Hiring a Landscape Lighting Contractor? Don’t Make These Mistakes

If you pick the right one, a landscape lighting contractor can make the different between an okay system of solar garden lights setup in your landscape or and amazing layout that will wow anyone who passes by your home.  The problem is finding the contractor that has a great track record and will be within your budget.  Luckily, in most areas there are several landscape lighting companies that you can choose from.  Avoid these five common mistakes when you’re picking which one will handle your property and you won’t be disappointed with your choice.

Mistake #1: Not Checking Their Licensing

One of the biggest mistakes that people make when they’re choosing between landscape lighting companies is that they don’t check to make sure that the company is licensed in their state.  Today, most states require companies that are doing any large amount of home remodeling to be licensed, and this includes landscapers many times.

Beware of companies that aren’t licensed, as many times this is because they are cutting corners.  They may give you the lowest bid, but it could be because they run their business under the table, hiring illegal workers and not paying any benefits.  Because of this, you might not have any legal recourse against them if they don’t live up to their contract or accidentally destroy pieces of your property.

#2: Not Actually Checking References

Most landscape lighting contractors will provide you with references when they submit their bid, make sure that you actually follow up and contact the individuals that they list.  Try to find out as much information about the contractors that you can from them.  Find out how satisfied the customers were, if the work was done on time, if the contractor stayed in touch throughout the process, and how he responded to complaints.  Also make sure to look at any examples of the landscaper’s work they provide.  It will give you a very good idea of what type of work the contractor is likely to do and how imaginative they are with their lighting schemes.

The best references that you can find will likely be word of mouth.  If you have any friends, neighbors, or relatives that recently hired a contractor, ask them who they hired and what they thought of them.  You’ll be able to get a detailed account of what they thought about the whole process and what the end product ended up looking like.

#3:  Not Hiring a Company With Lighting Experience

When you start to accept bids for your outdoor landscape lighting job, make sure that you only seriously consider bids from companies with an experienced background in landscape lighting.  Some landscape companies may submit bids as well, but without the knowledge to run wires and the experience to know how your lights will behave at night, you’ll end up with a subpar lighting job that you won’t be happy about.

#4: Automatically Accepting the Lowest Bid

Whatever you do, don’t just automatically accept the lowest bid that you get.  When you’re searching for a landscape lighting contractor, as with most things in life, you get what you pay for.  The contractor with the lowest bid may end up using less quality materials that will degrade faster and take other shortcuts that will ultimately end up costing you more money.  Make sure that you compare the total package, not just the price.

#5:  Not Getting a Contract in Writing

One of the biggest mistakes people commit is not getting a contract in writing from the company before they start work on your property.  When they do give you a contract, inspect it to make sure that there aren’t any surprises.  Also try to get the contract in as much detail as possible, including information on the start date, expected end date, what tasks are to be done, materials to be used, payment installments and methods.  If you can’t obtain a contract in writing, then insist to the company that you will be withholding payment until the job is done to your satisfaction.

Hiring a landscape lighting professional will no doubt give you the absolute best garden lighting layout that you can possibly have.  To make sure that you are completely happy with your choice, make sure that you don’t’ commit these five common errors and search around on the internet for the best deals in your area and any references that you can find.