20 Comments

  1. On the whole, I thought they did a good job. Once again, the house was filled with too much random crap.

    One thing, though. The boys, who I think are my favourite team … hanging vines above the fireplace? There are literally a dozen reasons why that was a terrible idea.

  2. So a couple of the things. Okay, more than a couple.
    The house is really, reallly tiny. Even these pics can’t show how small it is. It must have been incredibly small before they doubled the floor space.
    There was a constant stream of cars going past stopping to look. I don’t know how they found it without help; I had to ask, and I was right across the road from where it was.
    A friend I was with said her daughter (and husband) had looked at it with a view to buying (in the past). I think they decided that it wasn’t child friendly.
    It bought a lot of money into the town. Apparently at any one time there were 30 (very handsome) tradies crawling all over the place, and bumping into each other. And it took way, way more than a week. I think the suggestion was something under a month.
    There was a lot of discussion on how much work was actually done by the contestants (Doubty McDoubtfaces)
    But good on them for doubling the value of their house within a couple of weeks. They couldn’t lose.
    There are solar panels.
    And here’s the thing, not knowing if this means anything because of timing, ***SPOILER ALERT***, the garden is untouched and a lot of a mess.

    • Wow Bobi. That’s good work. I love the photos.

      “The house is really, reallly tiny. Even these pics can’t show how small it is.”

      I believe you. It looks small in the photos, and that’s after the renovation. Also, the judges specifically commented that “it used to be a tool shed”, and they would’ve seen more of the house than the audience, right?

      “It bought a lot of money into the town. Apparently at any one time there were 30 (very handsome) tradies crawling all over the place, and bumping into each other.”

      I imagine that would’ve had an upside. Heh.

      “And it took way, way more than a week. I think the suggestion was something under a month.”

      That’s not a surprise, to be honest. They obviously had to dig new foundations and pour a new slab, and so forth, for the new renovated part. So they would’ve started that a long time before the teams were on-site (plus, Katie and Alex were travelling around the country renovating other people’s houses for a month, beforehand, so the house would’ve been vacant for ages).

      But building that new section? There’s no way possible they did that in two days. No way. And did you notice how, every time Lisa and Andy walked into the kitchen, they were surprised at how it looked?

      “There was a lot of discussion on how much work was actually done by the contestants (Doubty McDoubtfaces)”

      I repeat the above observation. Lisa and Andy were always very surprised to see the kitchen that they were apparently building for seven days.

      “But good on them for doubling the value of their house within a couple of weeks. They couldn’t lose.”

      No, I mean, they went from a dangerously unliveable tool shed to a three-bedroom cottage (with an awesome kitchen and two bathrooms). They couldn’t do anything but gain, there.

    • There was a comment from the start from Alex that they couldn’t get a mortgage because the bank considered it not fit for occupation. It looked okay to the naked eye, but I presume the services (power, gas, water etc) were not to code. That would have made it almost impossible to sell before.

      I have been trying to decide whether the plywood was actually the boys idea, or the architects. I think I have come to believe that the architect specified the cathedral ceiling, and that yes, it is possible that the plywood was the boys. Very, very smart as it eliminated hours of painting.

      Having just spent three weeks with four of us painting a two bedroom unit, I have come to the conclusion that “Paint night” is almost a total fake. There is no way they could do all the trim etc, in two or more coats (plus undercoat?) overnight.

  3. I just as a passing comment, I didn’t want to post pictures of other houses in the town (invading privacy), but Gunderoo is a really pretty town with really pretty houses. Even with all the work, the house is still fairly ordinary compared to the others.
    If they are selling, and I am assuming that is the object of the exercise, they are going to have to spend a tonne of money on the outside.

  4. It’s a shame if they get knocked out before the girls or Lisa and Andy. Maybe they didn’t do gardens this year?

    I’ve always thought that the tradies were there a lot more than the contestants, everything must be organised, pre-made and delivered before the 7 days starts. The contestants only pick the furnishings and tiles and sometimes talk about moving a wall.They obviously have start and finish times so they can arrive and leave together.

    Many years ago Jamie Durie did a backyard in my street (was it called “Backyard Blitz”?). It was supposed to be a 24 hour thing but they were there for weeks and Jamie and the camera crew only came once and he just held a shovel for a few minutes.

    • I work at the edge of the construction industry, and it is certain that most of the structural design is set weeks in advance. Simply getting the changes through council can take months. After several seasons, I have accepted that as one of the “illusions” of the show. It just annoys me when teams get praise or extra marks for something structural that would have been in the plans, such as the nib wall leading into the extension this week.

      I caught a shot this week where the contestant was screwing or hammering something, and then the next immediate shot (just a flash) showed the same work with two tradies doing it. Missed that one in the editing.

  5. I generally liked this house, but it was a pity that they did not restore the beautiful aspects of the house. I nearly cried to see the pressed tin ceiling being covered over, but at least one of the other teams kept theirs. Good to see the leadlight in the front door, but why not keep at least one of the fireplace and restore to working order. How fabulous would it have been to have a working fireplace in the main bathroom?

    The kids corner was totally pointless: filled with tat, blocked two good doorways, no storage, and just a general nuisance. It feels like it was invented to give the dancers another chance to frill themselves. Calling it another “room” was silly. And what is it with these open, library-style bookshelves? They waste space, hold very few books, and to me seem like an excuse to use pretty books as wall art.

    The dining room was nice, but I seem to be the only one who didn’t like the tiles. They were the wrong colour tone, not pastel, and I felt they drabbed the space down. Loved the lounge, and really could not understand Wendy and LLB’s critcism of the TV? I thought it an ingenious way to have the lounge facing both the fire and the TV without losing the window. I thought the boys should have got 10s for their zone.

    Hated the green plastic wall in the bathroom, and I agree with Alex: the beauty in the room was the chimney back. A green wall may not have been a bad idea, but it was too big, and the plants in it were not jungle or rainforest plants at all. Imagine the dust with the steam!

    Loved Hallie’s room, especially that it was quite unisex and not frilly-girly. A few tweaks and it will be home to Alex and Katie’s baby boy in a year or so. I agreed with the judges on the main bedroom, but it was hard to pin down why it didn’t work. I think they would be better off using the guest room as the main, and vice versa. Didn’t like the wardrobe, mainly because of the horse (the current trend of huge animals as artwork is hideous, imo). The hall was just middling, the “foyer” I liked, but you could see that the photos in the door art had fallen out of place. Pity they didn’t use mounting. Love the barn door. Can’t even remember the ensuite, and I only watched this morning, so it must have been unmemorable.

    The kitchen was also quite nice, but as said by others, I think Andy and Lisa had very little input into it. They were praised for the chimney, but that was a heritage requirement. I didn’t like the grey, but that is no surprise, but I was surprised at Lisa calling it pastel grey. No such thing, I believe.

    I haven’t yet watched Alex and Katie’s walk through or their scores. It is hard to pick who will leave, as they are about equal in terms of tv presence and popularity. I think it will be the sisters (who I really like) because they have to make up three points. Presumably, A&K’s scoring will be set to make it a one point win. In some ways, it will be fair if the girls go, as I think they are the weaker team, and it has annoyed me a little that they stated that they entered the competition just to get a free reno for their mum. I didn’t like Lisa before but she has grown on me a bit – she does seem to have a kind heart and some design talent under the ditzy air hostess facade. I hope they have kids later, so that the dogs don’t stay the focus of her life.

    I will stay away now until I have watched the rest of the judging, so feel free to discuss the result.

    • I agree exactly with many of your comments, Fijane, especially the ‘kid’s corner’, the greenery in the bathroom, the horse picture in the wardrobe. Since I wasn’t watching continuously i missed some parts so can’t comment on those.

    • “Didn’t like the wardrobe, mainly because of the horse (the current trend of huge animals as artwork is hideous, imo).”

      What’s interesting to me is that, if you’ve ben paying attention, the black and grey portrait of the yak? That’s showed up on the wall in someone’s house almost every time. It’s like, it’s a running gag that nobody’s told the audience about. It was there in Shayn and Carly’s Scandanavia house, and then it showed up last night in the hallway.

      • I hadn’t noticed it in every house, but certainly some, and in one episode someone was looking at another while shopping. Is it a yak? or a buffalo? I’m not that smart about them!

  6. What’s funny is that, this year, particularly on social media, there have been so many clips from the cast saying how, “We do it all!” and “I didn’t think it happened in 7 days but it really does!” and it feels like they’re trying too hard to convince us. They added a gigantic extension to Katie and Alex’s house (not to mention, the existing roof was literally held up by sticks. The whole thing would’ve had to have been replaced), and there’s no way possible that was done in a couple of days. No way. Reality simply wouldn’t allow it.

    I think the teams mostly did a good job with Katie and Alex’s cottage. I mean, it looks better than it did, but it couldn’t possibly have looked worse, it was an unliveable steel shed (that was literally falling down around them. Why’d they buy it in the first place?).

    Two big issues — the major bathroom was hideous. Nothing says “eco-friendly” like a wall of plastic plants (someone on FB told me the plants were 100% made from recyclable plastic. Great! I’d still throw 100% of them in the nearest rubbish bin). The wet room idea was ridiculous (it’d be impossible to have a hot shower, and winter nights out west are *freezing*). You’d have to wipe down half the room after using it, and with a young family? The towels were hanging up a metre away from the shower, so that’d be a waste of time, at that. And when you walk into the room, the first thing you see is the toilet, there in the middle of the room? My gosh Pete and Courtney, you guys suck at this.

    Also, the main bedroom was ghastly. It didn’t even look like a double bed.

    I wonder, for all this talk of “forever homes”, how many of these people just sell up afterwards and move on? And I don’t even mean that cynically … life changes, people have to move for careers and families and illnesses and so forth. Things happen, and you have to move to the city. The garden’s crap (which is interesting), but Katie and Alex could keep it as a rental, easily enough. Two bathrooms and three bedrooms and a fantastic kitchen.

    • One of them said “this is our forever home…we might still be here in twenty years..” – shows how young they are if they think forever lasts just twenty years!

  7. I didn’t know they were refused a mortgage from the bank.
    I woukd suggest that the power (gas, electricity etc) were fine. It’s right in the middle of town, and across the road from the church, and their neighbours are closer than you think.
    Everything seems to be running the right way, and so, given what has been said out and about, I would guess there were structural issues. Hence the rebuild. Either that, or the bank said it was not worth the asking price. Having worked in the industry, that can happen more than you realise.
    If they asked for, and were not given a mortgage, how did they buy in the end?
    I wonder if they bought especially for this show?
    Funny, odd, and suspicious.

    • The services can be fine in the street, but the equipment within the house too old or damaged to pass inspection. But I would expect there were structural issues, too. The show made a big fuss over the trusses, but those were not necessarily dangerous – many house have that type. It depends on the condition, and the connections, and the way the roof load is directed.

      They were quite vague about the money. It was an offhand comment about not being able to get a mortgage, and I don’t remember anything about how they did get it. I suppose I just assumed that it was cheap enough for someone on his wage to afford out of savings, maybe.

  8. Alex and Katie’s episode was a bit blah. As expected they were more honest on the walk through, than in front of the teams, and the scoring did not really reflect the comments we were shown.

    I can’t believe that a zone that included that main bedroom scored a 9 – the kitchen and laundry were nice but not enough to bring the score up. Andy and Lisa kept being complimented for the wet zones (where they did virtually nothing, except avoid garishness which would have put A&K off) and the room where they had the most input was all wrong. A&K kindly assumed that they spent all their time and effort in the kitchen! Lucky that they would have had to score less than 6 to be eliminated anyway, which was highly unlikely.

    Also, no comparison between Shayn & Carly’s zone (with the bedroom they said was perfect) and Pete and Courtney’s, yet they both scored 8. I agreed with Carly that a 9 was more appropriate for them.

    What came home to me watching this episode, is the quality of men we have here. Five of the six shown here are wonderful examples of masculinity, and the sixth is not too bad, just needs a testosterone injection. It is so refreshing to see these men on competition shows – many producers delight in scraping the barrel for the worst examples. These are the men I see around me in everyday life, just normal decent human beings. I hear too much whining about men who don’t do what women want, or are “toxic” (hate that word, now). I loved hearing Alex say, unashamedly, that he wished that it had been him to give Katie and Hallie the home they deserved, acknowledging the innate drive of men to provide for their loved ones.

    On the down side, the prospect for the next week doesn’t appeal. Yes, I feel a lot of compassion for the family, but for tv viewing, this part is my least favourite of the competition – it feels like filler. I really wish that they went straight to the fix-a-room week, my favourite part, and then onto the gardens. Looking at the EPG, I notice that HR has shrunk to Sunday and Monday only. I had to delete the weekly recordings to avoid the awful new Seven marriage-wrecker offering.

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