Provider profile
Stars & Bars Water Restoration
Provider snapshot
What this listing says
Southern Colorado homeowners from Pueblo to Trinidad who need a single owner-operated company to handle water damage, mold, or fire restoration through rebuild with direct insurance billing.
Best for
- Southern Colorado residents from Pueblo to Walsenburg who need same-day emergency water extraction with insurance handled start to finish.
- Homeowners who want the owner on-site for every major project rather than dealing with a crew lead relaying to a distant office.
- Properties needing both water damage restoration and the subsequent rebuild handled by one company without subcontractors.
- Rural Southern Colorado communities like Trinidad, Florence, or Cuchara where few restoration companies will travel.
About this company
Stars & Bars Water Restoration is a veteran-owned restoration company based in Colorado City, CO, run by owner-operator Robert Hewett. Hewett personally oversees every major project and holds five IICRC certifications: WRT, ASD, AMRT, FSRT, and OCT. The company handles water damage, mold remediation, fire and smoke damage, sewage cleanup, storm damage, and full reconstruction. They answer their own phones 24/7 and bill insurance carriers directly.
The mold remediation page describes containment with polyethylene sheeting and negative air pressure, HEPA air scrubbers, antimicrobial treatments, and dehumidification. For fire jobs, they use thermal fogging, ozone treatment, and hydroxyl generators for odor elimination. They also mention third-party air quality testing as an option they can arrange, though they perform their own inspections and mold removal in-house. The water damage page references truck-mounted extraction units, commercial dehumidifiers, thermal imaging cameras, and moisture meters.
The company started as a custom glass and general repair business and has expanded into restoration. Older reviews mention window replacement, U-Haul rentals, sprinkler winterization, and deck repair alongside the restoration work. Robert Hewett runs the operation with a small crew including Heather, Jacob, and Derek.
Stars & Bars carries a 4.3-star rating on Google across 40 reviews. That number is somewhat inflated by reviews for non-restoration services like glass repair and U-Haul rentals. Among restoration-specific reviews, the company earns strong praise for fast response times but has drawn two serious complaints about billing practices and quality of mold work.
Services
Service area
Headquartered in Colorado City, CO. Claims coverage across all of Southern Colorado and into northern New Mexico. Named cities include Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Canon City, Walsenburg, Trinidad, Monument, Woodland Park, Alamosa, Florence, Pueblo West, Rocky Ford, Cuchara, Palmer Lake, and Raton, NM. Response times range from under 30 minutes near Colorado City to 90 minutes for Alamosa and Raton. Reviews confirm actual jobs in Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Canon City, Colorado City, Pueblo West, Walsenburg, Florence, and Trinidad. One review mentions a Denver-area sprinkler winterization trip, suggesting willingness to travel well beyond the stated area.
Review consensus
Robert Hewett gets called out by name in more reviews than anyone else, with customers praising his hands-on involvement and honest communication. Heather and the field crew (Jacob, Derek, Dakota) earn mentions for hard work and friendliness. Emergency response speed is the most consistent theme: multiple reviewers describe crews arriving within 40-60 minutes, including late nights and weekends. Insurance handling also comes up repeatedly as a strength. Repeat customer Chris D. (a rental property owner who has used them three times) calls them consistent and notes Robert runs a tight operation.
2 found across 40 total reviews at 4.3★. James Mcconnell hired Stars & Bars for a basement with a quarter-inch of water. He says communication was poor, he had to request damage photos himself, the invoice was higher than comparable jobs at other homes, and he received four escalating payment demands within two weeks of the invoice date, well before the 30-day due date. Charles Rinehart had a more serious experience: Stars & Bars was hired for water damage and mold removal, initially blamed a window for the water source, then changed the diagnosis to foundation seepage. After insurance denied the claim based on their findings, Rinehart hired another contractor who found mold still behind the drywall and discovered the actual source was a failed plumbing seal on the main water line. Rinehart says Stars & Bars misdiagnosed the water source and left mold in place after claiming it was removed. When contacted about the remaining mold, the company offered to return but also pressed for payment of over $7,000.
The owner has not responded to either 1-star review (0% response rate on recent negatives). Both negative reviews share a billing friction theme: one describes aggressive pre-due-date collection, the other disputes a $7,000+ invoice for work that a subsequent contractor found incomplete. The lack of public owner response to these detailed complaints is itself a signal. The company also appears to operate across multiple business lines (glass repair, U-Haul, general contracting) under one Google listing, which means the overall star rating blends restoration work with unrelated services.
Robert Hewett (owner, lead technician — consistently positive across multiple reviews for hands-on involvement and honest communication). Heather (crew member — positive, praised for hard work by Summer Swaim and Eileen Benton). Jacob (crew member — positive, praised for hard work by Summer Swaim). Derek (crew member — positive, praised for hard work by Summer Swaim). Dakota (technician — positive, praised by CJ for politeness on a long-distance sprinkler winterization call). Rob (likely Robert — positive, praised by James Beauchamp for garage door help).
For emergency water extraction in the Pueblo-to-Walsenburg corridor, Stars & Bars has a strong track record of fast response and single-company handling through rebuild. For mold work, ask upfront whether they will use a third-party inspector or accept independent post-remediation testing, given the conflict of interest and the Rinehart complaint. Get the invoice terms and total estimate in writing before work begins.
Keep in mind
- Stars & Bars performs both mold inspection and mold remediation. A company that finds mold and then charges to remove it has a financial incentive to find more. Ask whether they will accept a third-party inspection or post-remediation clearance test.
- Two of 40 reviews are 1-star, and both involve billing disputes. One reviewer described aggressive collection calls before the invoice due date. Another disputed a $7,000+ charge for work he says left mold behind walls. The owner did not respond to either review.
- The service area stretches from Colorado Springs to Raton, NM, and as far as Alamosa and the Denver area. Response times of 60-90 minutes for distant locations are claimed but not confirmed by reviews. Confirm travel fees and realistic arrival times for your location.
- Many of their Google reviews are for non-restoration work like window replacement, U-Haul rentals, and deck repair. The 4.3-star rating reflects all of these services, not just restoration quality.