Premier Landscaping of Colorado

I contracted with Premier Landscaping of Colorado to landscape a very large back yard for a newly constructed house. The total cost of the project was almost $40,000. The owner, Mike West, served as the sales person and made numerous representations that they would fix any problems with the project and they would provide a one-year guarantee on all plantings. Premier Landscaping began the project in February and completed in about 3 weeks. Part of the project involved installing a gas line from the house to a fire pit. I had already installed gas to the back yard when the house was completed and asked Mike to use the existing connection. I also indicated that he needed to get the gas line permitted and inspected. Mike instead tapped the gas meter and installed the gas line in a completely different location. The gas line was buried the same day it was installed and I asked Mike if the permit was received and if the gas line was inspected. He repeated to me numerous times that Douglas County had inspected the gas line and everything was OK. When I pressed him to see the permit, he admitted he hadn’t obtained one and hadn’t even contacted the correct agency (City of Aurora) to get one. He reluctantly contacted the City of Aurora and was forced to uncover the line for inspection. When the project was nearly finished, Mike was working his second job and asked me to write the final check out to his contractor, Arturo, instead of Premier Landscaping of Colorado. I should have known at that point that he did not have the financial resources to honor any warranty or replacement work. But the larger issue is the quality and workmanship of the installation of the sod and the sprinkler system. Despite my recommendations against, Premier Landscaping installed the sod in February and assured me that it would grow in normally during the summer. In addition, he assured me that if it didn’t, we had a one year warranty and he would replace it. The sod did not grow as expected and there are numerous holes, 1-2”seams, bare spots and places where the sprinklers won’t reach. After 8 weeks of repeated requests, Mike finally came to inspect the yard and agreed that it looked horrible and agreed to replace it. In addition, he admitted that the sprinkler system was not working correctly and they would fix everything within 2 weeks, between other projects. After waiting another 2-3 weeks, I finally reached Mike again and said that his main contractor looked at the yard and will not replace it. He suggested that we mow the grass higher so we won’t see the holes, seams, etc. Another month has now passed and Mike refuses to answer calls or texts so I assume he won’t even fix the defective sprinkler. I hand-watered dry areas for the majority of the summer but won’t do that any longer so I would guess that half of the yard will quickly die. In addition to all of the above, I have fixed at least three leaks in broken or damaged tubing in the water line as well as replacing 10-15 sprinkler nozzles to get better coverage. Obviously, I am not satisfied with the quality of work performed and Premier Landscaping of Colorado has in no way honored the warranty that was written into the contract.