First Landscape Lighting Project for a Client on the Forbes 400
E2 Illuminations | Landscape Lighting Blog
by Chad Rodvold
3y ago
Jerry Moore’s Friar Tuck Residence Little nostalgic feeling! I was hired to illuminate this property maybe fifteen years ago by the owner, Jerry Moore. The home was a French chateau, broken down brick by brick, and rebuilt with a underground 26 car garage for his collection. At the time, Mr. Moore was my first client on the Forbes list from his dealings with shopping centers. Jerry wasn’t the kindest man and there are quite a few stories to back up his “attitudes”. I was confident in my abilities but he intimidated the heck out of me. The day we were to start the installation, we had to cance ..read more
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Homeowners are getting sold lights not Landscape Lighting Design
E2 Illuminations | Landscape Lighting Blog
by Chad Rodvold
3y ago
The perceived value in landscape lighting isn't the number of lights you're buying but the quality of the design. I'll never understand how a homeowner allows this to happen. This is NOT landscape lighting, but someone selling lights. If I have to explain why this lighting example isn't representative of quality work, than you my friend need to find another career.  In my humble opinion, the concept behind landscape lighting is seeing the effect of the light...not the actual light fixture. This is disturbing on so many levels; 1) One light per trunk 2) Placement of the lights on the fron ..read more
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Common Mistake Installing Low-Voltage Landscape Lighting
E2 Illuminations | Landscape Lighting Blog
by Chad Rodvold
3y ago
I see this common mistake throughout DFW on projects that deserve better. Personally, I believe either the landscape contractor doesn't know any better or just doesn't care about their quality of installation. Hopefully this post will reach some of them and they can improve their installation quality with a simple solution. Why is this installation a mistake in my humble opinion you may ask? This particular MR16 has only 1"-2" of the provided stake pushed into hard compact soil as seen above. The landscape contractor will then bring in a mixture of 2"-4" of bed prep (soil and mulch) to comple ..read more
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Rain day, blog day...2017 Review
E2 Illuminations | Landscape Lighting Blog
by Chad Rodvold
3y ago
It's been a wonderful year for us and we're off and running in 2018. We're blessed to work with some great professionals in landscape architecture and construction and they referred us to many great projects. This was a banner year for total sales, but I didn't have to sell at all...my professional relationships did all the heavy lifting. Did I say blessed? I've seen quite the shift in landscape lighting these past several years. The focus seems as if it moved from quality of design to quality of the fixture...the LED fixture. Everyone is jumping in the LED water and trying to gain a piece of ..read more
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Busy May Photo Update
E2 Illuminations | Landscape Lighting Blog
by Chad Rodvold
3y ago
It was a busy month of May and it's time to work...and we really have been working! We have some wonderful projects under construction and the pipeline  looks good for the rest of 2017 and leading into 2018. Managing everything will be a challenge but I have the best crew chief in the business and will find the right project manager sometime. Hope you enjoy this photo collage of our landscape lighting endeavors this past month ..read more
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Do We Have A Problem With Reality?...Maybe
E2 Illuminations | Landscape Lighting Blog
by Chad Rodvold
3y ago
Yesterday, I read a blog post "Dear Future Architects: Don't Be Like Me". I enjoyed the self reflection the author had about a particular situation where he was designing a fast-food restaurant...not say the Guggenheim Museum and was a little less than enthused. He wrote “Bojangles? Are we really doing a Bojangles? Is there someone else who can work on this? I’m not working on that,”. The cool thing is he realized his mistake and categorized them into several things. He summarized them into these four categories; saying "no", sometimes you have to choke down the vegetables, he missed an ..read more
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Modern from Texas to Connecticut
E2 Illuminations | Landscape Lighting Blog
by Chad Rodvold
3y ago
Project completed  with M-Gray Architects Recently in Dallas, I find the majority of projects I'm designing "on the boards"  are modern or contemporary. The project above from M-Gray Architects I recently completed and also have two more currently under construction for him.  So, with an upcoming trip to Connecticut for phase #2 of a wonderful landscape lighting project at Maywood Gardens,(classic architecture at its' finest) I thought I'd take a look at some of the modern architecture in the area. Jendretzki Specht Architects Joeb Moore + Partners Personally ..read more
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Will illuminate for trade
E2 Illuminations | Landscape Lighting Blog
by Chad Rodvold
3y ago
Love getting the opportunity to travel through South Texas to review all our outdoor lighting projects. An absolute favorite ranch project near Uvalde always challenges my resolve to "work not play" while I'm away from the family and on a landscape lighting job. However, after careful consideration, thinking I'll have to find a way to barter with someone in the near future for a chance to hunt with my boys like when I was a kid in North Dakota.  Anyone out there willing to trade landscape lighting for a week of archery hunting ..read more
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"A Little Cheaper"
E2 Illuminations | Landscape Lighting Blog
by Chad Rodvold
3y ago
I lost a job this week that really surprised me. The text message said "I have somebody else doing the install for me that was a little cheaper". That wasn't the surprise, but the disappointing points just add up to a big "WHAT"!  - I know this builder from my church and we even know a bit of each others "back story". - I was referred by the landscape architect. First time I was ever recommended by an LA and didn't get the job! - I spec'd out the equipment for the LA and recommended a couple unique details to the design that will make this job extremely cool. - I am more expensive, but f ..read more
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Boys and their Balloons
E2 Illuminations | Landscape Lighting Blog
by Chad Rodvold
3y ago
We never get tired of seeing the hot air balloons at our new home in McKinney, TX. For about ten years, we lived near Love Field in Dallas with plenty of low flying planes waking us up but never a hot air balloon. Although I like seeing them, I don't think I'll be reserving a time to fly in one anytime soon but we'll definitely enjoy seeing them fly by at the end of a day of outdoor lighting.  ..read more
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