O’Brien Electrical & Plumbing teams up with Hotwire Heating on The Block 2024!

The Block, a favourite home renovation show for many Australians, is coming back with a special 20th season filmed at the stunning coastal location, Phillip Island, Victoria. This year, O'Brien Electrical & Plumbing has teamed up with Hotwire Heating to assist the contestants with their renovations.

The hit TV show has captured the hearts of many Australians, in past seasons winning ‘Most Popular Reality Program’ in 2011, 2012 and 2015 and ‘Best Reality Program’ in 2016. This year, The Block is back with 5 teams battling it out for the top prize. The contestants are challenged to transform rundown holiday park properties into luxury family holiday homes. The winning team takes home an amazing $100,000 in prize money on top of any money they make above the reserve price on the sale of their newly renovated home! 

We caught up with David Gibson from O’Brien Electrical Carrum Downs, who teamed up with Hotwire Heating to lead the underfloor heating installations again this season. We asked him a few questions about his exciting involvement in The Block this year.

Tell us about your experience on The Block over the years
We go right back to The Block 2014 with contestants Kyal and Kara, the twins. We also got to meet AFL premiership player Darren Jolly on The Block 2015 – I’m a big Collingwood supporter, so that was definitely a highlight.

What was it like teaming up with Hotwire Heating?
We’ve worked with Hotwire Heating for a number of years now and each year we analyse what worked, what didn’t work and how we can improve. We want to make it the best experience for the contestants, builders and the production crew. This year I think we pretty much nailed it! 

What did the job entail? 
We provided electrical renovations and underfloor heating to all 5 contestants. We applied our technical knowledge and skills to the holiday home bathrooms, laundries and day beds. We worked around the clock and tried to help out as much as we could! We’ve got a great relationship with the site foreman, so we make sure it’s all been signed off. There’s a lot of project management and we saw the installation end-to-end.

What makes The Block a hit Australian reality TV show?
I think what’s great about the show is that the producers get the blend right, Scotty Cam is a great presenter, and they have good judges who appeal to the public. The builders ensure they put out a high level of product and because of the length and nature of the show there’s always going to be good drama. It gets the contestants out of their comfort zone and challenges them!

What were the contestants like? Do you have any favourites?
This year they’ve all been really good, genuine and easy to get along with. The local boys from Frankston are real characters – Plumber Ricky and IT Manager Haydn, keep an eye out for them this season. 

Do you have any advice for readers who want to do some home renovations themselves?
If you’re doing home renovations, there are certain things that you need to contact a professional for. It’s important to get good advice and support, so contact your local O’Brien expert before taking on a large home reno project.

We’ve heard through the grapevine you’re interested in applying for The Block next year with your daughter. What do you think will set you apart if you were to get on the show?
She will appeal to a younger demographic! And the dynamic will shock the audiences, my background is in trades and my daughter doesn’t have any trade experience. What she will be great at is the styling, the colours and the design aspects of the project. We’re also both very competitive and very stubborn, so I think that will make for some interesting viewing! 

What incredible project will this dynamic dad and daughter duo tackle next year? Stay tuned and get ready for some exciting The Block updates!

Catch The Block season 20 on 9 and 9NOW airing after the Olympics.