Some Frequently Asked Questions

1. You spend time and money creating a beautiful home and landscape but not
able to enjoy it at nigh because of no or very poor lighting.

2. Security and peace of mind for your family.

3. For your outdoor entertaining needs.

4. The use of your yard in the fall, because it gets dark at 5:30pm and
in the spring when its hard to go outside before sunset due to the heat.

5. It adds value to your home and will aid in selling the home especially in the fall.

Anyone can do a design – a yardman, an electrician, a tree trimmer. Fixtures can be bought at retail hardware stores, at electrical supply houses, and on-line. Because anyone can do a landscape lighting design dose not guarantee you that the design is appropriate for your home. Cost should not be the main criteria for choosing one contractor or another. Remember: “You get what you pay for.”

There is no licensing entity the certifies landscape lighting designers, but there are ways to ensure the company you are dealing with is qualified. The INES is a national organization of lighting engineers and they give awards to the top designers. Ask the company you are talking to if they have won any awards and ask to see a copy of the award. Next, check references – when checking references be sure to ask if the company did the design. It is easy to take creditfor someone else’s work. Also ask how long they have been doing designs – it is easy to say, “We’ve been in business for X number of years” when maybe they have only been tree trimmers or electricians.

Most companies do designs at no charge because the cost of the design is built into the total package that includes design, lighting units, and installation. If you are looking for a design to put out for bid or want to “do it yourself”, then the answer is yes. The cost for the design should include a set of drawings, electrical notes and have fixture types and the manufacture specification. Normally there is an hourly rate for design and a rate for producing these plans. The designer should be available to assist the installer and also do a night time walk thru.

The fixtures need to be high in the tree (the more directly down the light shines the less glare). All fixtures need to be shielded (shields are ‘cones’ that eliminate light pollution) from the main viewing area or where you will be the majority of the time. All wires need to be hidden from the main viewing area. Normally cool lights are used on softscape while warm lighting is used on hardscape. Everything does not need to be lighted. Too much lighting can create a visually chaotic scene at night. The reason behind this is due to the fact that at night you only look at what is lighter and if too much is lighted then you lose the drama. Subtle is the most effective style of lighting. You can always add more light later.

Crews that are highly trained not only in installing each particular fixture but also in the proper safety techniques to avoid any on-site accidents should perform installation of the fixtures. When in doubt ask questions. The best way to install the average fixture is to use a method called Òstand offsÓ. Stand offs are stainless steel bolts that keep the fixture between a half and one inch of the tree. They are screwed into the tree via a drill. This method does not damage a tree or open it up to ‘wounds’, which can allow diseases such as oak wilt to enter a tree. This method needs less maintenance. Any limbs that are pruned should be painted.The tree climbing crew should be trained in the proper use of ropes, safety belts, and saddles. They need to have his equipment in good working condition and on their person while they do the installation.