Should be ready to start closing walls up in the coming months and trying to make sure I stuff everything in them before I do it. Any thoughts on whether central vac should be on the list?
Central Vac Yea or Nay?
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I have it, came with the house when I bought it. I like it. Just be careful dragging the hose against base mouldings.
I didn't run it in the addition and wish I had, but then figured I would just install a unit in the garage also, which I can run piping and outlets to the addition rooms.
I didn't run it in the addition and wish I had, but then figured I would just install a unit in the garage also, which I can run piping and outlets to the addition rooms.
Reasons I really like our central vac:
More power than a portable Vac
Much less frequent emptying of canisters
Filthy Vacuum air exhausts outside
Less weight to drag around the house
Nice option when you go to sell the house
Fun to chase dog around the house with long hose
More power than a portable Vac
Much less frequent emptying of canisters
Filthy Vacuum air exhausts outside
Less weight to drag around the house
Nice option when you go to sell the house
Fun to chase dog around the house with long hose
lol, sounds like just what we need, the pit bull my wife brought home from the side of the Interstate isn't intimidated at all by the cheap and cheerful vacs. Sounds like this is a no brainer as long as I have the house opened up anyway? We tend to be pretty rough on the house and life in general, so I am kind of looking for something with shop vac like performance and durability.
And the # 1 reason I love my central is it's sooo much more quiet than any other vac when in use.fire_man said:
Uncle
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That's ironic. We live in a quiet neighborhood and I know exactly when my neighbor's central vac is running. It's quite loud even though it's about 400 yards away.
If it's the "wired" flavor...so when you plug the hose into the wall you're also plugging in a power connector, then a power driven roller brush will work with the system. That's the only way I would have one. I've had two different central vac systems in two different houses...one with the power feature and one without. Without, then the best you can get for a roller brush to help clean carpets is an air turbine operated thing which is basically worthless. If you've got a powered system, you can actually do some cleaning. If you have no carpets or rugs to clean, then don't bother with the powered system. Yes, it's nice to just carry a hose from room to room. If I were building a house, I really doubt that I'd spend my $$$ on it, unless I just had a bunch of money I didn't know what to do with. %-P Rick
This house rebuild has been a pretty good $$$ bleed for a few years now. Just don't want to miss something while I am closing up that I regret the rest of my life because knock on wood this is the last house I am doing.
My old house had one and it was great. My neighbor asked me to please not use it before 0900 or after 2100 hours though. The outlet pointed towards his house. The previous owners were early morning cleaners I guess.
fire_man said:
That's the plan with most of the systems. Rough them in and worry about the big spend later. I am trying to nail this stuff down up front as the house has almost no interior walls and I want to keep the shell as tight as possible.
That is very true. I don't like it when I'm working in the yard and the wife kicks it on, very annoying. But inside it's quiet compared to any other vac we've used.BeGreen said:
We have it and love it. I'm not 100% certain but I believe Wal-Vac brand (which we have) units are made right here in Michigan.
bostonbaked said:
All these reasons. The pipe is cheap, the canister+head are 80% the cost. Do it now. Get a hose sock and it helps with the baseboards. I don't think its any easier than a portable or any cheaper when you figure I spend $1000 for the one we've got.
Self installed ours when we built in 1990-91. Cost $400 and have outlets on both floors and in the garage. Very powerful and has not required any maintenance. We did buy a new set of tools for the end of the hose. Excellent value.
Have an electrical outlet in the vicinity of the vac outlet in case you want the option of a powered unit. Our unit is in the garage and can be operated with the garage door closed if noise is a problem.
Have an electrical outlet in the vicinity of the vac outlet in case you want the option of a powered unit. Our unit is in the garage and can be operated with the garage door closed if noise is a problem.
I put it in my first house and my current house - easy to do when walls are open. We love it. We have hardwood floors everywhere except bedrooms. The Bedrooms have berber (sp.)type carpet and we also have some area rugs. None of the rugs are shaggy. We mostly use the regular attachment and have an air powered sweeper, which works great for us. We do have a good powerful unit so maybe that helps, but I couldn't justify spending the extra $ for the power-head. In fact in our first house we did not even have the air powered sweeper and the carpet could be vacuumed without any power/air sweeper.
Nay. Have one, never use it. Bought a nice Dyson, and I like just carrying the unit around rather than dragging all that hose up and down the stairs. Oh.....wait a minute......I mean my wife doesn't like dragging the hose all of the house and likes carrying the Dyson better. Cheers!
lol, so your nay is because it is easier to carry the Dyson around? How does the power compare? I've read that I can get shop vac performance out of the central, like better than an old school vac?
velvetfoot said:
pencils and long drywall screws that make it through the hose (most clogs seem to be in the hose, just like any other vac that has a hose) usually get caught at the tight bend at the hose wall inlet. When you pull the hose out of the wall inlet it's pretty easy to see and take out.
Once, I had a pencil get past the inlet bend and get caught at the vertical to horizontal bend in the basement ceiling.
Had to cut the pipe and I put a rubber hose on it. Surprisingly nothing gets caught on it. Getting past that inlet bend seems to be rather rare.
I like all the dust/pollen that you'd need a HEPA filter for going right outside, although I guess there are installs now that don't exhaust warmed or cooled air outside.
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