For rural West Devon projects the difference between a tradesperson based ten miles away and one based 60 miles away shows up in many small ways: time on site each day, willingness to attend short snags, ease of finding back-up if someone’s ill, and total cost over the build.

Builders who maintain a stable team of genuinely local trades tend to deliver more reliably and at better cost. It’s one of the criteria we weigh when recommending contractors.

For homeowners selecting a builder, asking about the team’s base addresses is a useful and rarely-asked question.