Brettski:
Not saying your course of action is right or wrong. I just did it different. I'm lucky in that the gal that does this stuff at our local NRCS office is really INTO it. She loves her job, and really makes an effort to get the projects done for as many as possible. Admittedly, our county (Louisa) is not as busy as some around us, as we don't seem to get as much funding as others.
My point was that this route simply lets you set a level playing field for all contractors to play on (a set of design plans). If one says "I'll do this and that" and another says "yeah, but we could add this or you need to consider this other feature" it leaves it up to you to decide what the better deal really is. Price would be secondary.
It's all good and fun...
In a lifetime, the average driver will honk 15,250 times. My wife figures I'm due to die any day now...
