I think we've decided to move forward with the third bid. I just emailed him this list of questions, most of which I think I already know the answer to but I want in writing:
1. I'm assuming we'll get a detailed contract that breaks out costs for materials & labor into line items. That should allow us to apply savings in one area to another, yes? (Example: If $300 is budgeted for tile, and it costs $250, then that $50 in materials can be applied towards the bathroom vanity or some other area).
2. I'm sure you have vendors for most of the materials that you would recommend, and probably are able to purchase at a lower rate than we are. How should we make tile, carpet etc. selections? What if we purchase materials ourselves?
3. When could work begin, and roughly how long do you estimate for completion? Is there permitting or issuance of insurance certificates that needs to take place first?
4. After reviewing your portfolio we realized that storage and shelf space could be an issue, and wanted to know how much it would cost to add some shelving (kinda like in your image (57).jpg) into the main room. I've marked where we thought might be a good place on the attached floorplan. It's a wishlist item since we're right at our budget right now, but wanted to ask while we were at this stage of the game.
Unless someone minds, I'll probably just keep updating this thread as things go along. I am way outside my area of expertise with all of this, and you guys have been ultra helpful so far.