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whats up guys? Im looking for some input on what you guys are charging for landscape lighting installs (including trenching). For some reason this one always is a tough one for me. The weather is getting nice around here (Long Island N.Y.) and were completing (2) huge houses that want to roll right into the exterior lighting. Any Advice will be appriciated. Thanks.
I try not to get the spade out for less than 350.00 thats with the HO suppling the lights
What's to know, the landscapers are getting $1,200 to install 10 light HD economy outdoor light kit, the yard man up the street puts in 6 to 8 a week, He calls them Custom lighting design installations.
New Jersey is half-way to heaven, Les.

Dave
Dave,

Jersey is not alone, you will find the same pricing in areas of MD, and Conn, and some higher, we were getting $900 plus for the 10 lights three years ago, and getting tips for most of the jobs.
I saw an installation locally by someone who installed "Vista Professional Outdoor Lighting". It was very attractive, and I'm sure he could name his price. Personally, I don't like playing in the dirt that much any more (or attics, or crawl spaces, or extension ladders).

Dave
It is easy to see why he posted having trouble, landscape lighting is a tough sell,
and there many points to consider, type of lighting, and price point, you cam get a spot for $10, and a good spot may cost as much as $100, the transformers vary in quality and price, the cable used, outdoor zip or UF, or conduit.

Will they get the property marked out, or just assume they are not digging that deep so they don't need a markout, well don't be supprised if you damage phone or cable lines, they are near the surface, and here in this state the fines for hitting one is up there, also a permit is required.

I have seen landscape lighting jobs as high as $20,000, it is a good field to work in, just take your time and plan each job with care.
I need to get into this type of work. We get request for it often, but turn it down or refer it to a lanscape light company. I personally hate digging and don't know much about outdoor lighting design. I now have enough guys working for me that I wouldn't have to dig, so I need to do is educate myself on the design so I can sell it. Anyone know a website to help.
Harbor Freight is selling "solar" self-contained landscape lights (at $8 ea)...and you think there's a future for cable and transformers?
John,

Those solar lights, will never do the job of good landscape lighting, some of then do work for as long as a year, most give up after 3 months.
I had a guy I worked with. He quit to full time his buisness of outdoor and indoor fiber-optic lighting ( acrylic fiber). You want to talk about top dollar installs. Just the supplys to do this average on minninumof about $3000. He usually gets big jobs where price isnt the concern. He usually gets install that satart around $15000 on the outdoor stuff. I believe somewhat less, but not necessarily, on the indoor installs. I put some of this in at my house, and with a 40% discount from the manufacturer, I still didnt have enough $ to finish the way I wanted.
Electric Eagle, you can go to www.lowvolt.org/ and go to their forum. They have pretty extensive coverage on different aspects of the design etc... There are others, but this forum seems to come from the professionals that do it all the time for a living. You can "punch" in low voltage lighting on a search engine and find others.. Hope this helps.. Steve

[This message has been edited by sparkync (edited 04-09-2005).]
The solar accent lights are nice and easy, but might or might not be what the homeowner is looking for. We have a set of the small LED ones, and one flourescent spotlight; none put off a lot of light, but it's still nice for accent. Not to mention no cabling required! Of course, not much profit, either. The ones I've seen have all been powered by nicad batteries, which die pretty quickly, but were easily replaceable.

I tell you what, though- our set of little solar accent lights were a real lightsaver after Hurricane Isabel knocked out power for 8 days- these things are nothing, just a AA nicad and an amber LED, but we'd set all 10 out all day to soak up the sun, and set them around the house at night so we could see- a couple down the hallways, a few in the kitchen and 3 in the bathroom. They were about as bright as candles, but without the risk of fire [Linked Image] Re: the life, all our lights are all still working, and it's been about 2 years since they were installed.

[This message has been edited by SteveFehr (edited 04-11-2005).]
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