Guest bathroom reveals PLUS the challenges with redo’s!

It was bathroom and redo room week on The Block last week. HOUSE 5 impressed the judges and secured the win! Using Bradford’s unbeatable Soundscreen Insulation + Optimo Underfloor Insulation along with Gyprock’s Aquachek every house delivered seamlessly.

As the teams spent time to fix their missteps – especially the newbie renovators – we realised it offered some great lessons about how to recover from building mistakes and make sure you don’t waste any more money.

Stick to making cosmetic changes only

Firstly, if you are doing a refresh, it’s best to stick to making cosmetic changes only. New paint, furniture, or even new non-load-bearing walls are easy fixes, but the structure underneath is expensive to redo. Whenever you tamper with the substructure, it can cause lots of problems – and unnecessary expense. Nobody wants to re-waterproof a bathroom, it’s a very expensive mistake.

Keep it simple and don’t comprise on quality materials

It is good to refresh a home’s interior regularly, whether or not you are being judged weekly. But keep it simple and spend the money in the first place to make sure the substructure is top quality. Use the best quality plasterboard, such as Gyprock Superchek, or Aquachek, and make sure you upgrade your insulation to Bradford Gold Batts and your comfort levels will thank you later.

Measure twice, cut once

Secondly, take time to measure twice, cut once. Time and time again on The Block we see teams rushing to complete jobs and not double-checking their measurements, resulting in elements such as doors and windows not fitting as they should. We get it – time is tight when you are finishing a room a week, but regular builds are different, so if you are building your own home, take the time needed to make sure everything is super-correct.