With only two episodes to go on HGTV’s hit competition show “Rock the Block,” things are getting tense.
And they’re going big.
Episode six airs Monday, May 19, and sees the four teams take on what may be their biggest challenge yet, at least in terms of space- tackling each home’s massive one-acre backyard with budgets that have been strained to the breaking point.
The episode is titled “In This Case, Size Matters.” While viewers will be watching the drama unfold in the spring weather of May 19, for the competitors it’s snowing in Week Six.
But HGTV says nevertheless, “the competition heats up and heads into the backyard where teams need big ideas to fill a big space. Bigger is better this week as Rock the Block reigning champions Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davis (“Unsellable Houses”) return as judges.”
Need a quick catch up? We’ve got you covered.
Kalamas Take the Lead With Two Wins
Kamohai and Tristyn Kalama‘s risky move to split one large room on their home’s lower level into two paid off with a win in episode five. That gives them two wins, while the other three teams have one each.
Each team started with a $250,000 budget.
Challenge wins have added $3,000 for the winning team, and $1,500 for the rookie or veteran counterpart team. The exception- episode four when the Kalamas kept all $4,500. Which means the veterans and the DeBoers have each added $4,500 to their total budget. But the Kalamas have now added $9,000.
And they’re going to need it.
Somehow, all four teams managed to spend between $30,000 to $40,000 on episode five’s lower level challenge. That’s despite the space being a whopping 1,300 square feet- much of it unfinished.
Budgets Are Getting Stretched to the Limit
“Rock the Block” doesn’t offer viewers a running tally of how much each team has spent. But some quick math using each team’s budget for each episode reveals a ballpark number for what they have left to spend.
And considering what they have left to do, it’s not much.
“Windy City Rehab’s” Alison Victoria and Season 4 champion, “Luxe for Less” designer Michel Smith Boyd went big on the first challenge in episode one. The pair budgeted $110,000 for their kitchen-living-dining space. And then went over budget due to a countertop crisis. They’re reined in their expenses on subsequent episodes. But they still find themselves with about $40,000 of their original $250,000 left going into episode six. Add in their $4,500 in challenge winnings and they have less than $45,000 to complete the backyard and then finish strong in episode seven.
“Farmhouse Fixer’s” Jonathan Knight and his New Kids on the Block bandmate and brother Jordan Knight have been a bit more frugal. They spent only $65,000 for episode one’s kitchen-dining-living challenge, and substantially less for each challenge after that. By our math, they have about $65,000 of their original $250,000 left going into episode six. Add in their $4,500 in challenge winnings and they have just under $70,000 to complete the backyard and then get their home ready for appraisal in episode seven. That’s at least $10,000 more than any other team.
“Renovation Aloha’s” Kamohai and Tristyn Kalama spent slightly less than Alison and Michel for the episode one challenge. But they still set a $100,000 budget for their kitchen-living-dining spaces. And they spent slight MORE for other challenges. By our figures, they are also going into episode six with about $40,000 of their original $250,000. But they have $9,000 in challenge winnings to add to that pot. That gives them just under $50,000 to complete the backyard and then put on final touches on their home in episode seven.
“Down Home Fab’s” Chelsea and Cole DeBoer also kept the budget tight for the big episode one challenge. They spent just $65,000 on the kitchen-living-dining spaces. But they’ve spent a little more than the Knight Brothers overall. That leaves them about $55,000 of their original $250,000 left going into episode six. Add in their $4,500 in challenge winnings and they have just under $60,000 to fix up the backyard and then get their home ready for appraisal in episode seven.
How to Watch ‘Rock the Block’
Episode six of “Rock the Block” airs on HGTV Monday, May 19 at 9:00p.m. ET, and will be available to stream the next day on Max and Discovery+.
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‘Rock the Block’ Goes Down to the Wire