I've had a builders barrow for sometime and, unless they're driven over
broken glass or barbed wire regularly, I'd go for a pneumatic as they run
a
little more softly and are therefore "a nicer drive". FWIW, I've never
(touches wood rapidly) had a puncture and spare wheels are easy to come by
anyway.

Perhaps someone else can buy a bicycle repair kit (just in case) and a
footpump as a secondary present. Mine likes a little extra air every
couple
of months.

Our builders barrow punctured just once at a very unhelpful moment, a thorn
from the shredded hedge clippings my wife had helpfully spread along the
path. I'm thinking of getting a tube of the prophylactic gloop that's
designed to go into bike tires to deal with holes as they happen. We also
have a solid wheeled garden barrow and the pneumatic tired barrow is much
nicer to push.

Henry