Central Vacuum System - Brands, Prices and DIY advice

last year

I've read lots of discussions about central vac systems and have decided to put one in our new build. However, the quotes I am receiving are much higher than I was expecting. Our house will be around 4600 sqft (2 story) and I was quoted $6000. This would include the power unit, 3 Hide a Hose outlets, a garage hose (non-retractable), one vac pan, and the tool kit. Does this seem high?

I'm curious to hear from anyone who has installed one themselves. How difficult was it? I've started looking into it, but many of the brands only sell to dealers.

Any advice?

Featured Answer

PRO

Charles Ross Homes

last year

Get yourself a Dyson vacuum cleaner for each level of your home. You'll get better results at a fraction of the cost of a central vac system.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

rmsaustin
last year
I think we paid about 20% less than that -- about 10 years ago. We have 4 HAH outlets (3 floors), one vac pan, garage hose and tool kit (that included the big powered carpet attachment), so I'm not sure your pricing is too out of whack. FWIW - if I could change anything about what I did, I would put in more (well, at least one more) vac pans -- I've got one in the kitchen that I love, and would like to have at least one in the master bath for a quick sweep and disposal of bathroom debris (hair, etc.) -- light tile floors - never again!
sunny_16 thanked rmsaustin
Related Discussions
central vacuum
Q
Comments (1)
stripped_threads I've had 3 central vac systems installed in new houses over the years. The only vac system that I would install/recommend is the M&S vac unit.They are a little pricey but are a top of the line unit. The one I have now will actually lift the area rugs off the floor. I learned to get a unit oversized for your square footage, our house now has 3700sf. and the unit is rated for 8000sf. Also if its installed in a garage or mechanical room take the HEPA filter out of the exhaust, this will improve the performance by 20%
...See More
Central vacuum -- cord on electric power brush
Q
Comments (3)
I do not know if I am understanding you correctly. You are saying that you have a power nozzle, but you do not have the electrified hose for it. If you have the low voltage hose, then you will have a switch, on the hose, to turn the central system on and off. Correct? Do you not have the female connection, for the power nozzle, at the attachment end of the hose? What you can do is purchase a power cord for your power nozzle. It will be about 35ft. The round prongs of the power nozzle will plug into one end, while the other end will plug into the regular wall outlet. What you will also want to do is purchase a hose sock, so the cord will stay with the hose. You can then use the system more neatly. If you want to do it cheaply, then get some twist ties and tie the cord around the hose. Do you have the button lock wands for your power nozzle or are they just friction fit? They should be button lock. You said that you were going to purchase a new attachment kit. Another option would be to purchase the whole kit, including an electrified hose with cord at the wall end. It can cost you anywhere from $300-$600. A hose alone can cost you anywhere from $150+. A 35ft. cord can be about $25. So you have three price levels and three different paths to choose from-whole new kit, new electrified hose, 35ft. cord. What central system do you have and what power nozzle brand and model to you have?
...See More
central vacuum recommendations needed
Q
Comments (17)
I will weigh in here as one of the few people that has experience with both a "traditional" central vac system by Beam, which has the electrically powered beater head, and a Vacu-Maid powered Hide-A-Hose system, which utilizes a Turbo-Cat air powered head. Our old lake house had the Beam system, and when we tore down the old house and re-built, we moved the Beam system over to the new garage apartment. The new main lake house has the Vacu-Maid Hide-A-Hose system. Which do I prefer? The Vacu-Maid Hide-A-Hose system, hands down. In both structures, we have hardwood and tile floors and many area rugs of varying pile height, from flat weaves (Dhurries/Kilims) to Tibetan wools with moderate pile; no shags or anything like that. We also have two very shaggy dogs, who do their fair share of shedding. I can say uneqivocably that the Turbo Cat is plenty powerful enough to clean our area rugs. I love, love, love, the ease of just having the hose sucked back into the wall when I am finished vacuuming. I store one vacuum arm, hardwood floor attachment, and Turbo Cat on each floor, so there's nothing to haul up and down stairs. Although I have Vac-Pans in the kitchen and pantry, I find I never use them because it's so easy to just whip out the Hide-A-Hose and use it instead. Honestly, despite what other posters have said above, I just don't find that the electically powered beater head is so superior to the Turbo Cat. Maybe, just MAYBE, if you have mostly carpeting (rather than hardwoods) or have extremely high pile carpeting you MIGHT find that the regular beater-bar type of head out-performs the Turbo Cat. But if not, it's a no brainer. Go with the convenience of the Hide-A-Hose which uses the Turbo Cat. My research prior to installation indicated that it was very important to use a dealer/installer who is familiar with Hide-A-Hose and who has installed them before. We liked ours, who is based in Asheville, NC. BTW, I first learned of the Hide-A-Hose system through this forum, when viewing Stiles kitchen. Another GW'er steered me to our installer. Just my two cents worth.
...See More
Central vacuum
Q
Comments (17)
I hated my central vac system! Hated the long thick hoses / tubes that you had to maneuver around to walk and vacuum. Previously with a regular upright vacuum, I hated the cording that I used to have to flip around to get to that area to vacuum. And I thought that with a central vac, no more cord! Well, no cord yes, but instead of that annoying 1/2" thick cord that got in the way, I had a massive 2-3" hose that was 10x more annoying than the cord! The head never had enough suction for carpet and it did not seem to get as clean as a regular upright. Plus storage of those 30 foot long hoses PLUS the vacuum heads was a huge storage problem for me! Now with all of these new improvements of the hide-a-hose and the opening you can just sweep into with your broom, I might have taken a second look. But if it were me, looking now, I'd try out the actual systems if you can in someone's home and see how they like their system. The custom and hybrid sounds the ONLY way to go. But I would still hate that huge hose - that part would be a deal breaker for me personally. The only other note of caution I can add with the older systems is that when I worked in the new homes industry with a couple of builders several years ago, they frequently had problems with the systems clogging up with things getting stuck in the walls. It was determined later (after expensive and destructive opening walls for the hose repair IN the walls), that the blockage was due to a combination of new carpet fibers and small toys or objects that children likely stuffed into the vacuum wall openings. When that happened, the entire system wouldn't work. A central vac was a liability and no longer an asset so they stopped putting them in. Maybe in an individual's home that wouldn't happen but with so many different cleaning crews and visitors, it was common then. I have not heard of that being mentioned lately so maybe with all of the hard floors instead of carpet, that this is not a problem these days. Just wanted to add that as something to watch for and to teach children not to play with. I came across another GW thread on this topic with some great details and specifics especially on the hide-a-hose system and them trying out several and their comments. Very timely. Link below. Here is a link that might be useful: Central Vac testing GW link
...See More
sunny_16
Original Author
last year
@rmsaustin which brand do you have? Thanks for the advice on the vac pans. I'm hoping we can get two (one for the master bath and the other for the kitchen). I'm also hoping to the get a retractable hose in the garage (Vroom) if we can squeeze it into the budget.
rmsaustin
last year
We have the Hide a Hose brand -- so the retractable hoses. I would not have done it without that option. The actual vacuum unit is a Beam, by Electrolux. Charles Ross makes a good point about the cost of central vacuum -- you can buy a lot of vacuum cleaners for even 1/2 the cost of a central vacuum. When we put it in, good options for vacuums (ones that did not exhaust back into the room) were not as plentiful, so we liked the idea of the central vacuum being a "closed" system. Even newer vacuums that have closed systems have the element of disposing of the dirt (sometimes quite frequently)...of course you have to do that with a central vac, but not as often and if you plan it's location (garage? basement?) it can be out of the normal flow of daily life. Also, I admit that my sweet husband always tackles that particular job -- need to go thank him!

I am building again, and so am considering whether to have the HAH central vacuum again; not sure what I will do - it's a lot of $$. P.S. I would not do the outside/garage vac if you can't have a retractable hose. We have a non-retractable hose in our carport. It's a bit unwieldy for cleaning the car -- we are not messy car people, so I find a quick once over with a hand vac/dust buster is usually easier than pulling out the hose.
sunny_16 thanked rmsaustin
jkent9024
last year
We're getting a hybrid system in our 3700 sq ft build--2 HAH on the main floor, and a regular hose and outlets on the second floor. Our second floor is carpeted, so I prefer the electrically powered head, I have plenty of room to store the hose, it won't require frequent usage as it's merely guest areas (bedrooms and bath) and it's cheaper than a third HAH. I'm actually NOT getting a vac pan, as I never use my current pan. I find it just as easy to pull out my HAH to suck up the dirt pile than to sweep it over to the vac pan. You can also get an aftermarket hose for the garage inexpensively.

I personally wouldn't attempt to DIY a HAH install. Configuring the hose lengths and locations to make sure you've covered the whole house, and then configuring the PVC to run from outlets to canister with the required lengths and correct turn degrees to avoid getting the hoses jammed isn't something I'd want to risk getting wrong. But you may be more competent with those calculations...
M H
last year
We have a hybrid system as well. Standard inlets on all three floors to use an electrified hose and powerhead as necessary. We also have a Hide a Hose inlet strategically placed in the center of our main level. This sees a LOT more use than the regular inlets since we have all wood floors with area rugs. We also have the vacpans and with the unit being in the garage, we're able to clean our cars out there. We have the MD bagged unit and I prefer it a lot more than our previous bagless cyclonic unit. It's much quieter and super easy to change the bags a few times a year.

We installed the system when we built nine years ago. During that time, cordless vacs have really taken off in power and battery time length. We use our Dyson V11 cordless a little more often than we use the central vac. I think if I were to build again, I would still install a central vac for its power and versatility but for day-to-day cleaning, I usually reach for the Dyson. I do use the hide a hose to suck all the dirt out of the Dyson bin though. On the other hand, our cleaning lady swears by our central vac and enjoys using it.

Central Vacuum System - Brands, Prices and DIY advice

Charles Ross Homes

Comments (6)

rmsaustin

Related Discussions

sunny_16
Original Author

rmsaustin

jkent9024

M H

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Central Vacuum System - Brands, Prices and DIY advice

Charles Ross Homes

Comments (6)

rmsaustin

Related Discussions

sunny_16Original Author

rmsaustin

jkent9024

M H

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

sunny_16
Original Author