Pricing
How pricing works
We don't price from a photo or a phone call. This is what decides the number, and when you get it.
What decides the price
Three things move it most: how many rooms are on the plan and how many layers each one gets, what the walls and ceilings allow, and which fixtures and controls you choose.
Rooms and layers: each layer is a switched circuit
Walls: plaster, adobe, open framing or a finished ceiling
Fixtures and controls: a plain dimmer or a keypad that runs scenes
What the design fee covers
The fee pays for the walk-through, the marked-up plan sketch and the fixture and controls schedule. Its amount is written on the estimate before we begin. If you hire us to install the plan, it is credited toward the work.
Materials and who buys them
You or your designer choose the fixtures. We can order them or install what you supply. Where we order, the estimate carries an allowance, written down.
Fixtures you supply are checked against the plan on arrival
Boxes, wire and dimmers are ours
If the job changes
A change to the plan is priced in writing before we do it, and the sketch is updated so the file always matches the wall.
How and when you pay
Payment is in stages: a deposit when you accept the estimate, a draw at rough-in, and the balance when the lights are aimed and dimmed. Amounts and due dates are on the estimate. We take checks and cards.
When you get the number
After the walk-through and the plan, in writing. It is a figure for the plan as drawn, with what is and isn't in it listed.
The first visit
What we look at before we name a number
We look at the ceilings from above where we can reach them, at the walls you want to open or avoid, and at the panel. We ask what each room is used for after dark. Then we go away and draw.
Ceiling height and depth, and what is above
Wall type and where wire can run
Panel space for new circuits
How you use the room at night
Questions about the estimate
What does the plan cost, and is it credited to the work?
The plan fee is written on your estimate before we begin, and it depends on how many rooms we draw. If you hire us to install the plan, the fee is credited toward the work. If you take the plan to another electrician, you keep it.
How long does a room take?
It depends on the walls and the fixtures. We give a schedule in writing with the estimate, and say what depends on fixture delivery.
Can I send a photo instead of describing the room?
Yes. Text a photo of the room, the ceiling and the panel to the number in the footer. It helps us prepare for the walk-through. It is not a quote: we price the plan after we have seen the house.
Get the plan and the number in writing
Book a walk-through and we will tell you what to expect before we arrive.