Most of the decision is made before anybody quotes you
The trouble with shopping for outdoor lighting is that the numbers rarely describe the same work. A package price and a custom design often quote close together, and look nothing alike at night.
Ask whether the design is yours
The first question is simple: is there a plan drawn for my house? If somebody can walk you through why each run is where it is, that is a good sign. A company that will not is selling you a package.
Ask what happens after the install
Lighting sits out in the weather all year, so ask who you call when something quits. For seasonal work, ask specifically about takedown and off season storage. For permanent systems, ask what support looks like a year in.
Ask what they are set up to do
Some companies only do seasonal work. Others only do landscape. A few do both plus permanent systems. It matters because a company that only does one thing
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Ask about residential versus commercial
A house and a storefront are different problems. A home wants curb appeal and usable light after dark. A business wants to be found from the road after sunset, often in company colors. Ask which one they do more of, then decide whether that matches your job.
What should give you pause
Pressure to sign the same day is the clearest one. A refusal to show you a plan for your property is the next one. An unclear answer on year two is usually the honest answer showing through.Plenty of honest companies are simply bad at paperwork. Since the work is not coming down next week, it pays to have it in writing.Get two or three quotes, and compare what is in them rather than the totals. If one company is designing for your roofline and the other is selling a package, you are not looking at two prices for the same thing. Ask each one what they would leave out if the budget were tighter, since the answer shows what they think the design is doing.
Ask where they really cover
A company that works your area regularly knows the housing stock and the weather. EverCrest Lighting is a lighting contractor working out of Greenville, South Carolina, covering Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina. Their work covers permanent LED lighting, holiday and Christmas lighting, landscape and patio lighting, accent lighting and security lighting, residential and commercial. Consultations are free and the design comes before the number. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].