How Much Does Landscape Lighting Cost?

19 Jan How Much Does Landscape Lighting Cost?

By Mike Gambino

Clients share their dream ideas for landscape lighting with me all the time. Then they say, “How much will the project cost, I have no idea what custom landscaping lighting costs.” This is a very difficult question to answer, especially without a full project site evaluation and survey. I will do my best to explain some general pricing guidelines and what can contribute to the cost.

It may be helpful to compare buying Custom landscape lighting to the purchase of a new car. I recently went online to see what a new mid size SUV would cost. I was in the market to buy a new one for my wife. I saw the base price was around $32,000 and thought that is not too bad. Then, I started building the new SUV online and said yes I want the premium sound, leather interior, and Bluetooth connectivity. Yes I want all of the latest technological safety features available like blind spot detection, safe lane changing etc. This is my wife’s daily driver so of course I want her to be safe. I started looking at the other features I just had to have for her, some of which are only available with the top of the line platinum package and the next thing I know the cost of the SUV is over $55,000. I went to the dealer and they had 2 top of the line models one in black and the other in white. My wife drove the vehicle, liked it, we sat down with the dealer and did a little negotiating and 1/2 hour later we bought the white SUV. Like most Southern Californians, we spend a lot of time in the car, It is well worth it to get what she wants. I wanted to be able to get the upgrades that are important to her and that is exactly what we did.

Like buying a vehicle and selecting options, there are many upgrades in landscape lighting too. I believe there is much value in exploring your options prior to purchasing landscape lighting to insure the final product fits your needs and you love it for many years to come. When you work with Custom landscape lighting design builders like my company Gambino landscape Lighting we believe it is our responsibility to make sure you understand your options. I would feel I have not done my job if a customer ever said, “I wish I would have known I could have that done…”. In the design phase of a landscape lighting project it is our job to educate the customer on the possibilities. Then as we work through the design and pricing, the customer needs to determine what is important to have and how much they are comfortable spending. All outside elements are interconnected. They all are part of your experience outside. As a Landscape lighting design build contractor we get involved in considering everything outside and how these amenities will benefit with the best lighting after dark. Lighting for the most common upgrades are:

• Patio, Driveway or Walkways.
• Brick, Stone or Concrete surfaces.
• Retaining and seating walls.
• Boulders.
• Statues
• Ponds and Water features.
• Pergola.
• Fence.
• Swimming pool and spas or hot tubs.
• Fire pit or fire place (gas or wood burning).
• Built-in grill or outdoor kitchen.
• Front yard and backyard trees.
• Interesting shrubs, flowers and ground covers.
• Grass Lawns (natural and artificial).
• Decks.
• Changes in grade, steps.

Each property we work on is very unique and has its own set of complications. When Gambino landscape Lighting provides a project quotation, we live by it. Very rarely something completely unanticipated happens that can add cost, like discovering buried concrete or old footings. We analyze every property carefully and make careful assessments of the property.

We do small projects for a few thousand dollars and we do large projects in excess of $300,000. We will work with our customers to make a project as affordable as possible. We feel all successful projects start with great design. If you hire Gambino Landscape Lighting to construct your project the cost of the landscape lighting design is included as long as the project costs $5,000 or greater. In most cases the project cost is enough that the design fee is waived.

The total cost of landscape lighting will depend on the size of your property, complexity of the install, type of switching control, number of fixtures required and how available and close existing power is to where the fixtures will be installed . When we are brought in and when properly coordinated before the landscaping begins, new homes or landscapes being remodeled often cost less since the entire yard needs to be done and access can be easier. It is easy however to phase landscape lighting projects. We are happy to help you through a phased plan.

A breakdown of some typical cost ranges are:
Front yard lighting for most homes can range from $5,000 to $15,000 and more. This will depend on the size of plants/trees and the size of your home/ property and other related work such as needing to tunnel under walks and driveways in absence of existing sleeves. Front yard landscape lighting projects are very important for the curb appeal of your property.

Rear yard lighting for most homes range from $8,000 to $20,000 and more. Again this will depend upon the size of plants and trees and how much space your home takes up on your property. Extensive lighting of rear yard plantings including hedges around perimeters and plants along the house can add more cost. However this type of lighting can define property lines, enhance the feeling of safety and security and enjoy ability  around your home and yard. Satisfaction for many that far exceeds added cost.

Walkway lighting could vary from $2,000 to $4,000 or more depending on the length of path or if you need any steps or changes in grade addressed.

A patio will vary from a $3,000 to $5,000 or more depending on the size, materials and amenities such as a pergola, seating area, potted plants. There are many considerations to patio lighting design. A patio with a simple outdoor kitchen area, BBQ, pergola, table seating area, with lighting around a fire pit could range from $4,000 to $8,000 or more.

Swimming pool/spa area garden lighting has been one of the most requested and popular upgrades in the past 15 years. Building a lighting package around a inground pool and spa could generally cost $4,500-$12,500 the larger the pool the higher the cost. Integrating the operation of the lighting with the pool control system (where possible) can add cost depending upon location of pool equipment and how close to where the garden lighting is. Proper safety precautions when wiring around bodies of water that come into contact with people is essential. These prices are for the pool/spa area garden lighting only, any complexities or access to areas of the yard will add cost.

Landscape lighting has become very popular in the past 25-30 years. Homeowners like to enjoy their yards into the evening hours. Lighting helps create a mood, provides the ability to see and can add security to your home. A simple lighting system will start at about $4,500. Most of our lighting projects range from $10,000-$30,000. We have done lighting projects exceeding $750,000.

There are also economies of scale often at play. Larger projects can most often come in at a lower per fixture cost than smaller ones. As you see, prices for landscape lighting can have a tremendous range. Much of this is dependent upon the uniqueness of your property, size and complexity, but also depends upon your tastes and desires and available budget. One great thing about landscaping lighting is it is easy to phase work in. You can build out the front yard one year and do the back the next.

Hopefully this information will help you with your next landscape lighting project.

***Disclaimer- Any dollar figures are purely for informational purposes only. To find out what Custom Gambino High Performance LED Landscape lighting opportunities exist for your specific property and what it will cost contact me at the link below. There is a nominal fee for design consultations that is waived when you hire us to do the work.

This landscape lighting blog is published by Mike Gambino of Gambino landscape lighting inc. all rights reserved. Mike is a professional landscape lighting system designer/ builder and has been designing, installing and maintaining landscape lighting systems for more than 20 years. Mike resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife and 2 sons. To visit his website go to www.Gambinolighting.com . To inquire about hiring Mike please click here .
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