The Block's Grant reveals why he was forced to fire builders: 'No going back'

Less than a week after Ricky and Haydn were forced to fire their builders following a disastrous bathroom renovation, another team on this year’s season of The Block has followed suit. Courtney and Grant, who won the most recent room reveal after finishing in second place two weeks in a row, decided to say goodbye to their team of builders during Tuesday night’s episode following a tense dispute.

While the Sydney-based married couple were enjoying a night away from the construction site, their builders were complaining to Foreman Dan and McCafé barista Tina that they hadn’t been paid at all for their time on The Block. Grant then found out about the “gossip” upon his return and was furious that the tradies had gone “behind his back” - especially because he claimed that they had already been paid.

“You know what? I'm calling it from now. Don’t come back on Thursday, I don't need you,” he told them. “Thanks for everything but I'm not having you on-site, you're a f**king snake.”

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Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle about the decision which will undoubtedly impact the rest of their time in the competition, Grant emphasises that he and Courtney needed “a fresh start” following several setbacks with their builders.

“It was a series of little things that led to us getting rid of our builders,” he explains. “There were obviously quality issues and quality concerns in the first week, but then on top of that, Nine in Six [Builders] and Foreman Dan gave us a lot of advice in terms of what a good builder should be doing in these situations and circumstances.

“So it got to a point where we weren't enjoying it throughout the series, and every other trade can attest to how much fun we did have on The Block. Our tilers, our waterproofers, our plasterers, we all stuck with each other right through to the very end. So we wanted to enjoy the biggest trade on The Block, which was obviously our builders, but there were multiple issues in terms of the overcharging - charging for things where they had to return to fix their issues.”

'I never regretted it for a second'

Grant, who works as a landscape business development manager, went on to say that the catalyst for his decision was the builders’ “attack on our character”.

“So everything else up until that point, I was trying to stay as loyal as possible, I'm a very loyal person,” he shares. “But when they sort of attacked our character and our reputation, so to speak, there was no going back from it.

“To be honest, from the day after that when I did get new builders, I never regretted it for a second. I don't wish them any bad, but I definitely don't miss them, that's for sure.”

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Fans react to shock decision on social media

Viewers had quite a strong reaction on social media to Grant’s decision to fire their builders, with many arguing that he was in the wrong for not paying them on time.

“Why are you getting angry Grant? Your builders hadn’t been paid for 3 weeks! Everyone else pays each week. Why didn’t you? It seems you’re blaming the builders for your poor management,” one person wrote, while another added, “There should be a penalty enforced for not paying your trades”.

However, plenty of people argued that Courtney and Grant had the right to fire their tradies if they felt like they couldn’t trust them, and added that the builders shouldn’t have spread “gossip” around the worksite.

“I’m with Courtney and Grant on this, there’s no need for the builders to tell everyone about not being paid,” one fan commented.

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