When is the Best Time to Bring in an Outdoor Lighting Designer?

If you are building a new home and thinking about adding outdoor lighting to your property, the answer is NOW.

Seriously, the best time to bring in your outdoor lighting designer is as soon as possible. Initially, the lighting guy will be able to advise where to put the exterior electrical outlets when building a new home, which could be more costly to add later. What I’m going to outline here is the absolute best and easiest way for an outdoor lighting system installation to flow seamlessly into your project. These suggestions also present the most economical scenario as contractors can work together, saving time and added expenses.

If you missed the opportunity to discuss lighting while you are still in the thinking stage, the next best time to bring in the lighting designer is when the builder is creating the bid to build the home so the outdoor lighting can be included in the final cost of the home. This, of course, requires a full set of plans, including the landscape plan when possible.

Didn’t get the outdoor lighting guy and the builder together on the front end? Then you really need to call him in when the landscape design is ready. An experienced outdoor lighting designer can work from a good set of landscape plans to prepare a basic design. The caveat here is that it is rare to see a landscape go in exactly as planned. Some plants may be out of season, or maybe it becomes hard to find quality plants of certain types; dealing with living things can create the need for adjustments along the way. Occasionally, the hardscape design may change as well.

When it comes to the installation of your outdoor lighting system, the ideal time for us to come in is in two phases. The first phase is when the irrigation is being installed. The outdoor lighting company can come in and place the main wires in the irrigation ditches. The second phase is right after the plants are in place, but before the mulch is added. At this time the wire can easily be put in the ground without messing things up. It also makes it much easier if a few plants need to be re-set slightly to create the best effects. The lighting can then be focused that same evening and the mulch placed the next day. Then everything looks perfect!

We never do anything to hold up any other contractor. If the irrigator has to get in and get their pipes covered and leave, it’s not a problem for us. If the landscaper is putting in plants, and their crew is following behind with a load of mulch, that’s okay, too; we can deal with that and still end up with a beautiful finished project.

Calling in your outdoor lighting designer at the very first stages of planning your new home is the most ideal and cost efficient time. But over 90% of the time we are called in after the landscape is completed and even established. Although we can still do a great job designing and installing a superior outdoor lighting system, there will likely be a few additional expenses in the project that may have been unnecessary had we been able to start earlier in the process. Planning ahead always saves steps for your contractors, but failing to do so won’t prevent you from having an awesome outdoor lighting system for your spectacular new home.

Let us know if we can help you plan for your future outdoor lighting system by dropping us a note at info@night-scenes.com