Plan Review
Our involvement usually starts with a plan review of the project or a site visit if no plans exist. We sit down with you and the other design professionals who are already a part of the project. We discuss options for lighting as they relate to the architecture, interior design, and your specific needs. We will also take you on a tour of a home located just a half block from our office which showcases many of the types of lighting and controls we typically recommend, along with examples of what not to do. We have a two hour minimum fee ($370, based on $185/hr) for the plan review or site visit if no plans exist. Depending on the size of the project our initial involvement can take 2 to 4 hours. This can include a preview of the plans before the initial meeting, or compiling a consultation summary, if required.

The Full Service Contract
Once we have had a chance to review the plans, discuss options and build a comfortable rapport with you and other members of the design team, we provide a written proposal, called the Full Service Contract. It outlines the scope of work, the specfics of the design process, the finalization of the lighting design, drafting of the plans, and a payment schedule for the project.

The scope of work will also include the development of a switching and dimming system (unless it is a part of a whole house system, where we would coordinate our design with the systems integration specialist). Also included are detailed written specifications of fixtures, lamps (light bulbs) and related components for the proposed work, plus any necessary elevations or details to facilitate the overall installation. Often the interior designer selects the decorative fixtures. We are happy to provide sources or suggestions for decorative fixtures if needed.

Also included in the Full Service Contract are additional meetings on site or by phone with the clients, design team members, or the contractor. These meetings are needed to augment the design as new ideas are introduced, and to facilitate the installation. Upon completion, the all-important final adjustment of the system will be done at the site, whenever possible.

CAD Documents
It's usually faster and more cost effective for us to provide CAD drawings, because all the lighting symbols are custom built into our program. However, sometimes the project architect has been contracted in advance to do all the CAD input. In this case we can provide red-line drawings (hand done in red pencil) for the project architect's office to do the CAD work. During design and installation, we review the architect's drawings to make sure that all the information is correct, and red-line any revisions. The cost of our bid is then reduced by the amount originally allowed for CAD drawings.

Fee Schedule
Our fees are based on hourly rates of $185.00 for design and consultation; $95.00 for CAD input; and $55.00 for travel time. Once we have completed the plan review, we will present a bid for the complete project. Reimbursable job related expenses (i.e. reproduction costs, FedEx, postage, etc.) are billed on a separate basis.

Contacting Us
If you would like to set up a plan review, please send us your information on our Project Inquiry form, or contact Anita Synovec (pronounced: sin-o-vitz), our project manager. She will let you know what to send in advance and what to bring to the meeting to make your time as productive as possible.

We look forward to working with you on your project.