I would like to share with our community my experience with the Colorado Mastication because Ed Smith did an absolutely terrible job for me. I would like to point out that stated below is only my opinion, which is based solely on my personal experience with this contractor. I share this in an attempt to help potential customers to make the right choices and not get into similar situation.
I hired Colorado Mastication in the fall of 2019 to clear scrub oak on approximately 20 acres of land.
After the site visit Ed provided me with a lump sum estimate and stated that it would take approximately five days to complete the job. I accepted his offer. Ed stated that he did not have a formal contract form and e-mail me a super brief description of the scope of work and the amount it would cost. Initially I got a good impression of the guy, thought that the scope was very simple and no contract was necessary. We agreed that I would pay after the job is complete.
During the first day Ed and his helper cleared some area, which was adjacent to the driveway and it look ok. At the end of day 5 Ed called me and stated that the job was completed. At that time I was sick and did not have ability to walk the entire land to see the results, but Ed told me that if I have any issues he would be happy to fix them. I paid the invoice in full. When I walk the land later to closely review the job I discovered that he left significant areas untouched. Since the land is rolling hills these were not visible from the driveway or a house. I called Ed and explained the problem. He said he would fix it. However, he kept delaying his return to fix the remaining issues. Initially he said that he hurt his back, then he got flu, then he lost his voice, etc. When he finally showed up and we walked the areas he did not even touch, he stated that he made an error in his estimate and would not do anything else.
To summarize: Ed cheated on his estimate. The overall quality of his job was awful - he left so much debris behind that we literally have collected and stockpiled mountains of debris from small to over 6 feet long pieces of wood. It will probably take the whole summer to clean the land from what he left behind. In short my opinion of the guy - he is dishonest at least.
For those of you who decide to hire Colorado Mastication I would recommend the following steps at a minimum before you signed a contract:
1. Make sure there is a contract with a well-defined scope and very clear statement of the value of the contract. If it is a lump sum it needs to be stated as such.
2. Ask Ed to show similar jobs he completed recently and talk to the owners.
3. Review the entire job in detail before you pay.
I hope it helps and good luck with your projects. read more