With Outdoor Terrace and Pool Week now underway, everyone had a huge amount of landscaping to tackle. First, though, they had a few old grudges to water.

The Copying Argument Gets Louder

After Courtney and Sev's perfect 30 for their kids' bedroom and redo room, Jolene was still struggling with the idea that House 4 had received perfect scores for a living-room redo featuring a fireplace and mirror wall similar to Adam and Jolene's earlier winning room.

Courtney and Sev did not accept that they had borrowed the concept. They maintained those features had been part of their own plan before their earlier budget restrictions changed what they could build.

The dispute was hardly confined to one room, either. Chantel argued that Lisa's redo guest suite looked remarkably close to Chantel and Wyatt's own guest-suite bedroom, right down to a curved bedhead and orchids on the bedside table. On this site, nobody was leaving a design resemblance unremarked upon.

Open For Inspections Finds More Problems

The tension followed the teams into Open for Inspections, where Jolene, Lisa and Rosco went through Courtney and Sev's rooms with a very close eye. Jolene picked out a ceiling issue, Rick said he had been penalised for similar unfinished work, and Lisa and Rosco found incomplete caulking.

That was particularly hard for Lisa and Rosco to swallow after their 29-point result. Their own redo guest suite had missed a perfect score over a small strip of unpainted skirting, so the House 4 finish reignited the feeling that the judges were applying different rules to different teams.

A $50,000 Reset For Landscaping Week

Once the inspections were over, the contestants officially moved into Outdoor Terrace and Pool Week. Five huge decks, pools and entertaining zones were suddenly on the to-do list, with some houses facing far more outdoor ground than others and plenty of budgets already looking uncomfortable.

Scott Cam's timing could not have been better. Every team received a $50,000 CommBank boost, giving Lisa and Rosco the breathing room to bring in landscaping help and stopping Rick and Tayla from having to send their landscaper home.

It did not erase the gap between the houses, though. Courtney and Sev were already in a strong position after their run of wins, while Adam and Jolene still had the financial comfort of their enormous Kitchen Week prize. The money problem had changed, but it had not disappeared.

The Neighbour Feud Finds A New Route

Adam and Jolene also had a practical way to make life harder for Chantel and Wyatt. House 1's side access had been the route their neighbours and trades used to reach part of House 2's front yard without moving through the house, and Adam and Jolene planned to close it off.

For a team trying to build a large outdoor zone on a deadline, it was a serious headache. For a rivalry already simmering away for weeks, it was petrol on the pavers.

The Candyman Question Does Not Stay Quiet

At the share-house family dinner, Chantel and Wyatt got up to go to the gym and the conversation promptly turned to their connection with Travers 'Candyman' Beynon. Unfortunately for the group, the pair had not quite made it out the door.

Tayla eventually asked whether Beynon was planning to buy their house. Chantel and Wyatt decided to lean into it, joking they would go last at auction and he would pay '$1 more' so they could win. Tayla's face said she was still deciding whether they were serious.

Families Bring A Softer Finish

Scott then sent the Blockheads to an athletics-carnival challenge, where the costumes and sporting bravado were quickly overtaken by a surprise visit from their families. After a day spent arguing about scores, rooms, money and access, the reunion gave everyone a brief chance to put the competition down.

The peace will not last long. Landscaping Week is only just beginning, and a special guest is on the way.

The Block continues tonight at 7.30pm on Nine and 9Now.