19 Sep Before scheduling a site meeting property owners should ask these questions
By Mike Gambino
As a professional landscape lighting system designer and builder, we field many phone calls from potential clients. One of the first things that many people ask us is when we can set up an in-person on site meeting. But meeting in person about a landscape lighting project is a significant time commitment for all involved. These meetings are typically one to three hours, including travel time, and often occur in the middle of a busy weekday or weekend. So before setting up that appointment — and committing to what’s involved — it’s best for property owners to ask a few key questions by phone or email to help ensure that an in-person meeting will be time well spent.
1- I think my project is in a range of $X to $Y. Is this realistic? Discussing budgets can be uncomfortable, but it’s important, particularly if you have a specific amount you don’t want to exceed. Often times we get calls from someone wanting to have a lighting system installed on their property which sounds like it could be a nice project with nice finishes. It may go something like this- “We have an 1/2 acre property with a 4,000 square foot home on it and a pool. We want this and that and that and the budget is $5,000”, which unfortunately wasn’t even enough to cover the cost of fixtures. If I had set up a meeting without talking about budget first, we would have both been disappointed when we met and finally talked about it. If you read through these blog articles on this website you can get a general feel about whether your budget is sufficient, and that will help you understand the likely cost and think about adjustments to the scope of work if you are considering Gambino landscape lighting.
2- Do you work on a quotation basis or a time and materials basis? The words “bid” and “estimate” are often used interchangeably by homeowners but mean very specific things to contractors. A quote or bid is a fixed price for a specific scope of work based upon an estimated time to complete and a specific qty and type of materials list. This usually requires a site visit and investment in time and travel to complete. An estimate can be a loose ballpark or range, a line item of general tasks or a very specific breakdown, with the same amount of time spent as a bid but with all costs transparent. The difference is that labor is charged by the hour with an uncertain total amount until the job is done. Some contractors, depending upon project scope, will work only one way or another, so this is a key issue to clear up early, particularly if you want to use a specific contract method.
3- How does your estimating process work? Most established and in demand designer builders charge a consultation fee before being hired. When a designer builder does charge a fee to meet understand that this is not a revenue producing charge but a way to qualify prospects and to compensate the service provider for his or her travel costs to the site. Every contractor handles estimating differently. Some charge for detailed estimates but provide a range of costs without charge. Some will estimate only with a set of plans or after being hired for the project. Others provide varying levels of information based on how much information they are provided. After hearing about the contractor’s process, you should have a good idea of what to expect, what you might pay and whether a meeting in person will result in pricing you can consider.
4- Am I in your service area? Some contractors are willing to work across a wide metro area, or may restrict their work based on travel time, a city or even a few zip codes. Others may travel farther for a larger project and limit small projects to just their immediate neighborhood. Keeping to a limited geographic range generally means faster response times, which can be a plus for homeowners, particularly for warranty work. If you’re not in an area they serve, you may want to ask if they can recommend anyone closer to you.
5- Is my project the kind you do regularly? Start with a general description of what you are planning. For example, “I’d like to have some very dramatic landscape lighting designed and installed in both my front and back yards. I have some large trees I’d like accented, some garden art, pool and patio areas that we’d like to enjoy after dark. ” If a contractor primarily builds or maintains landscapes or wires home interiors for a living, then a complex landscape lighting system may not be the kind of project they will be best suited for. Some contractors primarily work mostly on projects where they have a set of plans that specify exactly what goes where and how many and do not have experience with or an ability to creatively design on their own . Many contractors specialize and restrict the kind of work they do, either by focusing on residential or commercial projects, or on a particular size or type of project. Make sure your project is something they are interested in working on and are set up to handle well.
6- Can you work with my timeline? There are two key pieces with timing: how soon the contractor can start your project and how quickly material procurement can be made and project completed. Ask how long will it take after the pricing is complete, a contract is signed and construction begins. This is a good opportunity to talk with the contractor about thoughts on the length of the planning process and to hear about the current work backlog. Be reasonable with your timeline. I’ve received several phone calls this year alone from people wanting systems installed for a party on Saturday of the same week.
7- What services do you offer? Contractors can focus just on building the project only in which case you would need to find another person to create the design or offer a range of planning and design services as well. Everything from preconstruction estimates and complete design, system electrical engineering and material selections can be offered through a single company, or not. If you are looking for a particular mix of services, now is the time to figure out if the company can help you with them or if you need to keep looking for a better fit.
8- Who usually handles design on your projects? This conversation will tell you if you need to hire a lighting designer or architect, if the builder is willing to work with the one you’ve already hired, and how the design process works if they handle it in house. Don’t assume anything, as every company does things a little differently.
9- Do you allow homeowners to supply some of the materials or do some of the work themselves? Some contractors prefer this, while others are adamant about buying all the materials that they will install. Having homeowners perform work, particularly when the completion of that work affects the schedule, can be problematic, so many contractors will just say no. Knowing which way the contractor prefers to work will help you understand if he or she will be a good fit given what you have in mind. Keep in mind that a responsible service provider will warranty their work. This may be dependent on them supplying all the materials and that only the contractor perform the work.
Next step. Depending on your project, this may be a meeting in person so make sure to talk beforehand about the expected agenda, the likely length of the meeting and whether some deliverable — an estimate, for instance — will follow the meeting. Asking the right questions ahead will help set expectations and make sure everyone’s time is well spent. And, most important, it will get you closer to the goal of landscape lighting for your property.
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