Design and build company in London. Designers, a quantity surveyor and builders, under one contract.
Your lighting plan is three months old. The electrician arrives next week. Two days in, he rings.
The switch drop hits the kitchen grille. The downlights misalign with joinery. The pendant lights hang into the MEP riser space.
Each change is fixable. Each change costs time. None should reach the job site.
Lighting plans are made before the electrician sees them
You design at the design stage. Room shape is fixed. Finishes are chosen. Window positions are locked.
The electrician has the conduit riser. He knows the grille position. He knows the raft depth. He knows the hidden pipes.
Your plan was made before his variables locked. That is why it changes on site.
What the electrician finds
Switch drop: the wall has a riser. Move it 200mm.
Grille position: your switch is now where it vents.
Pendant height: the raft is 375mm thick. Your pendant hangs into the services.
Downlight spacing: the joinery grid is 600mm. Your lights are too. They clash.
Each fix alone is one hour on a drawing. On site, each is a works order lost.
How to protect your lighting design
Two weeks before first fix, issue a co-ordinated drawing. Mark up the MEP risers. Mark the grille positions. Mark the raft depth.
Draw your lighting plan on top of all of it, not on blank ceiling.
Send it to the electrician. Ask for written sign-off. Is this buildable as drawn?
You will hear back on the switch. You will hear back on the pendant. You will have time to fix both before anyone cuts conduit.
The advantage of a joinery team in-house
When the joinery team shares your office, coordination happens inside the firm.
The electrician finds the downlights clash. Joinery gets a query the same day.
Can you shift the lights to 550mm centres? Designer approves. Detail changes. Schedule holds.
When electrician and joinery are separate, someone loses a week defending their own programme.
A contractor holding the whole team wins. Why your architect and contractor need to work as one team explains why.
What to ask your contractor
Before appointing, ask: when do you coordinate lighting with MEP?
If they say on site, walk.
If they say at detailed design, two weeks before first fix, listen.
They learned from mistakes. The good ones learned once already.
Lighting designs that survive first fix come from teams that coordinate early.Start a conversation or call 020 7731 6841. Main contract construction, MEP coordination, joinery all in-house.
This is the work we do. Design and build company in London, or ask for a cost estimate.
Published 16 October 2026. Written by the NU Projects studio, edited since for house style and accuracy.