26 Renovators contestants - the Jacks and Jills of all trades - arrived at the warehouse to be greeted by host Brendan Moar and judges Robyn Holt, Peter Ho and Barry Du Bois. Introduced to six houses from hell, the hopefuls learnt that the first selection would be awarded to the best performer of the first Challenge - which then arrived on the back of a truck.

A new day in the warehouse began with a Basic Skills Challenge - the contestants taking it in turns to hammer in nails. Those bending their nails were eliminated from the first stage of the Challenge, and subsequently whoever missed the nail and hit the wood was also sent to the sidelines.

The contestants competed in an Off-Site Challenge, all except for Joanne and Luke, who already held house keys. Split into two Teams - Black and Gold - each worked on renovating houses that carried the same purchase price.

With another house key up for grabs, the action kicked off with a White Room 'Car Wars' Challenge. Teams of three were required to renovate a room based around a car obtained from the wrecker's yard, incorporating as much of the car into their design as possible.

With keys for the last two remaining houses up for grabs, the 'Street Appeal' Challenge stakes were high. Contestants arrived at the warehouse to find a row full of houses with lifeless facades and dirt yards.

The contestants were informed that a double elimination would be taking place. First they competed in a Basic Skills Challenge, which required estimating the correct length and sawing a replacement table leg, with Barry judging the results.