Learn all about Landscape week

Where old meets new outdoor living

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.

Not just on The Block, but always when it comes to creating a deck – it’s not just about the decking boards, or as we call it at Outdure, the ‘deck surface’ that needs to be selected… what is equally as important is the ‘deck structure’ which is what the surface/s is supported by. Traditionally decks are built with timber sub-frames but when factors such as height, moisture, speed, and durability are key there are better options available, so when we talk about a ‘deck’ we refer to the deck surface and the deck frame.

Whether you choose hardwood timber or composite decking boards attributes such as colour, texture, and sustainability are considered in addition to benefits such as longevity, value for money, ease of install, and low maintenance. You aren’t just limited to boards as a surface material either, Outdure who has been the key material supplier for the variety of deck areas seen in past seasons (alfresco courtyards, rooftop spaces, pool decks, etc) also offer exterior tiles and synthetic turf as ‘deck surfaces’ to maximize your outdoor living space.

So, it is no wonder Nineinsix, The Block’s main builder chose Outdure again as the key supplier for the new deck areas with the revolutionary QwickBuild aluminium framing system as the hero solution.

“The decision to go with Outdure really came back to not only the product but the system behind it all. The versatility that Outdure oers is really awesome” said Aidan O’Shannessy from NineinSix.

“For each scenario we faced, Outdure had a solution for us, we were able to adapt QwickBuild to different circumstances,” Aidan said. The QwickBuild deck framing system can go as low as 30mm off the ground as it did at Sharon and Ankurs House 3 and as high as 3 meters as it did in Jenny and Dylan’s House 4. It can also go over any ground, concrete, existing pavers or membrane + it stays straight and level.

But it wasn’t just the sheer versatility or quality of Outdures surface ranges or QwickBuild system, the key to all products used on The Block is speed and ease of installation… Outdure products come with technical support and can be used by a DIYer to a more experienced builder.

“There is just no way we would ever have been able to finish the amount of decking in the time we had with the team we had unless it was with Outdure, it just couldn’t have been done!” Jenny from House 4.

Even better for the contestants is the range of surfaces that can be used on QwickBuild, whatever style or look you want to achieve there is a surface to suit. The contestants chose ResortDeck recycled capped composite decking, and exterior structural tiles from Outdure’s ranges, in previous seasons contestants have also used hardwood timber and synthetic turf which are also compatible with QwickBuild.

“Once your framework is in, you just lay the materials down and it locks into place,” said, Ryan House 2 contestant. Rachel & Ryan from House 2, chose ResortDeck in Seasalt for their poolside, outdoor kitchen, and entertainment area, choosing ResortDeck “means you don’t have to stain it and never will, the finish is there from the start and the durability means it’ll stay” said Ryan – which is perfect for the harsh Australian weather, your deck will look great for years to come with minimal maintenance.

The contestants utilized the same complimetary design service Outdure offers all their customers to make it easy to start a decking project. It can be daunting selecting just a surface let alone working out the frame. “The planning session and colour selection Omar and I did was so simple it really allowed us to get the look we were always wanting, we wanted a certain flow from inside to outside and colour palette. From the moment we did our planning session with Outdure we knew our outdoor entertainment area would look incredible” Oz from House 5.