Handymen in shining armor -- those who show up on time and do the job right -- are elusive creatures. But now that a national consumer grapevine has trailed into Pittsburgh, they may be easier to find.

Angie's List is a populist version of Consumer Reports-meets-Better Business Bureau but with more applications. Members can recommend and find referrals for almost anyone -- tax preparers, video transferers, floor refinishers, lamp and screen-door repairmen, dog trainers, music teachers, knife sharpeners, seamstresses, private investigators, Santa Claus impersonators -- and many more, with specific lists for each city.

Angie Hicks, the founder, had interned with a venture capital company whose CEO was a member of an Indianapolis group called Unified Neighbors. The group was an early version of the grapevine forum, with neighbors recommending good contractors and other services to each other. When the CEO was transferred to Columbus, Ohio, in 1995, he asked Hicks to come with him to start a similar grapevine there.

Just out of college, Hicks called her for-profit endeavor Angie's List. Her staff consisted of her, selling memberships door-to-door.

"That's how Unified Neighbors did it. We ended up with 1,000 members the first year. In '96, we bought Unified Neighbors. In '97, we started a group in Cleveland."

And so on: Charlotte, Akron, Canton, Tampa, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Boston, Cincinnati, Chicago, Atlanta, St. Louis and now ... our fair city, where months of research and surveys of thousands of school, church and community groups gave the list 4,000 references for starters. After the first week, Angie's List-Pittsburgh had about 100 members. Mark Erickson and his wife, Cathy Dressler, were among them.

"We have a big house with a big yard and a big need for a whole bunch of new tradesmen," said Erickson, whose family moved to Mt. Lebanon from the North Side in August. One day after joining, he said, he had rated the tree service and roofing service they have used.

Tom O'Connell, a retired engineer in Bethel Park, joined Angie's List with a 60-year-old home that "always seems to need things to be done." Plumbers are his particular bane: "It's not a matter of them not doing a good job but of paying kind of astronomical amounts to them. I'd just like to see if someone out there can do the same job for a more reasonable price."

Another wrinkle for him is "trying to get people to comply with the warranty agreements on a new car without having to fight battles all the time."

Members pay $51 to join Angie's List ($41 annual dues plus a $10 sign-up fee). Hicks, who says the savings can quickly cover the cost of membership, says the service replaces the old word-of-mouth network people used to rely on.

"When most people stayed in the city they grew up in, they'd ask their mom who to call. Or maybe they went to high school with a guy who became a plumber. In the last five years, I've lived in three different cities.

"Both adults in a family work. How do you want to spend your Saturday? Going through the yellow pages? How do you pick 'em? Do you pick the biggest ad?"

Besides, she said, that gem of a handyman may not even be in the yellow pages.

Most home owners who find a good (fill in the blank) are happy to pass the word to neighbors and friends. Now, Angie's List also gets the word out on the guys who cut corners.

Each company on Angie's List is graded for quality, cost, courtesy, care and promptness. The ratings combine into something like a grade-point average. The profile also includes consumers' descriptions of the work done and any idiosyncratic details that would help other consumers decide.

If a contractor provides lousy service and makes no attempt to redeem his reputation, he spends three months in "The Penalty Box," a feature in the Angie's List's monthly magazine.

"It lets companies compete based on their work, not their ad budget," said Hicks. "Companies ask, 'How much does it cost to get on your list?' and I say, 'The cost is the work you do.'"

Members must swear their reports are accurate and, although their names are not disclosed to other members, Angie's List does not allow anonymous reports. Companies that are on the list can get access to their ratings, and Hicks said she encourages companies to check regularly.

"One admitted they had dropped the ball and rushed to remedy that. And I have seen ratings change."

Joe Shirk and wife Rosemarie retired to Pittsburgh from the Chicago area last fall. They had once lived in Indianapolis, where they were members of Unified Neighbors. They have been painting and remodeling a house on Mount Washington and plan to move furniture next month.

"Movers can be a nightmare, and I've been asking everyone I meet if they know a mover who's good," said Joe Shirk. "Angie's List isn't that big yet. We had our basement finished, and the guy who did that was unbelievable. He's done other units [at Chatham Village], and people almost worship him. I put him on the list."

That guy is Dave McDermott, a carpenter who says he has always relied on word of mouth and is typically booked for three to six months. He didn't know he had made Angie's List.

"I've never heard of it." But it's a good idea, he said, "especially in this business, where there are lots of horror stories."

He employs a corps of tradesmen, most of whom have worked with him throughout his 25 years in the trades. But he may need to become an Angie's List member himself.

"Unfortunately, my painter just retired," he said. "He's world class. It's going to be hard to find anyone to replace him."

To learn more about Angie's List, visit www.angieslist.com.