How to find a trusty builder

Having the builders in can be a traumatic experience - that's if you can find one willing to do the work. Fortunately, help is at hand.

As property prices fall, more people are deciding not to move house, leaving many turning to builders to help them get more out of their current home. But as anyone who has ever had the builders in knows, it can be a traumatic experience. And that's if you are lucky enough to find one.

Barclays recently created a trade map of Britain showing how tradespeople are distributed around the country. The results showed that while Doncaster boasts one plumber for every 1,606 residents twice the national average if you live in Kensington and Chelsea and have a leaky tap, you'd better brush up on your DIY skills: there is just one plumber to every 6,137 residents.

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