“Rock the Block” season six drew millions of fans in for the epic competition that pitted two teams of veteran “RTB-ers” against two teams who were new kids on the block.
And while viewers only got to see what the camera showed, fans spent plenty of time on-line speculating about what was going on behind-the-scenes.
But now we don’t have to guess any more thanks to insight from someone who was there.
Hamlet Homes was the Utah builder contracted by HGTV to build all four homes in Grantville just outside Salt Lake City, Utah.
Tami Ostmark, the owner of Hamlet Homes, sat down with Utah podcasters Frankie and Jess for a 90-minute conversation that gave insight into a lot viewers didn’t get to see.
Did Alison Victoria & Michel Smith Boyd Get Along?
Viewers speculated on tension between winning designers Alison Victoria and Michel Smith Boyd. Eagle-eyed fans noted how they rarely seemed to make eye contact and appeared together less and less as the show went on.
While Tami Ostmark was careful with what she said in the podcast, she did confirm tension between the pair, agreeing that it was “a battle of the egos.” “They didn’t see eye-to-eye on everything,” she allowed. “I can only say so much about it, but there was definitely some tension there. I think that’s just because you get two big, huge [designers] and they both wanted to win so bad. Alison was like ‘I will go down. I’ve got to win this season. I’ve been on for three seasons. This is my win. I’m gonna pull out all the big wow factors, I’m gonna do everything I possibly can because I’m winning this thing.”
“When you’ve got that and you’ve got Michel, who’s like ‘I want to make history, I want to win two seasons.’ That’s never been done before and he’s already being held to an expectation, a standard because he won. And when you get those two people together, it’s inevitable that something’s going to happen. I don’t think it’s as big as what people pointed out but there was something.”
Alison and Michel’s Win Hinged On a Technicality
Ultimately, tension or no, Alison Victoria and Michel Smith Boyd pulled out the win.
But according to Tami Ostmark, the pair’s home appraised for more because they added a container home in the backyard. Which means they were the only team that added actual square footage.
But here’s the catch. The tiny home or ADU (accessory dwelling unit) was unpermitted. And Hamlet Homes had already gotten permits for each of the four homes’ basements as ADUs. Grantsville only allows one ADU per property. So the container home had to be removed before the home could be sold. Which means it didn’t add any actual value to the home.
In fact, Hamlet Homes auctioned off the container home along with the Knight Brothers’ goat house and greenhouse for the same reason. Hamlet Homes donated the proceeds to a local homeless charity.
However, Alison and Michel’s home is listed for $1,399,900. So is the home designed by Chelsea and Cole DeBoer. Tami Ostmark says she priced the DeBoer’s home higher than the Knight Brothers and the Kalama’s homes for two reasons. The fenced-in backyard and the half-bath they turned into a 3/4-bath both added value.
But she priced Alison and Michel’s home at that same level simply because of the wow factor of owning the winning “Rock the Block” home.
You can read more about the four homes’ list prices here.
Read more behind-the-scenes builder secrets here.
Discover how season six was very different from previous seasons here.
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‘Rock the Block’ Designers Behind the Scenes REVEALED