There are a number of problems with built in intercoms. They become dated. They may fail and be unrepairable, or an exact replacement may not be available, leaving you with a choice of a dead intercom or a hole in the wall. You may also find at some future date that one or more is in a bad location because of furniture changes or placement.

As an alternative, you can buy wireless intercoms that use the house AC wiring to carry the audio signal. They work wherever there is an outlet. And if they turn out to be something you don't need or want in the future, all you have to do is unplug them and toss them out.

I do not have an intercom system but have read about them a bit. One of the best units available currently is the Russound ComPoint. The dont look like the intercoms of old. It fits in a single gang box.
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Just checked their prices. My but Russound ComPoint is proud of their stuff.

We put an intercom system in, we wanted it for our boys whose bedrooms are upstairs ans ours is down. It has a monitor option so we can hear them at night if they yell. It is only in our kitchen, bedroom and the boys shared bathroom. We love it, I was sceptical but it really is worth it. I know exactly what they are doing and I don't have to scream if I need them. My oldest son (seven) sings us songs all the time. Our AV person put it in and it wasn't wildly expensive.

Susancc, how cute! When my kids were little I wished I had one. Then we vacationed at a large condo that actually DID have one. I was lying, relaxing in the jacuzzi and they buzzed me on the intercom having a fight! My blood pressure rose and I decided NOT to have an intercom on my dream list anymore. But that's just my kids....yours sound adorable!

To the OP, take it for what its worth and maybe don't install one in your bathroom.....

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input. My husband suggested I look in to telephones with an intercom system like in an office. That away you you don't have to worry about the hole in the wall if something goes wrong.

DH wired and installed our system, wasn't difficult for him and our units are no larger then a 2 or 3 toggle light switch! There is no big, bulky income box and I have a "desk" unit that sits on my desk. I didn't think we needed it at all - I said I can yell just fine, but we have been using it and I like it.

{{gwi:1483992}}

Telephone intercoms are good; but then I remembered the wireless baby 'coms. The price is reasonable, you aren't tied to having them in only one place, no expense of special wiring systems, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper to keep them upgraded.

It has occurred to me that all those houses with the fancy wiring systems are going to become outdated just as quickly my SIL's computer. Obsolete in a different housing.

Here is a link that might be useful: baby intercoms

We spent almost $1K on a phone system with eight wireless slave phones that had an intercom feature. But our systems guy talked us into installing an intercom and we're really glad we did. First, if you call someone, they can simply answer you from across the room without having to walk over and push a button or pick up a phone...very handy. Next, the doorbell rings on each intercom, a real benefit in a house as large (7K SF) and spread out as ours. You can tell the person at the front door to wait until you get there. We've used the monitor feature when infants have visited the house and it works great. Our unit has a built-in radio and CD player but we rarely use that because we have a whole-house audio system and the intercom speakers are low fidelity. But it has a timer that turns on the radio at a particular time and I've used that to remind me about an appointment when I didn't know what room I'd be in. And finally, you can chose from perhaps 20 different door bell tones (e.g., Jingle Bells), not that that's a reason to install an intercom. Perhaps the biggest drawback is that it adds yet more "wall acne", i.e., functional junk on the wall that detracts from the aesthetics of the room.

Montalvo, that doesn't make sense. Your system guy talked you into installing an intercom...if you call soeone, they can simply answer you from across the room without having to walk over and push a button or pick up the phone.

Sounds like the old shouting method. And what is a slave phone?

We got a wireless phone with an intercom feature. That is, several wireless phones and one base station. The advantage is that you can take the phone with you when you go outside, work on the roof, etc.

Neesie, I guess I didn't explain that clearly. If you're trying to locate someone in the house, you push a button on the intercom and ask where they are. When you release the button, you can then hear anything said by anyone in any of the rooms, without them having to push THEIR button before speaking. My house is a U-shaped house and it's almost a football-field-length from the top of one corner to the top of the other. Shouting in this house is a waste of time.

And a slave phone is a cordless phone that gets its signal from a base unit phone connected to your phone line with a phone jack. The slave phones can be placed anywhere there's an electrical outlet, since all they need is power for their recharger. These systems are very widely available now, although most systems only offer two to four slave phones. The intercom capability on my phone system requires that the person you're calling has to actually pick up the phone to respond, making it less convenient than the intercom system. Suero makes a good point about an advantage of the phone intercom capability, i.e., being able to take it places where your intercom system might not have a wall unit, and we've used ours in that manner on occasion.

Thanks for taking the time to respond....whodathunkit?