How to Find a Reliable Contractor Tip #2: Paid Directories

In the last installment of our helpful series on foolproof ways to find a reliable contractor, we suggested looking up online directories published by relevant trade associations to get the names of contractors who are running legitimate businesses. 

Today, we'll look at a secondary source of reputable companies: Online Paid Directories.

Paid directories, as you would probably have guessed by the name, are services that can provide information about vetted contractors in your area who specialize in the type of work you require done. 

The downside to these types of services in comparison to Association Directories, for example, is that the contractors are not necessarily good simply because they appear in a paid directory (they did pay to appear there, after all.) However, I have found that most contractors who run a tight enough ship to pay for inclusion in these types of services are usually the kinds of contractors you will feel most comfortable dealing with (ie: the type who will finish your project without going bankrupt!)

So, without further ado, here are the top three Paid Directory Services tat I have come across on the web:

-Handy Canadian / Handy American

This site, which has a Canadian service at handycanadian.com and an American one at, you guessed it, handyamerican.com, lets your search by project type and region, and returns a healthy list of companies for most sections.

-Service Magic

This is probably the best known of the paid directory listings online. It also has both Canadian and American regions grouped together on the same site, and offers a great number of types of contractors for most regions.

-eRenovate.com

This site is a great one because it offers a great collection of listings, as well as articles and advice pieces from experts on many different renovation types. eRenovate also administers a verification program that aims to ensure all its contractors are legitimate and trustworthy. (One caveat: This site is Canada-only at this time.)

Local Variations

There are certainly others, but these are three of the biggest (and so tend to offer the most contractors in their respective directories.) Of course, these types of services also vary in effectiveness by country and region, so you should definitely supplement my suggestions here with a Google search that goes something like "Find a Contractor in MY CITY AND PROVINCE / STATE." 

You'll almost surely get a few local-focused directories as well, which can be just as useful as the bigger ones I've listed here. 

For example, a search like that for here in Ottawa uncovers a great locally run paid directory called HomeFocus.com, which has a veritable wealth of information about Ottawa contractors in any field you can imagine. (They are also expanding to other Canadian markets, but their strength is still clearly in Ottawa, where they started.)