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We did outdoor lighting when we lived in TX and had a landscape company do it, it was $1800 back in 2007. I watched what they did and decided I would not pay a company to do what we could do ourselves for so much less if I needed this done in the future. When we moved, we googled DIY outdoor lighting and did it ourselves at out current home. We got the lights from Home Depot.
The main thing to determine is if you want to highlight the shrubs and ground area and create path lights, or do you want to up-light and highlight your homes architecture and up-light trees to create a cool look. iMO You shouldn't really do both or your house will look a little crazy with all the lights but no real focus. Google images of landscape lighting.
We chose to have lights shining up the trees and different parts of the house to make it pop. You will find that the lighting may need adjustments at night to get the lighting it the right spots. They are easy to move/adjust.
Specifically, I am looking for someone to design and install outdoor lighting that improves the security and aesthetics of my home. These companies also sell the lights.
We used thee guys - did a great job and they come out with a demo system to hook up to your house to give you an idea of what it will look like. Good warranty and had them back twice for repairs (lawn service cut through a wire) - didn't even charge me for the first time even though it wasn't their fault!!
Had it installed a year or so ago, and definitely happy with their service.
I appreciate all the suggestions of DIY. We have done this for our prior homes; however, age and physical limitations make this impossible at this point, so we need to hire out and pay for it.
We ended up going with Carolina Outdoor Lighting and are VERY happy with the results. They listened to what my husband had planned, then made recommendations of their own. I rather liked what they were suggesting (especially since what they were suggesting was considerably cheaper than what DH wanted to do). They offered to come do an after dark demonstration so that we could really see what we were buying. (it was certainly more expensive than DIY.)
We settled on a plan and price that night, they installed a few days later. No money exchanged hands until AFTER they completed the work.
We ended up going with Carolina Outdoor Lighting and are VERY happy with the results. They listened to what my husband had planned, then made recommendations of their own. I rather liked what they were suggesting (especially since what they were suggesting was considerably cheaper than what DH wanted to do). They offered to come do an after dark demonstration so that we could really see what we were buying. (it was certainly more expensive than DIY.)
We settled on a plan and price that night, they installed a few days later. No money exchanged hands until AFTER they completed the work.
I have no hesitation recommending them. Highly.
Excellent! Thanks so much for the recommendation.
Did you light your landscaping and your house?
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Yes - both. That was one of the major differences between what DH wanted and what CA lighting (specifically, Eric) suggested. DH wanted to light up the landscaping, while CA Lighting said emphasize the attractive roof line, front entry, brick front and a little landscaping.
DH also wanted to do a lot more in the backyard, but Eric thought it was overkill. After the night time demo, DH was all in, and Eric's suggestions made the place look great AND saved us over a thousand bucks from what DH wanted to do!
Eric also pointed out that his design increased the security for the front of the house, which just adds to the appeal for me!
Yes - both. That was one of the major differences between what DH wanted and what CA lighting (specifically, Eric) suggested. DH wanted to light up the landscaping, while CA Lighting said emphasize the attractive roof line, front entry, brick front and a little landscaping.
DH also wanted to do a lot more in the backyard, but Eric thought it was overkill. After the night time demo, DH was all in, and Eric's suggestions made the place look great AND saved us over a thousand bucks from what DH wanted to do!
Eric also pointed out that his design increased the security for the front of the house, which just adds to the appeal for me!
I like the idea of increasing security while making the outside of the house look nice.
I'm going to have to give them a call for an estimate!
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I found it pricey as well. We were quoted I think 4000 dollars. One thing we did different was we used LED lighting. The bulbs wont need to be changed for like 25-30 years and we leave them on from dusk til dawn. It costs us around a dollar a month with LED.
If you are doing lights just around the house its less expensive, but when you start running lights away from your home it adds up. If you can avoid going under walkways it will save as well.
I found it pricey as well. We were quoted I think 4000 dollars. One thing we did different was we used LED lighting. The bulbs wont need to be changed for like 25-30 years and we leave them on from dusk til dawn. It costs us around a dollar a month with LED.
If you are doing lights just around the house its less expensive, but when you start running lights away from your home it adds up. If you can avoid going under walkways it will save as well.
What was included in a 4k quote? How large is your house?
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