It took our CV dealer less than a day to install a whole house system at framing. My guess is your guy doesn't do them often enough to be proficient. Ask your builder for a referral to someone who is familiar with install of HAH. Ours was 30% more than a standard and the pipe install by the pros was cake for them. We haven't had the finish work done yet as we are not yet to drywall but the pipes are all in and they didn't interfere with anything.

Congrats on the new home! I just built my home two years ago this month and when were choosing options, there was only the choice of YES or NO for the central vac. We didn't pick the unit, tools, etc. I was bummed because I wanted to be able to have Hide a Hose. I lived with the system as is for about a year and then ended up calling a local dealer who was able to retrofit an outlet in the center of my main level. I was fortunate in that the unit provided by the builder had adequate suction to run the HAH system. My builder only provided the Dirt Devil Pro Series 990 unit. I really enjoy having the HAH outlet and recently upgraded to the new blue rapid flex hose and it makes the suction even stronger. Definitely check and see what you're builder can do for you. Ours wouldn't budge on bringing in an outside contractor to do work while our house was under construction.

Our home was completed in March 2014. We have a HAH outlet for the main floor (1600 sq. ft. - mostly hardwood floors) and a regular, electric outlet for the upper floor (1000 sq. ft. - mostly carpet). In that sense, I have both types of central vac. My main floor HAH is 50 ft. long and install was no problem.

Your last question is spot on, in my opinion - you are dealing with someone who is inexperienced in the install. My builder had never worked with the HAH system before, but his sub had done a few installs and felt comfortable enough with it. The sub did tell me after install that he loves the HAH product and the only people he knows who dislike it are those who had it improperly and/or poorly installed. So be careful - you don't want to be a guinea pig for an installer!

On a related note, I had never lived with central vac before - I love it! The HAH is just sooo convenient. It's one of my favorite features in our whole semi-custom build, but I have never been in another home that has one, so it felt like a bit of a gamble. I'm so glad I stuck to my guns. It's worth getting - especially because from what I found it's not that different in cost from a regular central vac - but try to find an installer who knows what they're doing. Good luck!

Hi,
It sounds like they are not familiar, thus don't want to do it.
Our general contractor was not familiar, so I found a vacuum store in our area that installs the system, I believe I found it through the hide a hose website. He had it done in one day, and had no trouble putting it in. It has to be done at the right time during construction. We have 1 50 foot, and 1 40 ft. for a 3000 ft. home, one story. He rigged a simplicity beater bar carpet attachment with a separate electrical cord for me to do the carpets in the back bedrooms. The rest of our house is wood. I have had a central vac twice before, and this is so much easier to use. I can vacuum half the house (frequently used area ) with one outlet and be done in 6 minutes.

We had our HAH installed in our 130+ y.o. home while some of the walls were open for renovation. We had it done by a CV company that has a lot of experience installing the HAH. It took them just one day, and the system works great.

A CV installer with HAH experience might be more creative with finding space for the pipes, and being able to troubleshoot if you have any issues in the future.

We really WERE guinea pigs for Hide A Hose as we installed ours over 8 years ago doing all the work ourselves during a major remodel. Installation is not difficult, especially with open walls. Sure we had to work around the wiring and a/c ducts but we got it done and it has worked flawlessly ever since. Perhaps you could get the HAH in before the other trades?

Stick to your guns, in my experience Hide A Hose is well worth fighting for.

Thanks for the input. I got a hold of the vacuum installers that our builder uses and they don't have a problem installing the hide a hose. It was our builder who knew nothing about it. And it turns out that the price didn't even really change because we need much less outlets now. I am excited! They just broke ground on our build last week. You all are so helpful!

My husband installed ours after framing had been done. He is a great handyman, but works in an office (not a professional contractor type). We had gotten an estimate that was ridiculous for installation in new construction. Builder didn't care that my husband took it on. Took hubby longer than expected, but that's normal!