Tuesday began with the teams facing a non-negotiable job. With Friday's public holiday taking a workday out of the equation, getting the ensuites waterproofed was essential if anyone wanted a shot at finishing on time.

A Shower Seat Creates An Awkward Start

House 4 was already making life complicated with a shower seat in Courtney and Sev's ensuite. Courtney and her builder were keen on the idea, but Foreman Dan and GMac were not exactly rushing to endorse it.

The design debate landed after Darren Palmer had again offered the teams colour advice, a reminder that each decision in an ensuite has to work on paper as well as once the trades are ready to build it. There was not much room for anyone to linger over a plan, though. Waterproofing had to happen.

Elsewhere, the site was suffering from a very different shortage. Rick and Tayla were without plasterers, while Chantel and Wyatt had more trades on hand than their budget was comfortable with.

Tayla tried to solve House 5's problem by asking about borrowing one of House 2's plasterers. The issue was that Chantel and Wyatt had originally agreed, then changed their minds without House 5 knowing. Wyatt took the request as disrespectful, and the already tense trade situation gained another layer.

It was a classic Block problem, where the practical solution becomes the social problem. House 5 needed help, House 2 was trying to protect its own schedule and budget, and neither side was working from quite the same understanding of the arrangement.

Rick at least got a small lifeline when the McCafé team named him the week's hardest worker and handed him $5,000. It was welcome news while Tayla kept searching for a plasterer to get their room moving again.

The Budget Alarm Gets Louder

Courtney and Sev were dealing with an even bigger headache. Their budget was back under the microscope after the pair spent $91,678 in cash, leaving a projected $140,000 for five more room weeks and two landscaping weeks.

That number looked especially daunting when landscaper Troy Lovett arrived with his own warning. He said last year's landscaping needed at least $100,000 in cash, which left very little room for comfort in House 4's calculations.

It also put the pair's week in sharper focus. Even if the ensuite can be rescued, they still have to make the rest of the build stack up over the coming rooms. A bathroom delay is expensive enough without the broader cash position hanging over every decision.

While Courtney tried to keep the mood light, the pressure was clearly building. Tayla also watched the meeting closely, with Troy's future on the site suddenly looking like another potential point of contention.

Waterproofing Goes From Progress To Disaster

Chantel and Wyatt had the smoothest run of the day, getting so far ahead that they were able to leave site early. Courtney and Sev, meanwhile, appeared to have made progress, which did not go unnoticed by Jolene after a late-night chat between Courtney and Adam.

Then the good news vanished. Problems with Courtney and Sev's waterproofing tradie meant the work had to be pulled up and redone. Their second inspection was no better, with the room failing across the board.

That brought Nine in Six to House 4, where the Cursio brothers were sent in to help rescue the job. The assistance gave Courtney and Sev a much-needed path forward, but it also left Chantel and Wyatt frustrated as another team received extra support.

That is where the episode left the two storylines colliding. Courtney and Sev needed expert help after their waterproofing failed, while Chantel and Wyatt were already unhappy about being asked to share trades. With the room clock still ticking, neither issue is likely to disappear quietly.

For Courtney and Sev, the immediate task is simply getting the ensuite compliant and moving again. The bigger budget problem has not gone anywhere, and the Cursios' arrival has set up another confrontation in a week that was already tight on time, cash and patience.

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