A set of approved plans would be a good start. A contractor is not going to know how to build something without them due to needing to see the structurals. Typically your architect will draw up the plans and then send them to an engineer. Once the engineer has calculated the structs they are sent off to the city or county for approval. As long as the city or county has approved them a contractor now knows what is entailed in the build through the structural drawings. There is always a possibility that a soils tech may need to analyze the soils for proper basement/foundation build which could entail work above and beyond typical. The contractor could give you a base estimate on a typical build but that price is not set in stone until he has a set of structurals to look at.
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Gaetano Cosentino
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