The book
From Harvard to Hardhat: How I Hired, Managed and Survived my Contractor is a memoir and how-to guide offering the time-starved homeowner straightforward advice on how to manage and survive the contractor experience.
If you would like to be on the mailing list for announcements and information about the book, please write to me at harvardtohardhat@yahoo.com or post a comment below.
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August 19, 2008 at 3:15 pm |
As I have not had any experience with contractors, as of yet, I don’t have a story of my own. However, I have heard many horror stories from friends about contractor swindles. I have a friend who is in litigation currently on a project that should have taken 18 months but lasted over 3 years of headaches and heartaches and continues through the courts.
Congrats on the book, can’t wait to read it!
August 19, 2008 at 11:59 pm |
Congrats Patti – cant wait to see your book in bookstores across the country!
August 20, 2008 at 11:49 am |
Great idea for a book! Should be beneficial and helpful to anyone who has had their beloved home or possessions destroyed by a disaster.
August 20, 2008 at 1:10 pm |
Patti, I am so proud and excited about the writing accomplishments of my former third grade student! I think this is a book everyone should read; we all can be prepared for any similar disasters. Bill and I will definitely be purchasing your book. Good luck to one of our favorite people!
August 20, 2008 at 3:17 pm |
This sounds like an informative book that I’m sure will be helpful to many people who find themselves in a similar situation. I can’t wait to read it!
August 22, 2008 at 5:34 am |
As a new homeowner, I do plan on remodeling at some point and I know that contractors will be involved as will many others. Look forward to your book and I’m sue it’ll be very useful to me.
Congrats -
August 26, 2008 at 6:49 pm |
Dear Patti-
I congratulate you on your fine research, negotiation and writing skills in successfully navigating your home flood disaster to a positive conclusion! I invite you to speak about your book, “From Harvard to Hardhat”, at a late Spring Meeting of the Junior League of Rhode Island.
I’m sure that all of us can learn a great deal from your very successful
“hardhat” experience! Do you do consulting in this area?
Best-Joan McMaster
August 26, 2008 at 10:08 pm |
I’m so impressed with this site! What a useful tool to many. Let me know how Florida goes and can’t wait to read the book!
Amy
August 28, 2008 at 6:27 pm |
I am sure the book is full of advice that will be useful to many people in a variety of circumstances. We have only had minor work done to our home yet have still encountered situations where we had disagreements with the contractor. I can’t imagine having to remodel an entire home!
August 28, 2008 at 8:55 pm |
Perfect timing, with the coming of Fay and Gustav and Hanna. Of course, my Louisiana friends wish you’d published it three Augusts ago.
August 30, 2008 at 11:29 am |
I have had extensive work done on my house, any and all insight
is a great help for anyone planning on managing there own project.
Looking forwards to reading some of your tips.
August 31, 2008 at 11:04 am |
Look forward to reading your book. My experience was with a “good” contractor, but he left his crew on the job unsupervised. Since the crew and I did not speak the same language, we had a devil of a time doing a job the right way. As an example, they went right on installing a tile floor in a bathroom while I stood arguing that they were not laying it out properly. They were half done before I made them stop, take it up, and then start anew. I’m sure if I had been able to read your book ahead of time, I would have avoided some of my many headaches. I’m going to wait for your book before I start anything else. Good Luck!
August 31, 2008 at 11:11 am |
Look forward to your book. I did some remodeling last year. I’m sure if I had been able to read your book ahead of time, I would have avoided some of my headaches. I’m going to wait for your book before I start anything else. Good Luck!
September 10, 2008 at 8:52 pm |
Anyone who is contemplating home improvements will be sure to want to read your book first. This book could help make the experience a more positive one.
September 10, 2008 at 9:20 pm |
I am quite impressed with your accomplishments and wish you luck with your book. Congratulations and good luck!
September 11, 2008 at 2:07 am |
Sounds like a great book. I hope it gets published soon. Everyone who is comtemplating remodeling should have the chance to read this book first, before he/she becomes another horror story statistic!
September 11, 2008 at 5:09 pm |
Congratulations on your book! I have yet to purchase a home of my own, but when I do; your book will be an invaluable reference.
September 14, 2008 at 12:25 pm |
Patti, Great Job Looking to see it make the top 10 Best sellers
September 14, 2008 at 1:34 pm |
We’re very impressed with the site and very proud of your accomplishments. We wish you lots of luck with your book and can’t wait to see it appear on book shelves over the country. Your comentary on our local TV station was both professional and interesting to anyone dealing with flood disaster and misfortune. We wish you luck in your future endevors.
September 15, 2008 at 11:38 am |
When tragedy and destruction strikes suddenly, as we have seen this past week in Texas and Louisiana by the damage left from hurricane Ike, people are left bewildered and in a total state of shock. This book can be a step by step guide to help them to rebuild and recover from such a tremendous loss both financially and emotionally.
September 27, 2008 at 3:56 pm |
Patti – The list of questions to ask references was very helpful. It provides a way to break down the basic “I would recommend this company.” It gets deeper to the details you need to know to make the decision that’s best for your project. I look forward to having the book on my shelf, so whenever I have questions about home projects, it will be there to answer them.
September 29, 2008 at 2:11 pm |
Thanks for stopping by my site and offerring your experienced help and information on disaster recovery dealing with insurance and contractors.
Funny that you left the comment when you did; as I was about to delete those posts. I figured they weren’t going to help anyone & didn’t really fit into my normal subject matter of Children’s Books. Now I think I’ll go back and revise them to include a reference to your site and leave them up so someone might find a useful source to help rebuild. Thanks for injecting a little hope, Patti! Talula
October 12, 2008 at 3:56 pm |
Hi Patti,
I can’t wait to read your book – this will come in very handy to anyone who needs their homes, condos, or whatever else repaired.
Thank you so very much – I can’t wait until it is published.