A survey published this week concludes that one in three homeowners has been the victim of shoddy workmanship in the past year.
Paint manufacturer Dulux commissioned a survey of 2000 people, which showed that 35% had experienced bad workmanship from bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters or painters.

The survey also showed that homeowners are sceptical about claims that standards of work have got better.

Two out of five said they had not seen any improvement in any of the trades and 14% believed that standards had declined.

Homeowners paid substantial sums to put right mistakes: the cost of correcting errors by bricklayers averaged out at £235 a job. Sloppy paint-jobs came in second at £195.

The Dulux survey also showed that plumbers had the worst reputations, with 18% of households claiming to have had a bad experience. Decorators came in second with 13%, followed by bricklayers, 12%, electricians, 11%, and joiners, 8%.

Trade bodies reacted with shock to the survey.

Andrew Large, spokesperson for the Federation of Master Builders, said: "Thirty-five per cent is a shocking statistic. That's a lot of wasted money."