The competitors have renovated five homesteads which have been relocated from around the country and set on four hectares of land in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges. The property is completely off-grid and the whole season is focused on sustainable building.
Australian reinforcing steel business Ausreo, one of Biax’s main partners, featured as a key supplier on the latest season, and chose to use the revolutionary Biax product when working on the concrete slabs for the build.
Biax is a revolutionary alternative to the polystyrene block used in residential foundations. Biax retains everything that is good about the waffle pod slab but replaces the polystyrene foam with a product that is made of recycled and recyclable material. It is also easy to transport and store on sites, limiting the likelihood of it ending up all over the neighbourhood, which often happens with broken foam blocks.
The sustainability focus on this season of The Block also includes the installation of solar panels on all of the properties, a partnership with Sustainability Victoria to help ensure each home meets a minimum seven-star energy rating, and building and landscaping materials recycled on a mass scale to minimise the ecological footprint of the renovating process, according to Domain.
Partnerships with builders like Ausreo and promotion on The Block allow Biax to be part of the conversation around practice change in building and construction. The response to the use of Biax on the show has been overwhelmingly positive, and the Biax team is looking forward to continuing to partner with engineers, suppliers and builders to get this product onto more building sites.
