Would it be possible to share with us the information you have shared with the contractors? Also, have you asked the contractors that have provided a one price estimate to see if that can be broken down?

How detailed should I expect their estimates to be?

Ideally - as detailed as it can get. Not every contractor will provide that though. For a full-house remodel that I've just completed, I've had one contractor sending me a text message with a photo of a hand-written crumpled paper with a few numbers for high level items, and another (who we ended up signing with) who provided a 13-pages detailed quote based on the information I've provided him (I too prepared a file with photos and detailed text about what I want). The master-bath portion of that alone was ~4 pages long. Here's some of it:

There's a chance that the contractor's willingness to provide a high level of detail depends on the scope/size of the project, not sure. But it can definitely be done, and IMO it's not too much to ask before actually agreeing to move forward with a specific contractor.

Thank you so much! This is a big project, and I want to see details of the estimate so we can decide whether anything needs to be adjusted or re-evaluated.

Thanks; I've only met with one in person, and he provided a fairly detailed estimate after I asked. Two others I’ve talked on the phone with, and they’ve only provided single numbers. One pushed back signifcantly and questioned my need when i asked for more details.

In addition to asking for the estimate, I'd be asking a lot of questions about codes and installation standards, and specifics about how they perform the waterproofing and what products they use. Any contractor who "pushes back" about my questions (asked respectfully) wouldn't have my business.

" One pushed back signifcantly and questioned my need when i asked for more details. "

He gets crossed off the list then. You are paying for the work and if you want the prices broken out up front that is your purgative.

Sometimes typos can be the funniest thing....

I would never work for a client with the "I'm paying for it" attitude. Yes, you're paying for it, but your job will have my name on it forever. That means the job, from the wording of my proposal to the final cleanup, will be performed in a mutually respectful way. That means I may have to tell you "No.". You may be paying me to save you from yourself.

Ultimatums? Here's your deposit back.

"I want to see details of the estimate so we can decide whether anything needs to be adjusted or re-evaluated."

This sounds fair enough on it's face, however, smart contractors aren't going to provide information that allows potential clients to play the let's-see-how-much-the-contractor-is-making game. That's none of a customer's business.

I found it ranged dramatically when we were talking to contractors. Most did line item proposals. One did a PowerPoint presentation (?!?). Several did all-in cost estimates. That said, we chose a guy who wrote up a super detailed quote (I think generated by software designed for bidding) in part because having the detailed cost estimate made us feel more confident, and it was not a great experience (though admittedly was right on budget if you don't count the work we later had to redo...) Some of the best work I've had done on our home is from a plaster crew who sends single-line quotes if I text them photos of the work I need done. You just never know. It's very reasonable to ask for a cost breakdown for the different project components if they don't provide one on the front end, though. Once you're in the contracting phase, it's critical to have those details in writing so everyone's on the same page.

When remodeling in LA I usually got 3 bids and all of them were detailed like the ones that @Einav B showed a few posts above.

The breakdown helped to compare the 3 bids and make sure they all understood the plans and project details.

On one bid I was able to save $2,800 because he had listed that as a line item for a porta-potty. There was no need for one as I had plenty of bathrooms and was happy to set one aside for them. Saved $2,800 and they were happy to be able to use a real bathroom.

I also got all of the fixtures and tiles separately, either through the local plumbing showroom or a designer, so my quotes were only for labor and construction materials.

For my master bathroom gut/remodel the 3 bids all came in within $400 of each other which was amazing. I joked they had all met up at starbucks and agreed to a number!

"You could ask the contractors to provide a more itemized breakdown of costs, including materials, labor, and any other expenses."

What possible use can this information have for a homeowner please?

If you’re on a limited budget it’s useful in understanding where you can adjust to stay at your target cost, and what the finished product will be. We had bids for a recent project that were basically the same cost overall but one had cheaper labor and higher quality materials (decking in that case) and the other had more expensive labor but used lower grade wood. That’s important to know in deciding between the quotes. It’s true that you get a deck either way, but the details matter. We had both quotes revised to use the wood we wanted and then we could directly compare. I’ve also done several projects where unexpected work is to be billed at time and material cost, so for that you’ll want to know what rates and markups to expect. Obviously a contractor doesn’t have to provide this detail but I’ve never had one decline to do so (and the vast majority in our area provide it on the front end). Not sure I’d be comfortable doing a project that didn’t have that spelled out at least by the contracting stage, if not in the initial quote.

You really need to have a defined scope of work (not necessarily a breakdown of costs - some will do that, some won’t). Plus, I would want to know what the waterproofing system will be - better to flush out any problems in this area now vs. during reconstruction.

As far as having the contractor specifically agree to comply with codes/laws/manufacturer’s specifications, you may already have that protection statutorily. It’s fairly easy to look up residential home renovation statutes for your state. You also could call the consumer protection dept in your state and ask about enacted statute(s).

Are you having permits pulled for the work?