Billy Hutto was hired to dig a test hole at our property on the High Mesa to determine whether we…read morecould build our home with a full basement. After digging one hole down 9 feet it was determined that our site would support excavating for a basement at this location. I asked Billy to dig 2 more holes at different locations within the proposed footprint of the home. Billy stated it wasn't necessary; I guess he has the ability to see what's underneath the soil. He then stated that we should not have him refill the hole he had just dug because he recommends a PE inspect the hole to determine the worthiness of the soil base for building. Now Ouray County doesn't require a PE certification for any foundation build and the material that was removed from the base of the hole dug at the property consisted of fractured sandstone, a very desirable medium for a foundation base. Billy then stated that if we leave the hole exposed he could come back and charge us another $800 to fill it back in. When we asked Billy to quote us an estimated cost for excavating and pouring the basement foundation for a 2000 sq ft footprint at the property (the property is nearly level and very accessible from the street) Billy said it would cost $250,000 or more. This is where I chuckle! I realize you pay a premium up here but he's nearly $150,000 more expensive than other contractors that have quoted the build. My opinion is that Billy is quite inexperienced with new construction and struggling to get traction for his business and needed to quote an exaggerated price for our build, in the hopes we were naive enough to engage with him just to keep his business afloat. There's a lot of contractors in this area to choose from, so do your research and you'll find one that suits your needs.