Every quote calls itself custom
Nobody advertises a generic plan. It costs nothing to say so it has stopped carrying information. The test is not the word. It is what you get to look at before you were asked to decide.Keep that in mind while you are comparing companies. A package starts with a number and works backward. A design starts with your building and arrives at a number. Both are legitimate ways to sell. Only one of them answers to your building, and you deserve to know which you have.
What a design contains
A real design tells you where light goes and why. Scope should be written down feature by feature, since a general phrase leaves room for disagreement. It says what the standard white is. It says where the controller mounts and how the wiring runs. And it accounts for what stays dark, which is a design decision and should be stated as one.
Why the design has to come before the price
A price with nothing behind it is not comparable to anything. Two quotes a few hundred dollars apart can describe completely different jobs. When the design comes first, the comparison is honest. When the price comes first, the design gets shaped to fit the number, quietly.A plan you understand gives you something to check the finished job against, which is worth more than any assurance given in a driveway.
The questions a designer should ask you
Expect questions, not just told things. How you use the outside of your home, which parts you occupy at night, and what the main job is. Those answers change the plan more than the architecture does.
Design lets one plan cover several jobs
Roofline, path lighting, accents and security all tend to come up. Bought separately over several years, they end up mismatched: inconsistent color, uneven brightness, no hierarchy. One plan, phased if it needs to be, still ends up coherent.
The design is a conversation
The first plan is a draft. If a run looks wrong to you, cut it. A company that will not alter the plan is not really designing for you. The answer should not be a hesitation.
The plan is a document you keep
A design should exist on paper or a screen after the conversation ends. It matters when you sell, if you phase the rest of it, or if anybody ever has to work out what is where. A company that will not give you the drawing is telling you something about how they see the relationship.
Where to start
It starts on site, because that is where the building and the way you use it are both visible. EverCrest Lighting designs and installs custom outdoor lighting covering permanent roofline systems, landscape, accent, patio and security lighting for residential and commercial properties across Upstate South Carolina and Western
https://evercrestlighting.com/permanent-lighting/ North Carolina, out of Greenville. The consultation is free. Call (864) 252-1732 or email
[email protected].