There's nothing Dan enjoys more than talking about waterproofing.

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It’s not about the fittings, the fixtures or even the finish that will secure you a win on The Block. If Ricky is to be believed, the secret to success on this renovation show lies in the “zhoosh.”

What does that mean? Ricky himself wasn’t sure but he suspects it might be “French for style.”

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Whatever its origins, Ricky enthused: “It’s the icing on the cake. It’s the zhoosh!” and he wants to make sure he has it in spades when he presents his bathroom to the judges on Sunday.

While shoes shaped like plastic fish and technicolour caps might not be everyone’s cup of tea, there’s no doubting that Ricky is a man who understands the importance of owning a look. So, it’s unsurprising that he took on the job of styling his bathroom with seriousness and gusto.

Ricky is a man comfortable with a tasteful neutral, as long as he doesn’t have to wear it.

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As Ricky looked to be having the time of his life — despite the fact he was a one-man show with Haydn AWOL to spend time with his wife and new baby — things were going from bad to worse for Paige and Jesse.

Despite bragging that they were going to set the gold standard for room renovations, aiming to be finished well before everyone else, the couple have fallen at the first hurdle.

First Dan noticed a flaw in their shower that delayed their waterproofing (which is meant to be done on Wednesday) until Friday morning.

Already way behind, Jesse then learns they don’t have a shower screen. After initially blaming the glazier, Jesse later realised the mistake was his. He had not responded to their quote, and so the shower screen had not been made.

With Jesse off site, it fell to Paige to figure out some of the logistics. Unfortunately, her skills with a tape measure left a lot to be desired. Even without an accurate measurement, the writing was on the wall. Their store-bought screen would fall well short of what was needed.

Paige attempts to discipher the mysteries of a tape measure.

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“And we all know how much the judges love shower heads above the shower screen,” Paige said as she braced herself for the inevitable criticisms from Shaynna Blaze, Darren Palmer and Marty Fox.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t even a simple matter of making do with the short shower and a bollocking from the judges. To accommodate the new shower screen, the couple would have to redo their floors to be compliant.

The pair now had to consider whether it would it be worth the spend to have a room that would never win and likely need to be redone anyway?

There was more screen drama for Courtney and Grant. Without the necessary insurance documents to work on site, they were only allowed to deliver but not install the shower screen themselves, though Dan did tell them they could guide the couple’s builders in how to install. As soon as his back was turned the glaziers attempted to covertly install the couple’s glass (a rookie move to cheat the system when there are cameras filming your every move).

How the heck did Dan find out about the glaziers sneakily installing the shower screen? We’ll never know.

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Amid all the chaos, Shelley Craft rolled on to The Block to meet the contestants and dish out her usually sunny advice and encouragement.

She pointed out, gleefully, that Kylie and Brad had unnecessarily splashed out on fancy tiles rather than using vouchers at a sponsor store. While Scotty Cam shook his head in dismay, Shelley urged them to back themselves and win (to justify their outlay). It’s a good idea in theory until you see what Kylie has planned for the room.

Nobody was as excited to see Shelley as Ricky. He revealed the bubbly blonde presenter was his first childhood crush back when she was hosting Saturday Morning Disney.

Apparently, it was Shelley who awakened special, umm, “feelings” in him as a boy. Thankfully he stopped short from sharing that detail with Shelley herself.

Awkward.

MISSED AN EPISODE?

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

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