While there’s no doubt that The Block NZ is one of the country’s most watched and commented upon TV building and renovation shows, how does it influence viewers’ perceptions of what’s realistic and what’s not?
As excitement mounts and the launch of The Block NZ draws closer, local building companies are waiting to see if the "Block effect" kicks in, when TV viewers get inspired by what they’re seeing in 2021’s four homes in Auckland.
Ironically, this is the very year when most tradespeople have full calendars already, owing to another new dynamic: the "Covid-19 effect" has seen frustrated would-be overseas travellers ploughing unexpected extra savings into their homes.
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Peter Wolfkamp, The Block NZ’s experienced site foreman and Newstalk ZB's Resident Builder, jokes that reality TV tends to distort the realities of home renovations.
“Nobody is ever realistic about any renovation job,” he says.
“I had a bathroom installer, a few series ago, telling me about a customer, who wanted a complete bathroom renovation to be completed in five days, because that’s what she’d just seen on TV.
“It’s true that we do renovate a bathroom in five days on-screen, but it’s a carefully choreographed exercise with expert trades people lined up to jump in immediately and do their bit, whereas, in real life, that level of co-ordination is rare. You can make it happen, but it poses its own challenges.”
He adds: “Have I ever done a bathroom that fast? No. Just ask my wife. It’s been years now and she’s still asking me to put a door handle on the ensuite!”
Wolfkamp says that as the years have gone by, standards on The Block NZ have kept improving dramatically, partly due to his own commitment to promoting best practice via the show.
The length and cost of some renovations can take homeowners by surprise. Photo / Getty Images
“The quality you get when building exactly to the code might be okay, but I like to go over and above that: for example, insulating all interior partitions and using 13mm plasterboard, because homes where the builders and other tradespeople have gone the extra mile have a very different feel about them. They’re really constructed to last.”
Refresh Renovations spokeswoman Franchelle Oughton says that it’s hard to pinpoint if a spike in their customer enquiries is related to The Block NZ.
“What we do see as a result of shows like The Block, is a need to ‘re-educate’ homeowners - as the shows are designed to get ratings, and are dramatised, and condensed into very short time frames.”
Oughton says it’s not uncommon to be approached by a panicking homeowner, who’s been inspired to do a major renovation themselves, having seen it look quick and easy on TV.
“They’ll suddenly find that their new bathroom is leaking, so they’ve wasted a lot of time and money, and now need to pay yet more to have us make things right.”
The teams taking part in this year's Block NZ. Photo / Supplied
She adds that these DIYers may not have sought the appropriate consents either, which is another reason to be wary of tackling major renovations without good advice and careful planning, because councils take breaches very seriously.
“Ultimately, using renovation professionals who follow a process, like us, actually helps reduce budget blowouts, consent problems and time frame issues, because we are so used to doing what we do!”
Calvin Clapperton, of Auckland building company Samurai Builders, agrees.
“Reality TV shows have their own dedicated professionals who can sign things off, and progress the build quickly,” he says.
Builders advise that homeowners get professional advice before embarking on a renovation job. Photo / Getty Images
“An example would be minor variations – as long as they’re not structural, and somebody there is able to draw them and write them up.”
He says a bathroom renovation on the most recent series of The Block Australia did make him laugh. “I did raise my eyebrows when a very luxury bathroom on the show came out at just A$18,000, – especially because they’d changed their minds, pulled it apart and rebuilt it along the way!”
Clapperton says that in general a quality-build in New Zealand would cost at least $2500 -$3000, per square metre: “But the sky’s the limit when it comes to top-end housing.”
Meanwhile, Wolfkamp says that 2021 is going to be a cracker on The Block NZ.
“These aren’t cookie cutter’ houses, they’re four very well-considered properties that have been carefully designed to meet the needs of today’s homeowners.”
Wolfkamp says viewers are definitely going to be enthused and he hopes they’ll be encouraged to ring changes in their own surroundings.
“But my advice is still to ensure that you plan well, listen to expert advice, and don’t rush anything!”
- The Block NZ premieres on Monday 14th June at 7:30pm and continues on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7.30pm on Three and streaming from 12pm on ThreeNow
