Toolstation, one of Britain's fastest growing suppliers to the trade, home improvers and self-builders, has revealed that almost a third of property owners find it hard to hire good plumbers.
Research commissioned by Toolstation has revealed that for homeowners across the country, plumbers are the most difficult tradespeople to find. 27% of UK homeowners said that it had been 'really difficult' to find a plumber. In comparison, only 7% struggled to find a qualified tradesperson for tiling, flooring or kitchen fitting.

Property owners aren't attempting these jobs themselves though - more Brits would hire a professional tradesperson for plumbing than any other home improvement task. They like to keep it local too, with 50% saying they'd call a local plumber or heating engineer following a system break down and only 36% opt to contact a national supplier.

Over a fifth of Brits surveyed said hiring reliable general builders and electricians is also a challenge. However it's not all bad news, 65% of homeowners said they were very satisfied with the work when they last used a tradesperson and would definitely use them again - so once they discover a good professional they hang on to them!

Whilst searching for a professional to hire, property owners still very much rely upon their own list of tried and trusted tradespeople, with nearly half opting to use someone they had hired previously. When that fails, they choose the next best thing and speak to family, neighbours, colleagues or nearby friends for their recommendations. Interestingly, less than 4% rely on recommended tradespeople websites and prefer instead to use the local paper to help them make their decision.

Toolstation director of marketing John Meaden said: "Our research shows that finding the right tradesperson is important to homeowners, with trust and satisfaction of the job being the highest priorities. Word of mouth recommendations are still the most trusted method of hiring tradespeople. It will be interesting to see if there is a shift to online selection in the future with the growth of social media and trade review websites."