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Lighting budget for new build

23 days ago

We are building a house and will be our own general contractor. I am trying to come up with estimate for light fixtures. does anyone have any ideas on how to determine this? there was a post from 11 years ago on here but I am sure things have changed drastically due to our economic conditions.

Featured Answer

anj_p

23 days ago

This is unique to every home and budget. Might be worthwhile to go through and pick your fixtures now instead of trying to guess what you're going to spend. How many fixtures do you need? Are you planning on doing cheap boob lights in all the bedrooms? Are you looking at high end lighting stores? You could spend $75 on a fixture or $500 or $3000.

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Comments (7)

worthy
23 days ago
last modified: 23 days ago
We've built and renovated many homes as licenced builders and never once tried to estimate a lighting budget beforehand. What's spent at that stage is determined by how much over--why is it never under?--we've gone on the big elements, i.e., excavation, foundation, framing, services.
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Do you have a Habitat for Humanity store or something similar in your area? You might consider trying a place like that and keep an eye out for nice cabinets that have been removed from another house that you could use in your remodel. Sometimes they have the counters too if they come out without breaking. Often these are removed from really large homes and there are enough cabinets for a smaller home and the extras can be used to make filler strips etc to make it look custom to your home. This is rarely an overnight exercise -- it could take quite a while and lots of searching to find something that could work, but it would be more budget friendly than all new. With your current budget you'll be choosing from the bottom end of the cabinet market. Also with your budget you should be considering that you might need to do some of the work yourself which is going to be tough with small children. You mentioned you can save $1000/month. Even if you waited a year to add to your savings that would make a significant difference to what you can afford as well as a contingency for other things that will definitely come up, its not an "if" but "when" when you start renovating and taking out walls. Plumbing or electrical or both could give you issues or pipes might need moving, venting moved etc. Plan carefully and come up with a "must have" list, then a "nice to have" list. Work with someone you can trust and work through what you can get from your must have list with your current budget. Good luck and congratulations on the new home.
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@just_janni - I was surprised to hear that, too. Neither 'designers' asked me about my aesthetic, our furniture, how we styled our past home, our goals, colors we preferred, or anything that let them know about us so they should help. Maybe my coming in prepared they didn't want to interrupt me? EIther way it's done and I now can move onto window treatments.
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aziline
23 days ago
I started shopping for lights before we even started building. I was able to get most of them from Amazon Warehouse for deep discounts and just paid out of pocket. We ended up with much nicer stuff than I could have picked out in a weekend with the same money.
chicagoans
23 days ago
I agree with the advice to start looking at fixtures. I blew well past my original lighting estimate (whole house remodel) with one fixture. I kept a spreadsheet to keep track of styles, sizes, prices, etc. because after awhile I looked at so many. My designer warned me that the builders she’s worked with always estimate low on lighting.

Different topic but she also warned me that many home owners don’t plan on window treatments until the end, and often get sticker shock. She was right.
dan1888
22 days ago
Here's a high quality recessed can source with different levels of products. Home - DMF Lighting This allows 4" and smaller fixtures with good lumen levels. The kitchen needs a comprehensive task and ambient light plan. Other areas of the house and garage could use inexpensive 6" cans and A19 led screw-in bulbs.
Louie
17 days ago
Considering that a 100K lighting budget could be for the whole house, or 1 custom crystal chandelier, there really is no answer but the one you create for yourself.
PRO
Jeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor
15 days ago
Use a spread sheet for ceiling & wall mounted fixtures by room for the entire home. Account for wall mounted flood lights, ceiling mounted interior garage lights, door bell & chime, lit address numbers. Bulbs... easy to pend a few hundred.

Use a separate sheet for recessed fixtures & trims. Your electrician may supply the recessed & discuss the trims.

Decent ceiling fans are $500-1000, light fixtures $100-500, chandeliers $1000-unlimited.

This is both functional & decorative. Its the level of finish

For a whole house often a local showroom can get great prices.

Common mistakes I see... online orders not as expected, smaller than expected, not UL listed, custom or non standard mounting feels cheap.

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