The Block 2024 episodes 38/39 recap: Foreman Dan loses it at sisters for their lack of planning

It’s a disastrous week for Maddy and Charlotte.

They’re way behind schedule because their plans for an elevated double bed in their guest bedroom has been snarled in red tape.

By the time they find a private engineer to certify the design it’s already Wednesday.

Then their laundry waterproofer arrives from Melbourne only to be told there are no trades allowed on site after 8pm, so he makes the long drive back with plans to come back the next day.

He finally finishes the job, but while the girls are away at a challenge a mystery culprit walks on the still drying surface and the entire job has to be repeated.

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Maddy and Charlotte find out someone walked all over their fresh waterproofing.

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That means when their tiler arrives he can’t start work and he makes his displeasure fairly evident with a blast at the girls.

Adding further angst to their week, the sisters then make the mystifying decision to tile the laundry wall behind where the cabinetry is going to be installed, instead of having their tiler work on the floor, which would have allowed the cabinetry to be installed and the wall tiling to be done later.

The perpetually (and justifiably) grumpy Bryce from cabinet makers Kinsman has teamed up with the regularly grumpy Foreman Dan to give the girls hell about the situation.

Dan and Bryce confront Maddy over the sisters’ lack of planning.

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“This is just ridiculous,” Dan says. “You’re putting tiles on a wall that most of it is going to be covered by cabinetry so you’re paying for that and it’s a waste of product.”

As Maddy disappears into her house with her lip quivering, Dan keeps going.

“House One only cares about themselves and their own schedule. They’re disrespecting Kinsman and the other trades.”

It’s his second spray at the sisters in as many days, after earlier finding their brother at work clearing space in one of their rooms, even though he hasn’t been inducted or insured to work on site.

It’s all too much for Maddy who is soon crying to her younger sister Charlotte, who sticks her head out the front door and yells “Dan, you’re making my sister cry, and I don’t appreciate it.”

Dan discovers Maddy and Charlotte’s brother working on site without being inducted.

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As far as Charlotte’s concerned, Kinsman can go home because she’s planning to install the laundry cabinets herself, along with the delicate natural stone benchtop with cut out. Yikes.

When Scott Cam and Shelley Craft appear for their weekly work in progress inspection Maddy cries in Shelley’s arms while she comforts both sisters with words of encouragement.

It’s pretty obvious both Shelley and Scott have soft spots for the young pair but at least this time Scott doesn’t rush around defending them against anyone who’s criticised them, making things worse in the process.

Scott and Shelley reiterate how impressed they are at the fact the girls have created a self-contained apartment within their house, though Scott is at pains to correct himself and back track on his naming of the space as an apartment. Apparently, that would contravene some kind of planning rules.

Maddy and Charlotte upset after copping it from Dan.

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Then it’s on to some promo for a worthy initiative being supported by previous contestants Sarah-Jane and Tom. The Pink Tradies campaign, by Breast Cancer Network Australia, encourages blokes to have conversations and seek information about breast cancer.

A week after their season (in which they won a heartbreakingly small amount of $20,000) Sarah-Jane underwent a double mastectomy, after discovering she carried the breast cancer gene, so it’s a cause (literally) close to her heart.

Find out more about the Pink Tradies initiative here.

MISSED AN EPISODE?

EP 37: Fury over Kylie’s Block walk off threat

EP 36: ‘Useless s**t’: Judges get brutal on Block ‘peep show’ rooms

EP 34/35: Uproar as team member naps, leaving partner in the lurch

EP 33: ‘Be a man! It’s embarrassing’: Block contestant’s gross sledge

EP 32: ‘Vanilla’ and ‘squashed’: judges issue harsh criticisms

EP 30/31: ‘Devastated’: Why tradies refuse to work on The Block

EP 29: ‘Mean girl antics’: Block sisters bullied after win

EP 28: ‘Competition is rigged’: Furious Block contestant lashes out

EP 26/27: ‘They lied’: Teams turn on sisters, Block’s reputation questioned

EP 25: Why two teams are fighting over hotshot agent

EP 24: Grant, the master snitch

EP 22/23: ‘F..king brothel’: second Block builder quits

EP 21: Grant lets rip on “dog ugly” room

EP 20: ‘Can’t polish a turd’: Block judge lets rip

EP 18/19: ‘Paramount to cheating’: Scott Cam accuses Block team

EP 17: ‘Don’t give a f***’: Block team quits after producer steps in

EP 16: Abusive 1am phone call shocks entire Block

EP 14/15: “Snake… I’m not having you on site’: Block builder fired

EP 13: ‘F***ing walk off’: Block couple’s fight turns toxic

EP 12: ‘Arrogant’: Blockhead goes on a bender, cop huge judge spray

EP 10/11: ‘Rip it up’: Block’s biggest bathroom disaster ever

EP 9: ‘You never listen to me’: Block couple fall apart

EP 8: ‘This has become a joke’: Dan slams popular Block pair

EP 6/7: ‘F***ing wasting time’: Block couple set to quit

EP 5: ‘This has never happened’: Block team caught in fraud scandal

EP 4: ‘Childish, boring’: Block judges come in blazing

EP 3: Block builder already breaking rules incurs foreman’s wrath

EP 2: ‘Who the f**k wants to sleep near their kids?’ — Block couple baffled

EP 1: ‘Not good at anything’: Bathroom fireworks kick off on The Block