The first time I tried to find a contractor on the Internet to redo my kitchen, it did not go well. On some site somewhere, I filled out a form, described the work, and waited for the calls to roll in. I got one, but it wasn't until the day before he was to estimate the job that he asked what I expected to spend. About $30,000, I said, and he exploded: "Are you kidding me? I don't get involved in anything under 50!" He quickly huffed off into the ether.

Even if it wasn't my fault, I still suffer pangs of duncery, which I'm sure could have been avoided if I'd had a more secure childhood. Or, if I had known about sites such as AngiesList.com, ServiceMagic.com, and local newcomer HomeWorksSourcebook.com.

Though they go about it in different ways, all three help people who need home repair or construction services find people who provide them. Two of the three have significant non-Web components. All three maintain libraries of advice for homeowners, say they'll help resolve differences between consumers and contractors, and have dozens, if not hundreds, of categories of service.

The primary differences among the three stem from how they make their money: Angies List gets it from consumers; Service Magic gets it from the companies; Home Works Sourcebook gets it from both. Judge their merits for yourself:

AngiesList.com, based in Indianapolis, is akin to a small-town commons, in which members share information about their experience with service providers. The list compiles the comments into categories that give the next people who come along an idea of which companies are reliable. In addition to getting information via the website, members can call, fax, or e-mail the Boston office with questions.

Angie Hicks, 30, who started the List in 1995, said she thinks people prefer knowing that their information comes from consumers who have no vested interest. "We're just tapping word of mouth," she said. It costs $10 to sign up initially; the annual fee is $47, which might make you want to need lots of work during the year.

ServiceMagic.com, based in Denver, gets its income from contractors. Every time contractors get a job via Service Master, they pay between $6 and $60 to the website, depending on the size of the job. Wouldn't such financial interdependence lead Service Magic to put consumers second on its priority list? "That would be a way to run a short-term business," says Rodney Rice, 34, Service Magic's cofounder. "But we allow our consumers to opine on the work performed, so it becomes pretty self-correcting. Contractors are going to be kicked out or drop out if they get poor ratings because they won't get any new business."

One of the nice features of Service Magic is that it plays a lot of the phone tag for you: After a consumer makes a request through the site, operators contact contractors and return with three responses from providers who say they want that job. It appears to be a format consumers are adopting: Rice said service requests have increased tenfold, to 100,000 per month, within two years.

HomeWorksSourceBook.com, based in Boston, is approaching the problem from a third angle. It has divided Greater Boston into four geographic regions and intends to publish a glossy guide of company profiles for each one; the information is on the website as well. Metro Boston and Metrowest are out; north of the city is due out next month, to be followed in October by south. Guides cost $6.50 on the newsstand or $9.45 including shipping and handling if purchased through the website, but the bulk of them are distributed by direct mail, said Sara April, production director.

All the profiles are advertisments, paid for by the individual companies, but the publisher checks each company's credentials, including state licensing and consumer references, April said. She said potential advertisers that fail their inquiries forfeit a portion of their ad fee, a step the publisher has already had to take. April also said the forms are self-correcting; when unsavory providers see the screening they'll undergo, they decline to go further.