Get inspired, styles and designs to suit all homes…

When it comes to designing and building the perfect outdoor space, there has never been a year on The Block where ease and speed of deck installation have been so important. After all, The Block contestants have had no more time to turn around their large 400m2 homes (up to four times larger than previous houses on The Block), but each week have managed to deliver perfectly styled rooms that were built in the unforgiving monsoonal type weather.

The judges brief for the style of homes this year is ‘Australian contemporary country’ with each relocated heritage home adjacent to a new build. Imperative to the design is considering the landscape and surroundings thus making ‘landscape week’ one of the most important. The scope for the deck areas this season was to respect the features and materials of the relocated homes yet carefully connect them with the modern structures.

The main pressure points being as always, budget and limited lime but with the added layer of increased size – One of the decks alone has 1.5 kilometres of decking boards! Not to mention building a deck in general is often a lot more technical and complicated than most people realize.

Find out the hot tips for each house…

Tom and Sarah-Jane have captured the hearts of Australia with their genuine authentic banter and hard-working nature. Their consistent design of each room was praised and loved by the judges, and they didn’t disappoint with their alfresco entertainment area…

To contrast the internal timber herringbone floors, Tom and Sarah chose ResortDeck boards in Storm, a mid grey hue that tied in perfectly with the cladding of the modern pavilion. The board layout and deck design included feature ‘cut-out’ areas for planting to give visual interest for the expansive area for the outdoor dining and pizza oven, towards the solar-heated pool and neighbouring half basketball court. The deck edges were finished off with ResortDeck trim boards, also in Storm.

Did you know an excellent way to add value to a home when creating a deck area is to ensure a flush level from the inside to the outside spaces, rather than a ‘step-down’? This was key to their design and although the House 1 deck is built low to the ground, it isn’t at risk of rotting from moisture like it would be if it was built on a traditional timber sub-frame because they used the QwickBuild system.

When it comes to moisture resistance, ResortDeck boards have the added benefit of being encapsulated with an UltraShield protective layer. The side of the board profile has been designed so no nails are required, instead hidden QwickClips simply twist into the structural aluminium profiles (for this low-height deck, Outdure optimised the design by using the 45mm joist x 45mm integrated framework).

Rachel and Ryan, latecomers to The Block this year went with a contemporary architecture style with plenty of details to shade the north facing wraparound verandah, they chose ResortDeck boards and trim boards in SeaSalt for a look similar to a silvered-off hardwood.

The U-shape perimeter deck with an extension to the pool area, used a staggered board layout to ensure minimal waste of materials, including the coping around the pool for a clean aesthetic and cost effective design detail. To echo the exterior of the house, the deck areas featured ResortDeck trim board combined with cladding for the raised deck areas to conceal the structure. Although the deck is 900mm high from the ground in some areas, the design achieved the desirable flush finish between inside and out.

Because ResortDeck has superior UV protection, fade and mould resistance from an UltraShield polymer layer encapsulating the 95% recyclable core it makes the range the perfect low-maintenance choice for the variable weather conditions we have seen this season.

Ankur and Sharon chose the largest house on The Block ever to transform – so it was no surprise they had their ups and downs. But despite being known for their unique style of bringing drama to their styled rooms, Ankur and Sharon succeeded in defining the dierent spaces of their verandah from the dining area, sitting area, and outdoor fireplace by combining ResortDeck in SeaSalt with our porcelain vitrified Mineral Tiles in the Mist colourway.

We love this eclectic style, the juxtaposition of modern vs heritage and how they considered the vertical timber cladding as a complement to the deck design. Having said that, without QwickBuild, the integration of decking and tiles would have been complex and hard to achieve for the internal balcony. Taking into account the ultra-low deck height of 54mm over a suspended concrete slab and the extra time pressure, QwickBuild was the obvious solution for the structure.

Fun fact for those who love a bit of technical info…

Outdure value-engineered the aluminium framework using a single layer of our 28mm integrated joist bearer profiles
to get the decking and tiles to sit at the perfect height with the internal floor and underneath the schist fireplace.

The versatile system comes in a range of aluminium profiles to suit all deck heights, but Outdure’s sophisticated design technology works all this out for you! Plus, the QwickBuild framework is made of Global Green Tag certified 6063-T6 structural aluminium which is durable and conveniently lightweight.

Despite having the largest deck area on The Block with a record breaking 1.5 kms of lineal decking boards, Jenny and Dylan both carpenters by trade were up to the task. For their surface, they chose ResortDeck in Havana to respectfully link the heritage architecture around their traditional Queenslander house with their modern, skillion roofed house.

As with all the houses, the deck surfaces were fixed using Outdure’s patented range of hidden fasteners, designed for durability from 304 stainless steel with PP components.

The mammoth task was made faster by pre-fabricating the QwickBuild aluminium framework. We love how this deck showcases Outdure products.

With a view of the Macedon ranges, House 5’s expansive outdoor living space includes an all-purpose basketball court, mini golf course, lap pool and of course alfresco deck.

To complement the industrial materials of the new build, including the dark, modern interior kitchen with concrete finishings and sliding doors, Oz and Omar selected ResortDeck in Sunset because it looks like a freshly oiled hardwood timber deck with the extra benefits of low maintenance properties durability & dimensional stability.

Once again, with the use of QwickBuild as the framing system, the contestants were able to create that perfect indoor-outdoor flow with the deck feeling like an extended part of the inside living room.

As with all the houses, Outdure worked with the contestants, listened to their requirements then provided a design including a detailed layout of how the surfaces should be laid to ensure optimum use of materials for the deck area – including exact materials required and fastenings, also provided as a complimentary service is a customised, easy to follow frame layout with the perfect configuration for the deck height and substrate.