auction hunters/storage wars/pawn shops/american restoration. 
> All have interesting elements and items being shown and discussed.
> But a drag to watch. 
> One of the best ones would have to be RBT.
> Can't think of anything I'd rather be doing than sit on the couch watching people get breath tested on TV. 
> Riveting stuff

  I used to like the auction shows until I realised it is all staged, every single one of them. The worst being the container auctions one. 
The collector cars has some interest regardless if the price obtained is real or imaginary, the cars are nice and the restoration real.

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## nob

Survivor was the pioneer of reality tv in the big leagues but long before that there was the one and only "Sylvaniah waters".  That was somehow riveting to me as a 15 year old. :Blush7:

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## PlatypusGardens

Real reality.
Better than TV

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## Marc

Absolutely

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## PlatypusGardens

Of course, the reality this morning includes a lot of empty stubbies and a fuzzy head   :Rofl:

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## ringtail

You look like me PG. Just more grey and you have better stink eye  :Biggrin:

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## Gaza

New one coming up on sbs next week kebab shops, funny thing is its hidden cameras so all drunk customers don't even know they are being filmed   
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## METRIX

> they seem to have cut back on what they actually do, they are mostly limited to demolition, design, furnishing & painting
> inter

  The only thing they "have to do" is paint, they are not allowed to hire painters, but can pay someone else to do everything else for them.
They get a LOT of money to do these dodgy apartments up but they waste it on $1000 taps, $600 shower head, $1000 light, the type of stuff your average reno, even a higher end reno does NOT buy. 
If they were smart with their money, they could do these places up to a high standard, and pay someone else to do everything for them, but they get too caught up in the I must buy a $10,000 painting for the hallway, and this and that dribble dribble dribble.
Then they complain they don't have any money, it's absolute rubbish, I used to watch it in the early series, but stopped years ago, due to the rubbish production. 
The funniest thing is when you watch the final auction show, and the winners and not so winners all say, "Were going to open out own renovation business" good for you, it will only last 5 minutes, as they have no licenses to do anything, they steal all their ideas from websites / magazines, and have no formal qualifications fto give anyone any advice on anything to do with renovation, just because they appeared on one dodgy renovation show doe's not automatically make them a tradie / designer / expert any any field. 
Looking at Alisa and Lysandra's website they have probably been the most successful, but they have still only completed 5 bathrooms / or other since starting their own business as designers, hardly anything to write home about, and their website says they are interior designers, amazing what you can call yourself after a TV stint, all the other's which were going to start their own renovation business, I assume have fallen back into their old job's after their "dream" failed, because you never hear or see anything from them.

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## ringtail

Bwahahaha, interior designers. More like serial whiners

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## PlatypusGardens

> amazing what you can call yourself after a TV stint, all the other's which were going to start their own renovation business, I assume have fallen back into their old job's after their "dream" failed, because you never hear or see anything from them.

  Much like just about every contestant who went to the finals in [insert name of talent show here] and had the judges blow smoke up their bottom saying they'll "go far"

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## METRIX

> the judges blow smoke up their bottom saying they'll "go far"

  Only as far as the exit door from the Studio, HA HA HA HA HA HA, once out that door forget it, as we all know you can't start a successful business overnight.

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## PlatypusGardens

> Only as far as the exit door from the Studio, HA HA HA HA HA HA, once out that door forget it, as we all know you can't start a successful business overnight.

  
I think one of the few people who actually had any sort of career was Shannon Noll from the first "Idol" series and he didn't even win. 
Guy Sebastian seems to be doing ok now making bland over produced middle-of-the-road R 'N B sap, but it took a while before he got anywhere.   
All those shows have gone full circle now with ex-Idol/X-factor contestants on the judging panel as well as has-beens like The Spice Girls.   :Unsure:

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## METRIX

> All those shows have gone full circle now with ex-Idol/X-factor contestants on the judging panel as well as has-beens like The Spice Girls.

  Same for the Block, they have Dan the Chippy as the Blockinator's gofer.

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## pharmaboy2

> Bwahahaha, interior designers. More like serial whiners

  Under qualified, over opinionated, narcissists.

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## ringtail

Totally.

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## PlatypusGardens

Alyssa and Lysandra....was that the snooty know-it-all twins?

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## phild01

Can't you see a trend here.  People are conditioned to marketing and unwarily respond to it.  For as long as a person's ability to think clearly is dampened, this sort of stuff will just engage more and more.  Marketing dicks around with a person's mind.

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## PlatypusGardens

> Can't you see a trend here.  People are conditioned to marketing and unwarily respond to it.  For as long as a person's ability to think clearly is dampened, this sort of stuff will just engage more and more.  Marketing dicks around with a person's mind.

  
That, and also the armchair experts who love these shows, sitting at home scoffing when the judges complain about something , probably saying stuff like "well I wouldn't have painted it that colour" 
When in reality they probably don't know how to hold a hammer. 
Watching other people fail gives pleasure to many people who never take any risks themselves.

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## pharmaboy2

omg !  I thought I was going too far with the narcissist comment, but then went to Alasandra and whatsisfaces website  Alisa and Lysandra - Design Duo Alisa and Lysandra have just launched a brand new website filled with design inspiration, interesting blogs and exciting interior design projects.Alisa and Lysandra | Design Duo Alisa and Lysandra have just launched a  
"Hailed as the Design Duo, Alisa and Lysandra Fraser have become the go-to experts for interior transformations, working as interior designers on bespoke properties and collaborating with high profile brands and clients. Their humble beginnings along with their natural entrepreneurial flair have seen them enjoy online success through their store, their exclusive designs, and their ever-growing social media communities.Beyond their thriving careers, Alisa and Lysandra enjoy busy parenthood that is perfectly balanced with their exciting entrepreneurial lifestyle. Their motivation and determination helps them stay on top of their game, whilst maintaining an ethos of creativity, aspiration and continuous reinvention, which is also evident in their design style." 
FIGJAM

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## goldie1

> Same for the Block, they have Dan the Chippy as the Blockinator's gofer.

  Wasn't the Blockinator  an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie

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## PlatypusGardens

> their ever-growing social media communities.

   :Rofl:

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## phild01

:Puke:  :Puke:

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## METRIX

> omg !  I thought I was going too far with the narcissist comment, but then went to Alasandra and whatsisfaces website  Alisa and Lysandra - Design Duo Alisa and Lysandra have just launched a brand new website filled with design inspiration, interesting blogs and exciting interior design projects.Alisa and Lysandra | Design Duo Alisa and Lysandra have just launched a  
> "Hailed as the Design Duo, Alisa and Lysandra Fraser have become the go-to experts for interior transformations, working as interior designers on bespoke properties and collaborating with high profile brands and clients. Their humble beginnings along with their natural entrepreneurial flair have seen them enjoy online success through their store, their exclusive designs, and their ever-growing social media communities.Beyond their thriving careers, Alisa and Lysandra enjoy busy parenthood that is perfectly balanced with their exciting entrepreneurial lifestyle. Their motivation and determination helps them stay on top of their game, whilst maintaining an ethos of creativity, aspiration and continuous reinvention, which is also evident in their design style." 
> FIGJAM

   *THE ex-husband of Australian reality  television show favourite Lysandra Fraser was blindsided by her  sudden decision to walk away from their five-year marriage.                                 *  _The Block stars  high school sweetheart, Ben Stevens, is said to be furious with his  former wife, who left him straight after Channel 9s The Block: Sky High wrapped up filming in June._   _Hes still pretty shocked and upset by it all. Hes furious, a close friend of Stevens told The Advertiser._ _There  werent any attempts to get it back on track, it was ridiculous. If she  fell out of love with him, then fine, but it was how quick it was . . .  the shows done  bang, its over. _   _     
                                                  Twins Alisa and Lysandra Fraser. Picture Stephen Laffer  
 He worked really hard to look after the kids while she was gone. Its just heartbreaking.
It is rumoured Fraser  who has two children, Emerson, 3, and Cohen, 2, with Stevens  began dating someone who worked on The Block set last year.  She and her twin sister Alisa Fraser quit their jobs with the South Australian Police Force following their $395,000 win on The Block: Sky High in July.   In that series, the pairs renovated Melbourne apartment sold at auction for  $1.435 million. _ Stevens,  a shiftworker, had reservations about his wife appearing on the show  but he was given an ultimatum by sister-in-law Alisa. 
Ben told me that Alisa said if he didnt let Lysandra do the show their marriage was probably over, the close friend said. 
They had a mortgage to pay for so he agreed to let her on the show.
Those  girls are pretty cutthroat, they are real go-getters when it comes to  things and its been to their advantage on the show. Theyre very  competitive. 
 Bens friend said the parting had not been amicable but when contacted yesterday Lysandra Fraser had a different view of her split up.
Things  are amicable between Ben and I. Its a hard time for us at the moment  and we would appreciate people respecting our privacy, she said.

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## PlatypusGardens

Good grief

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## Sir Stinkalot

A little bird told me that some past contestants returned home and were shocked when they went to a plumbing supplier and were told that the plumbing supplier doesn't do the design or documentation of the bathroom for them. It would be interesting to hear how much additional support the suppliers on the show are required to give to be retained as suppliers.

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## METRIX

> A little bird told me that some past contestants returned home and were shocked when they went to a plumbing supplier and were told that the plumbing supplier doesn't do the design or documentation of the bathroom for them. It would be interesting to hear how much additional support the suppliers on the show are required to give to be retained as suppliers.

  Im sure they have to jump through a lot of hoops to keep sponsorship, ordering in one offs etc

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## ringtail

The thing I find hilarious about these gibbons and block type shows in general is that they all go with fads. Whatever is " in" at the time. Thats the thing about fads and trends. They are nothing more than that. Fads and trends. Few things in the building industry are timeless but they do exist. These block twats wouldn't know good design if it bit them on the grinner.

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## PlatypusGardens

> These block twats wouldn't know good design if it bit them on the grinner.

  
WHAAAAAAT? 
So you're saying that 25 pillows on a bed, stacked in descending size order ISN'T what design is all about???!?!?!?   :Shock:     
Well I never.....   :No:

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## ringtail

Learn something new everyday PG  :Wink:

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## PlatypusGardens

Hang on, I'm still writing it down in my little book.
This is good stuff.

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## phild01

> WHAAAAAAT? 
> So you're saying that 25 pillows on a bed, stacked in descending size order ISN'T what design is all about???!?!?!?      
> Well I never.....

  Designers can be so bored they create nonsense, where do all those pillows go each night.

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## David.Elliott

I'm close, we've got seven so I'm a ~third if the way there...2 banks of three, and one square one in the middle 
Interesting topic for a post...Who's got the most pillows on the bed

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## PlatypusGardens

> Designers can be so bored they create nonsense, where do all those pillows go each night.

  that's what I always wonder too! 
A special wardrobe just for the pillows?   :Unsure:

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## pharmaboy2

My wife is down to only 3 pillows been thrown on the ground every night. 
remarkable how quick some of these trends wane though - I've already had enough of satin black taps, just from watching tv - they'll be in Bunnings by Christmas and that always signals the end of a trend. 
the other sure fire signal is when masterton puts anything in a display home

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## PlatypusGardens

:Gaah:

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## Spottiswoode

> The only thing they "have to do" is paint, they are not allowed to hire painters, but can pay someone else to do everything else for them.
> They get a LOT of money to do these dodgy apartments up but they waste it on $1000 taps, $600 shower head, $1000 light, the type of stuff your average reno, even a higher end reno does NOT buy. 
> If they were smart with their money, they could do these places up to a high standard, and pay someone else to do everything for them, but they get too caught up in the I must buy a $10,000 painting for the hallway, and this and that dribble dribble dribble.
> Then they complain they don't have any money, it's absolute rubbish, I used to watch it in the early series, but stopped years ago, due to the rubbish production.

  Been watching this series. About 6 weeks in they were all except one crying poor, so the prodcuers 'decided to help them out' by stumping up some extra money. The four desperate teams were grateful and still couldn't work out how to make the money last. The one team that had plenty ended up with so much money they didn't know what to do with because they had budgeted for the original amount to get them through.  
Happens every series, they run out of money. So far only one team out of too many seasons seems to have worked out that they need to budget properly to make the allotted money last to the end easily. 
On another note: I wonder how they manage fatigue properly with the silly timeframes. Pretty sure if we pushed the bods at work here for the hours they talk about on the show WorkCover would have something to say about it. Pulling all-nighters every week isn't something wokrplaces should be advertising at any point. If someone has an accident under those conditions I wouldnt like to be in the managers position.

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## PlatypusGardens

> On another note: I wonder how they manage fatigue properly with the silly timeframes. Pretty sure if we pushed the bods at work here for the hours they talk about on the show WorkCover would have something to say about it. Pulling all-nighters every week isn't something wokrplaces should be advertising at any point. If someone has an accident under those conditions I wouldnt like to be in the managers position.

  It's all smoke and mirrors

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## r3nov8or

This is the sort of thing you think you can get a away with having been on the Block  Block winners Dea and Darren Jolly demolish heritage house in Kew

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## PlatypusGardens

Haha 
He deemed it unsafe and is going to build an exact replica? 
Hahaha

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## r3nov8or

"An exact replica" may be hard to determine (the heavily treed front yard)  https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37....7i13312!8i6656

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## PlatypusGardens

> "An exact replica" may be hard to determine (the heavily treed front yard)  https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37....7i13312!8i6656

  
Gonna need that magic tree planting machine someone posted a video of a while back

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## havabeer

really it shouldn't even be called "the block" should just be called "the project managers" that's basically all the contestants do now. 
manage the funds - poorly
work out the design - based off what an actual interior designer and builder say
organise the tradies - to do the actual work  
does anyone actually know how the "profit" at the end actually works, the auction episode was on last night. do they actually have to pay any type of tax on that? or does channel 9 front all those costs and just cut them a check, which you then pay tax on later as its part of your income

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## Spottiswoode

My understanding is that it is competition winnings, therefore tax free. They use the word 'profit' to help you decide that a trip down to (sponsors hardware chain of choice) to buy a bucket of paint and stuff will enable you to flog your house for more.

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## r3nov8or

Yep, competition winnings are tax free in our great country. (Taxed to the hilt elsewhere, e.g. USA)

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## Cecile

> Yep, competition winnings are tax free in our great country. (Taxed to the hilt elsewhere, e.g. USA)

  Referred to as a "windfall gain," therefore tax free.  You pay tax on the interest income you receive if you invest the winnings, however.

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## r3nov8or

Now it's getting more complicated  :Smilie:   

> ...You pay tax on the interest income you receive if you invest the winnings, however.

   ...Unless you invest in the purchase of or improvements to the family home.

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## Cecile

> Now it's getting more complicated  
>  ...Unless you invest in the purchase of or improvements to the family home.

  Complicated indeed.  This is as far as I go with tax comments, because it IS complex.  I only do tax at work, not on the forum.   :Biggrin2:

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## SilentButDeadly

> really it shouldn't even be called "the block" should just be called "the project managers" that's basically all the contestants do now. 
> manage the funds - poorly
> work out the design - based off what an actual interior designer and builder say
> organise the tradies - to do the actual work

  Sounds pretty much like every Joe Average renovator these days...even plenty of the cohort in this place.

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## InsaneAsylum

The block was good for the first few where they actually did some hard yakka and it's got progressively worse since. 
The two botox heads from the Gold Coast didn't lift a finger and spent most of their time sneaking off to get their hair done, coffee, photo shoots, shopping, getting gassed and flashing your puppies at the melbourne cup etc. 
Honestly the show has become like any other reality TV show, there are one or two couples who are genuine, but you also get the ones who are willing to do anything to be famous and are more interested in developing their "brand" because they want to start their own interior design business or be the face of a furniture/lighting/hardware store or range.

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## InsaneAsylum

> Bwahahaha, interior designers. More like serial whiners

  knew I'd seen them somewhere before The Block

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## PlatypusGardens

> knew I'd seen them somewhere before The Block

   
Hahahahahahahaha 
YES!!!

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