Our cabin already had a central vacuum when we moved in. We love it–but I’m not sure how expensive they are to install. Pros: quiet; easy to use; lightweight; very strong suction; large grit storage can in the basement that rarely needs to be emptied; has an attachment for carpets; the “electrical wires” are integral with the vacuum hose–so you don’t need power cords. Cons: you need to store a relatively long suction hose (but there is a handy wall hanger in the closet); even though we have multiple vacuum outlets, there is a “far” corner of our house that we cannot reach. If I was building a new house–I would definitiely install a central vacuum system.

As I understand it, the person who starts the topic (in this case you) can read the private message as long as you are logged in. If you are not logged in, you can’t read it. If there is something else you need to do, I assume Techman will post. I posted private, and in the post gave you our flat land phone number that we don’t want posted for the world to see. Sorry for the confusion.

I just coiled up the hose to my central vac, and being exhausted I decided to go to the computer to check out Big Trees. Pretty funny to see central vac as a topic!
I made this a private message since most people would not want to read my rambling and furthermore I can give you a phone number without posting it to the world at large. (209)565 1010. We do not have a central vac at our cabin. We do have one at our home in Stockton. I love it. Some suggestions: Make sure to get the hose that has the electric cord integrated into it. I had the kind with a separate cord in another house and was constantly either tripping over the cord or getting it tangled in the hose. My new one has only about two feet of electric cord loose from the hose — just enough to plug it into an outlet near the vac outlet. If you have carpeted stairs there are TERRIBLE air driven stair cleaning attachments. There is a GREAT electrically driven one that I would hate to be without (considering the size of my shedding monster.) If you need to know more I will investigate the brand name. By the same token, you want the carpet cleaning attachment to be electrically driven, not just air driven. The system we have was already here when we moved in – I just bought a new hose and attachments (over the internet), but if I was designing a system from scratch, I would be sure to put the little vent in the kitchen baseboard (can’t remember its name) that allows you to use the vacuum suction rather than a dust pan when you are just doing a sweep of the floor with a broom. It would be handy to have – especially with a lot of dog hair! I know nothing about installing a system in a completed house. All our tubing was put in before the drywall went up. Our main unit is in the garage which is nice because almost all the noise is out there. Fairly quiet vacuuming inside the house so consider noise when you decide where to put the main unit. It is LOUD. Anxious to hear how it works out for you. Good luck. Feel free to call or email with questions. Valerie