After their waterproofing went horribly wrong, Courtney and Sev had a lucky save during Tuesday’s episode of The Block 2026 when the show’s principal builders stepped in and sent the Cursio brothers, who were booked to work on another house, to help.
The Cursio brothers are Block veterans who’ve been working on the show since 2019 and are unofficially considered the show’s go-to expert tilers. While Chantel and Wyatt were lucky enough to secure them this season, that arrangement somewhat changed when Nine In Six pulled rank and sent the Cursios over to help rescue Courtney and Sev’s bathroom.
While the show claimed that they needed the Cursios’ help for liability reasons, some of the other contestants were less than impressed that Courtney and Sev were automatically given access to the best in the business, and hinted at favouritism towards the two friends.
Courtney and Sev have rejected those favouritism claims in an exclusive interview with Chattr, but acknowledged that some viewers may perceive it that way.
“We’ve been slammed the whole way through this show. So let them go in on us again, whatever. It is what it is,” Courtney said. “The Cursios and Sev and I have such a beautiful relationship, and we love them. They love us. It will be what it will be.”
Courtney added that she and Sev had nothing to do with the choice for the Cursios to help them out.
“We didn’t demand them, it was a liability thing. They told us we have to use them,” she said.
The site manager shared that she did have a conversation with Chantel about it to try and smooth things over after the brothers were sent their way.
“We did actually go up to Chantel again… we asked for them and explained our situation. At that point, we were told that they had been advised by the head builder of Nine in Six that they were going [to our site], so they had sort of already accepted that.
“But we were trying to do the courteous thing by also seeking permission from them because we understand how loyal those boys were for Chantel and Wyatt, and we wanted to totally respect their wishes…. We wanted to do our bit, but unfortunately it was so much bigger than them, and we just had to follow orders in that instance.”
What actually happened with Courtney and Sev’s waterproofing, and why were the Cursio brothers sent to help on The Block?
Week four was the main ensuite week, and unfortunately for Courtney and Sev, their normal waterproofer was off on holiday.
“We used our tiler, who also has a waterproofing license, and we had the full spec approved. And then on Tuesday night, we were told that he could stay back, then we were told later on that it was only until 8pm. So he tried to slap on a really thick coat and hope no one would notice, which was insane,” Courtney explained in an interview with Chattr.
She added that the Nine in Six inspector said it wasn’t up to standard, and said they spent the whole day trying to rectify it.
“The waterproofer wasn’t playing ball with us, it’s just going from bad to worse. He’s starting to make a giant mess of the entire bathroom to the point where everything is just going to need to be demolished and started again. I couldn’t get through to him. I was trying the entire day. I was losing my mind,” she said.
Courtney said that the directors of Nine in Six then inspected the job and determined that it was done so badly that it could affect their liability when it comes time to sell the house, which is when they decided to step in and help the girls.
“Making sure that the bathroom is completely compliant, completely structurally sound, and absolutely waterproofed to perfection is so important to them, so important to their reputation, and there can’t be a single shortcut taken.
“So they just started being concerned about their liability, because once all the contestants and all of our trades walk away, they’re left with the mess. They’re at a point where they just couldn’t see me being ignored by my tradie any longer, and they needed to tell me to terminate him and get on top of this properly with professionals. So that is why the Cursios came.”
But why the Cursio brothers and not another waterproofer?
“I guess with our really trusted waterproofers being away on holidays at the moment, the only other people they know who are going to be able to rectify this problem is the Cursios because they have worked with them for so many years, and the Cursios know the Nine in Six standard through and through, so they don’t have a choice from a liability perspective,” she said.
The Block 2026 airs Sunday – Wednesday on Channel 9 and 9Now.
Want to CHATTR with us? Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok for more entertainment news.
