Central Vaccum System (house, crawl space, buying) - Charlotte - North Carolina (NC) - City-Data Forum

southcharlotte123 · 11-03-2009, 07:49 AM

Hey Folks,

Need your input again!!
I am thinking about having a central vacuum system installed in my house( a new one btw!). Does anyone have this in their house? If so, how do you feel about it uses and future return on investment??

Any thoughts??

Appreciate your help!

brokensky · 11-03-2009, 11:28 AM

I have central vac. Several of my neighbors and friends had central vac in their homes, so I was able to try theirs out and was very impressed. I could not be more pleased. My system also serves as an air filter, which improves air quality in my home every time I vac. I would highly recommend your going the extra steps and have the "plumbing" for the system installed. Check around on prices for the actual vac engine - there is a lot of variance. I spent months checking out all the options, for both tools and vac system itself. Don't just take someone's word for it - do comparisons with efficiency, performance, capacity, warranties, etc online. And look around for the best prices. You can order the vac itself, as well as tools, online. It may be a lot cheaper to do that yourself than getting a package deal from a contractor/builder. Installing the plumbing for it really is not rocket science, either, so make sure you are not getting ripped off.

FLtoNC · 11-03-2009, 05:29 PM

I love my central vac system. I didn't want to spend the money on this when we purchased our house, but I am so glad we did now!

southcharlotte123 · 11-03-2009, 08:39 PM

Thanks.
The only reason i am not sure of installing it myself/later is my house is because my house is on a slab foundation and not on a crawl space, etc so i would think the installation later would be a mess and def a lot exp...

Is my assumption right?

southcharlotte123 · 11-03-2009, 08:44 PM

hi Anifani,

I NOW get what you were saying after reading your post again, i see you do suggest to get the 'plumbing' done for the vaccum system. This is a gud suggestion, although i am not sure if i can get just the plumbing and not the machine( and there by pay less :-(()

brokensky · 11-03-2009, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by southcharlotte123

hi Anifani,

I NOW get what you were saying after reading your post again, i see you do suggest to get the 'plumbing' done for the vaccum system. This is a gud suggestion, although i am not sure if i can get just the plumbing and not the machine( and there by pay less :-(()

Well, if you get online, you can find places where all the "piping" can be ordered. It is just a PVC type pipe and the installation is very straight-forward. The real expense comes in with buying the vac motor and the tools. Our house was plumbed for central vac when we bought it, but no motor and no tools. We did a lot of research and had local folks give us bids, and we ended up saving about $1000 by ordering the motor and tools. All hubby had to do was secure the motor to the wall in the garage and hook up the motor to the outlet that was already in the garage. It did not even take half an hour.

Don't get discouraged til you have checked it out and asked questions! And read read read online so you know what you are dealing with. And just remember - anyone who tells you they can't just install the pipes and you have to buy the vac motor and tools from them, too, is just plain lying. They may WANT to sell you a package deal so they will get more $$$$ off it, but the way I see it is . . . hiring them at a reasonable price to do the plumbing only is better than their not getting the job at all. So do NOT be swayed by that bull. You can buy all the items separately. With so many folks out of work, I can't believe someone wouldn't be happy to work with your builder and come on site and do the job for a reasonable price.

Here are some of the websites I checked out:

MD's How to Install a Central Vacuum Installation Home Page

Install A Central Vacuum System - Popular Mechanics (http://www.popularmechanics.com/home_journal/home_improvement/1275926.html - broken link)

HowStuffWorks "How Central Vacuum Systems Work"

Central Vacuum Installation Guide - Central Vacuum Stores.com

lumbollo · 11-04-2009, 04:41 AM

One of my neighbors had one of these installed years ago. However it sits there mostly unused because they have a maid and the maid brings her own vacuum.

nacmd70 · 11-04-2009, 05:26 AM

If you have an attached garage, make sure you put an "outlet" in there. It makes it very easy to clean out dirty cars, ie, crumbs, junk, sand, dog hair, etc.

brokensky · 11-04-2009, 05:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nacmd70

If you have an attached garage, make sure you put an "outlet" in there. It makes it very easy to clean out dirty cars, ie, crumbs, junk, sand, dog hair, etc.

Or make sure the model you get has an outlet on it. Some do.

nchunter · 11-04-2009, 06:01 AM

I have central vac and love it! Make sure you add the "sweeper" outlets! They are installed in the baseboard and are for rooms with hard surfaces such as tile or hardwood and you can sweep debri directly into them. Works great when you just need a touch up and don't want to get the vac out. Excellent for the kitchen! I also agree with making sure you have access from the garage. It is so easy to go out and vacuum the garage. I bought a seperate hose and attachments just for that area.