Where homeowners go wrong
Outdoor lighting is one of those services where the quote arrives before you know what you are comparing. A template plan and a custom design can land within a few hundred dollars of each other, 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? A company that designs for the property can explain every run. A company that will not is selling you a package.
What happens later?
Lighting lives outside, so ask what happens when something needs attention. 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 hang holiday lights. Some only do low voltage yard lighting. A few do both plus permanent systems. It matters since a company with one product will find
https://arthurktju591.opalvector.com/posts/curb-appeal-lighting-for-your-home-what-your-house-says-from-the-street-at-night-how-does-outdoor-lighting-affect-curb-appeal-here-is-what-changes-curb-appeal-after-dark-a-homeowner-s-guide a reason to sell you that product.
Who they normally work for
A house and a storefront need different designs. At a house, it is curb appeal plus practical light. A business wants to be found from the road after sunset, often in company colors. Ask which one they do more of, and weigh that against what you need done.
Red flags
A price that only holds until the end of the visit is a sales tactic, not a quote. A refusal to put the scope in writing is the next one. An unclear answer on what happens when something quits usually means there is no plan for it.Plenty of good crews are just disorganized. Since the work is not coming down next week, it pays to have it in writing.Two quotes are worth the trouble, provided you compare the scope. If one company drew a plan and the other quoted a package, the two numbers are not comparable. Ask each one what they would leave out if the budget were tighter, because the answer tells you what they think matters.
Local matters here
Local is not just a nice sentiment here: the crew that works your county knows the houses. EverCrest Lighting is an outdoor lighting company working out of Greenville, South Carolina, serving 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. The consultation is free, and the design gets drawn before anybody quotes. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].