Lite Visions- Landscape Lighting Experts in Raleigh & Eastern NC
Concert & Stage Lighting Background
Raleigh,North Carolina
Is proud to be one of a small handful of members of
To promote and advance the landscape and architectural lighting industry for lighting designers and installers.
Here is a link to AOLP’s consumer webite with some great outdoor lighting information
http://www.youroutdoorlighting.com/consumersite/
By: Brandon Kuehler, CLVLT, COLD
http://blog.lightitright.com/blog/5-ways-to-determine-the-cost-of-your-landscape-lighting
When it comes to landscape lighting there is no standard cost structure – it is not a One Size Fits All world. Pricing of lighting can and does vary from State to State, City to City, and Provider to Provider – everyone uses something different and designs very differently than another. So when looking at landscape lighting and what you think the system of your dreams is going to cost take these 5 tips into consideration.
1) Quality of Materials
First and foremost – Quality of the materials being used by a certified lighting designer over a landscaper or handyman are going to be substantially higher and of higher and the warranties will meet the demands of these designers. Lighting designers have taken the time to increase their education in lighting and the differences in fixtures and their proper uses, LED options, quality installation methods, and have mastered the fine art of tricky installs. All of this training has taught designers how to spot a quality fixture over a cheap one and they prefer to use the best quality they can get to give their customers the experience they expect, and demand. Remember fixtures are NOT all the same – many are made of plastic or powder coated aluminum, and depending on the climate where you live those materials will crumble in a few years. For example, if you are in Houston, we have salt in the air from the Bay and that salt will eat away aluminum before you know it. You should be looking for fixtures made of SOLID brass or copper – those will withstand any climate and…..yardcrew!
2) Design
Are you looking for something straight forward or something with more detail? Depending on the difficulty of the design and installation your cost will vary. If you are looking just to up light the front of your house and there are only flower beds in front, well for most certified lighting designers that would be considered a straightforward installation. Now on the other hand, if you are looking to up light the front of your house, driveway with concrete, backyard with waterfall lighting in your pool and fence lights around the whole perimeter, and then add some lights into your fire pit that would be trickier and take a true expert to install so expect the cost of that to be substantially more than the straightforward up lights.
3) Special Features
Do you have a Fire Pit? Waterfall? Fountain? Putting Green? If you do and you want to highlight them to be able to enjoy them at night that takes extra time, special lighting, and special installation techniques. The end result is beautiful, but does cost more than just placing a light in the ground as a fair amount of labor goes into making these lights look like they have been there all along.
4) Concrete?
Do you have concrete in the way of where lights need to go to up light your house, along your pathway, do you want lights on your garage? Many think that because there is concrete present a light can’t go there….NOT TRUE! Now, is it easy – for a real professional lighting designer and their crew – YES! It does take a little more time but with the use of proper tools and experience, getting a light into already existing concrete is doable. Of course if you are in the process of pouring concrete and know you want lighting where it will be poured have your lighting expert get the prep work for your lights in before the pour happens, that will save you money and your lighting team time. NOTE: Not all lighting companies can do this – if you are quoted a “core” ask to see examples that company has done if they did not show you one at the time of your onsite meeting.
5) Scale
How large of an area are you looking to add lighting too? Do you just want the front of the house for security? Looking to have soft lighting in the front and back? Do you have a pool, putting green, dog run? Is your yard on a small plot or are you on acreage? The size of your home, property, and your end goals will really give you a better idea of what your lighting system cost will be. If you are acreage you should expect to spend more than someone in a master planned community. If you go into your onsite meeting thinking OK for my 5000 sq foot house on 1 acre with a pool I should expect a quote for $2500 you are going to be very surprised and sticker shocked when your quote comes in. Now if you go into your meeting thinking I will be looking at about $10,000 then you will be close to the ballpark. But, if you are only looking for certain areas to be done let your designer know this up front so that they do not provide you a quote for everything – you may want to see everything quoted, but don’t do this because you will just be hurting yourself in the long run and wasting the designers time as you will then decline their quote since it was more than you wanted to spend – even though they did exactly as you asked, showed you EVERYTHING when you really only wanted the front yard.
Landscape lighting can cost you $2500 or it can cost you $200,000, it is all up to you and what you want done and want to spend. Keep these 5 tips in mind when you start searching for your lighting designer. Remember hire a certified lighting designer and you will get the best product, design, and service for the right price – this is an investment, not something you should be redoing every few years (read this article to learn how to find the right expert). Nothing is apples to apples and professionals are not going to compete with your landscaper or handy man on price or materials, and there is a reason why, we know what we are doing and it is all we do.
One of the sad things in this industry is how many outdoor lighting manufacturers trying to push their products by giving a short class to landscape industry companies who stick lights in the ground and never come back to focus them properly and do not use good installation methods. Here are a few recent examples of what we fixed.
VOLTAGE PROBLEMS Outdoor lights getting 16 volts to a 12 volt light fixture and blowing bulbs on an old halogen system, we corrected the voltage and then installed all new LED lamps.
BAD WIRING Outdoor older halogen system browning out due to getting only 8 volts to some of the lights, there was corrosion in many wire splices and poorly done wire connections. We fixed the voltage and now they have an energy efficient LED system.
NO MAINTENANCE, system not working due to tree roots damaging cables and lights actually growing into tree roots. We ran some new wires replaced fixtures and re-lamped with new LED lamps.
DIFFERENT LAMP TEMPERATURES, lamps had been purchased at several different chains and were not all the same color temperature or beam spreads. We took out and reinstalled all new same color temperature LED lamps and the system looks brand new.
WHITE LIGHTS ON CREPE MYRTLES : There are several different color temperatures of LED lamps, some DO NOT look right on certain trees. We installed correct color temperature lamps along with a filter and now the Crepe Myrtles look natural lit up at night.
A Lighting Designer is someone who understands the science of working with light and shadow,using a pallate of many different outdoor lighting fixtures,lamp types,different color temperature lamps for different purposes as well as different lamp beams and shields, filters or louvers to shield light from peoples eyes so they can see only the effect, not the source. He might only use one fixture from a certain manufacturer that does one thing better for the specific outdoor lighting job.
A customer recently called and asked if I could look at updating their older lighting system and that they were getting a quote from their landscaper also after telling him about their lighting interest, I said No Problem I can guarantee my quote won’t be as low as his but feel free to call me to fix the landscapers work as I do it all the time.
A lighting designer installs the outdoor lighting system correctly the first time, with the bulletproof waterproof connections that will not be a problem down the road. He also checks to make sure all the light fixtures are getting the correct voltage and comes back the evening after the lighting install to properly focus the outdoor lighting system.
As a Lighting Designer who only installs outdoor lighting , we stand behind our outdoor lighting installs and use the best-LED lamps available to the professional outdoor lighting designer,I have overheard pond people and landscapers talking about once they pickup their check they simply do not care how long the lights last.
We are a member of the Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals, we are one of only a small handful of professional lighting designers in the NC area.
Please read our 5 star reviews on Google and give us a call about seeing your home in a new light
919-581-9950
Outdoor landscape lighting offers Raleigh NC
Unlike a lot of companies who simply have added outdoor lighting as a secondary sideline to their other business, or have bought into a cookie cutter outdoor lighting franchise.
Outdoor Lighting is Lite Visions only business and
I spent many years travelling in the music industry doing lighting for bands.When I decided to stop travelling 10 months out of the year and was talking to a friend who was in the outdoor lighting industry he convinced me that outdoor lighting design would be a natural transition for me,as I was already lighting up structures only on stages.
Me with some record awards
I started out many years ago working for a neighbor whose kids I grew up with in a beach band called the Embers
I consider myself very fortunate to have had a long career in the music
I design and install all outdoor lighting systems and am available to personally address your needs if anything should ever come up.
I only use and install the best products available that we believe in and will not install inferior cheap fixtures just to make a profit.
About Joe Yanulevich
Born in Raleigh NC
NC Insured low voltage lighting contractor
Lighting designer and touring electrician for over 35 years.
Graduate of Nightscaping outdoor lighting university
Graduate of Garden Light Design university
Member of the Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals
As an Outdoor Lighting Designer, I like to paint with light to create an inviting atmosphere for you and your guests to enjoy in the evening. Outdoor lighting should never be harsh or overpowering, Lite Visions specializes in outdoor lighting systems that are distinctive to your home, garden, and property. We design a lighting system that provides soft but inviting lighting. Lite Visions from our concert and theatrical lighting background use many theatrical techniques including soft filters and different lighting fixtures, shields and lamps and sometimes even color. We then combine all this with our experience to bring the exterior of your home to life in the evening. Remember, even if one of the outdoor lighting franchises was trying to sell you on the beauty of their copper or brass light. The true purpose of a lighting designer if to conceal the fixtures as much as possible so that you only see the effect, not the lights.
Feb 12, 2019
We’re excited to have Lite Visions Landscape Lighting join us at the Fairgrounds Southern Ideal Home Show. Lite Visions Lighting Designer Joe, went from lighting up the stars to lighting under the stars with his outdoor lighting, architectural lighting and landscape lighting design firm Lite Visions. Lite Visions landscape lighting is located in Raleigh NC and currently services the following areas: Apex, Cary, Chapel Hill, Clayton, Durham, Fuquay Varina, Garner, Goldsboro, Holly Springs, Knightdale, Morrisville, Raleigh, Smithfield, Wake Forest and Zebulon. Lite Visions is not a lighting franchise, which anyone can purchase. Lite Visions is locally owned lighting design and installation company. They pride themselves in delivering the best LED Outdoor Fixture, workmanship and customer service to our clients in Raleigh and the surrounding areas. We do custom outdoor lighting to both residential and commercial properties.
Before seeing the team at booth #2347, get to know more about them in our brief interview below.
Describe your products and services.From Lighting the Stars to Lighting Under The Stars: Lite Visions Owner and Raleigh Native, Joe went from working with Concert acts Whitney Houston, Tim Mcgraw and Alan Jackson to the Christmas Sensation The Trans Siberian Orchestra as a Lighting Technician and Lighting Designer. Joe is now designing and installing unique outdoor and architectural lighting in the NC area. We also update older outdoor lighting systems. Please see our 5 star reviews on google.
What is your best home or garden tip for the season?
If you are considering outdoor lighting, please make sure the person you use knows what they are doing. I see jobs where the job looks cheap due to the fact someone put lights under the windows of the home instead of lighting up the architecture of the home. Or they installed a transformer in plain sight of the front of the home. A number of people install lights, that does not mean they are lighting designers. I paint pictures with light.
What are your featured deals this season?
I offer a show discount of 5% off any lighting design and installation within 30 days of the home show. I work with companies who offer the best products and warranty available in the professional outdoor lighting industry. I stand behind my installations and get many referrals because of that.
What are your home and garden pet peeves?
Seeing a BAD lighting job when I drive out of a neighborhood in the evening knowing some homeowner paid good money for that job and does not know the difference. We are not a lighting franchise that can be sold to anyone wanting to open a franchise business. We do not sell or install inferior products just to make a profit. All of our products have the best professional warranty available to the lighting professional. As a lighting designer. I want to walk into a home and see what the owner’s view is outside to paint a beautiful picture with lighting that they can view. Some installers just put up a few lights that people riding by the home can see, that is not a lighting design. But what their franchise told them to sell as a package. Some companies stick lights in the ground and never come back to see how they look at night.
What is the strangest client request you’ve ever received?
To light a big tree in a front yard that I would not have chosen to light, the couples son had recently passed away and he had planted that tree for his mom. When I heard that story I lit that tree for no charge.
What is your favorite part of the home show?
Meeting and making friends from all walks of life and hearing the ohhs and ahhs from them the first time we turn their new lighting on. I recently did a lighting design and spent alot of time with the client over several evenings. He was so in awe of what the initial lighting looked like that we installed more lighting and he was like a kid with a new toy. I am passionate about my lighting designs.
Any additional information you’d like people to know?
Professional outdoor landscape lighting is not cheap, I work with an interior designer who says “Do it right and you only cry once”. My designs include seeing the effects not the light source.I work with many different types of fixtures, lamps,color temperatures,filters and shields. Maintenance is a must,I can’t tell you how many old installs I get called to look at where a fixture or cable has grown into a tree.
The Fairgrounds Southern Ideal Home Show is taking over the North Carolina State Fairgrounds April 5-7, 2019. Don’t have your tickets yet? Buy online and save $2!
APRIL 5-7, 2019
Taking the time to properly light the exterior of your home can showcase your home and call attention to the features you love most, without making expensive changes to the structure of your home or yard.
Some of the changes you make to the exterior of your home won’t even be visible after dark unless you highlight them with your lighting choices. outdoor lighting is one of the least expensive ways to boost curb appeal and makes a big impact on your home’s exterior. With lighting, you can pick out and highlight your home’s best features – while leaving those you’d prefer not to show off or that are in need of attention in the dark.
The landscape, garden, even that beautiful statue or water feature will shine after dark if you highlight them with the right lighting. Exterior lighting enhances all the other improvements you’ve made and improves your home’s appeal, even after dark. By highlighting your improvements with up lighting,tree lighting and other lighting effects, you can be sure you get the most from your curb appeal investment.
An investment in outdoor lighting does more than just make your home look great; by illuminating your lawn and yard you make your home a less appealing target to potential burglars and those possibly wishing to do you harm.
Lighting up the areas around windows and doorways and walkways can and will enhance the look of your home and boost your security as well.
Outdoor lighting is about more than crime prevention; by using lights to illuminate walkways and paths, you make your yard safe and easy to navigate. Your family and guests will appreciate being able to navigate the yard and reach your home without safely in the evenings.
Whether you want to enhance your curb appeal, show off the unique features of your yard and home or improve your home’s safety, outdoor lighting can help. Call Lite Visions today at 919-518-9950 to find out how easy it is to make a lasting impression with the right outdoor lighting. We can help you decide what you need to showcase your home’s best features and to give you peace of mind about the safety and security of your home, too.
Outdoor lighting installed on bridge over water feature and walkway providing safety in the evenings.
Call us Today 919-518-9950 Lite Visions Outdoor Lighting and Landscape Lighting Professionals Raleigh NC
