[The Duke]

I would recommend starting a contract by creating what I call a "what-if" document - before even looking at any contract language. The what-if doc is a list of all the things that you can possibly thing of that could come up. I would then ask others for their own list of what-ifs.

Then I would find on the Internet a contract that seems to be a good fit for such a project, and tweak the language to make sure it addresses all the what-if's (and also changing other things, of course, such as legal jurisdiction, compensation, etc.).

I would also expect the contractor to request some amendments before signing.

[SteveH]

I’ve got a start from the first contractor, about one paragraph of high level detail and no drawings (I have supplied several to him).

he has a good reputation so I am inclined to go for it, with some precautions.