The little-known rules of The Block

The Blockheads are given plenty of rules when they’re on the show.

Obviously, there are a few that are spoken about often, like safety on site and doing their own painting.

But there are some lesser-known rules the contestants must follow, and these have stayed the same throughout The Block’s 18-season history.

Here are 10 key rules the teams must follow that are not always discussed on camera:

• No help from any outside designer.
  All painting must be done by contestants.
  All trades must be paid the award rate.
  All trades must be inducted.
  No more than 50 per cent discount on any trades goods.
  No working ahead.
  No power tools after tools down.
  No power tools on Sunday or public holidays.
  Contestants must hire their own trades.

While contestants must hire their own trades, the only time trades are brought in by someone else is when they pull the hipages lever and host Scott Cam organises it for them.

As for builders, they are typically not able to work on consecutive seasons of The Block.

For example, Will and Karlie wanted to use Matt from Elevate on their series but because he was Caro and Kingi’s builder the year before, this couldn’t happen.

• The Block 2022 listings are now live, and updated weekly. See them here.

But when Josh and Elyse and Tess and Luke hired Matt in 2017 and 2019 respectively, it was OK because a year had passed. And it’s the same this year with Matt back on The Block as Rachel and Ryan’s builder.

However Paulie, Kirsty and Jesse’s builder from 2021 has returned to help Omar and Oz on The Block 2022. This isn’t actually against the rules because there is a loophole that allows builders to return year-on-year.

“Sub-clause 1.b means they can return as a tradie working for a new builder,” Scott Cam explained.

Paulie joined Omar and Oz’s team at the start of main bathroom week as lead carpenter.

The builder rule is there to ensure that no team has an advantage by using a builder who has done back-to-back seasons.

But it was also put in place to be able to give new people a go, according to Anna Scarff, series producer of The Block.

“The Block likes to give new people a go. We love meeting new characters and we love giving local trades a leg up in the industry. New trades bring new ideas and that is what The Block is about,” she told 9Entertainment.

Since painters can’t be hired, it’s definitely one of the most important skills any potential Blockheads should work on before applying for the show.

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This article was originally published by Nine.com.au. Reproduced with permission.