One thing you need to get is the vac pans that install under your cabinets. You simply tap the lever to turn them on and anything pushed up to them on the floor sucks down into the canister! I have one in my kitchen that is invaluable for spills of cereal, etc. I have another one in my laundry room where the cat potty is (litter!) I use that one daily. I wanted one in the master bath (all my hair all over the floor) but it was really difficult to cut out the bottom of the cabinet after the cabinets were installed so I got 2 of the 3 I wanted. You are fortunate to be planning now.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vac Pan

I would have loved to have installed a Hide-A-Hose system now that I have mostly hard flooring surfaces. However, if you have mostly carpet I don't think it would be a good choice because it lacks electricity and therefore, no power vacuum head with a beater bar. You are stuck with air-driven heads like the Turbocat and frankly, those are nowhere as powerful as an electric power brush head.

hide-a-hose is not great for carpet and is dependent on the piping runs being fairly straight so the hose can retract.

things to look for: a motor powerful enough to provide suction to your whole house.

a company or installer that is seasoned in design so you get good coverage in the home.

We have Beam and like it a lot. We have long haired dogs and it has been invaluable. Can't really compare to any other brands since it is the only one we have had. Ours is about 15 years old and hasn't given us any trouble at all.
I suggest getting a hose for every floor or level in your home so you don't have to drag the hose up and down floors. And made sure you have a good space in a closet or pantry to store them because they take up a lot of space.

I have a Hide-a-Hose system in my new house and I love it because the hose is stored in the tubing. It is powerful and it does have a powerhead with a beater bar for cleaning carpet.

Kalapointer, is your power head powered by air or electricity? There is a big difference. Hide-a-hose does not support electricity so in order to use one powered by it, you would have to get a powerhead that has a separate pigtail to plug into a standard household outlet.

Just wanting to clarify so everyone knows what they are getting.

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.

I have installed Broan central vacuum systems (now sold under their sister company "Nutone" brand) in my last 3 houses. They work very well and have a lot of accessories available. Check out central vacuums on the Broan website.

The Powerhead is powered by air and it is just like nclakehouse said. It is very powerful and works beautifully on my area rugs.

I hated my Turbocat and went out and bought electric hoses and power heads for each floor. I have had 3 systems in the last 3 homes. There is a hose system with an electric hose which U can use a electric power head. I had to look online for it. It's called Hose Magic/Hose Genie I found it on www.ThinkVacuums.com. I knew someone carried them but was unable to remember the name. I would never have anything but electric. Decorating tastes change through the years and U might to install heavy plush carpet a few years down the line. You don't want to limit yourself to a Turbocat. It didn't work on my carpet as it wouldn't even remove the footprints.

I have Vacuflo and so does my mother, She has had hers since 1976 and mine since 2001 they are terrific and offer years of service. I would contact any company directly and show them your plans or let them do a walk thru, cause they have tricks for figuring out where to put the outlets and length of hose.

Can men have their own LV? Of course. LV is not only designed for women, but also for men and kids. In our online store, you will find all kinds of cheap louis vuitton bag on sale and cheap louis vuitton bag from china. We have a series of cheap louis vuitton bag cheap which include cheap louis vuitton bag for sale, cheap louis vuitton bag for cheap, cheap louis vuitton bag for men and cheap louis vuitton bag for kids.
To be the good cheap louis vuitton bag exporters or the cheap louis vuitton bag distributors. You should be find the best cheap louis vuitton bag supplier and cheap louis vuitton bag manufacturers. In short, we are your best choice to have cheap louis vuitton bag sale. Let¡¯s grow up together.

what rock did the last worm crawl out from under?

Apparently many. This one started infecting several threads on this forum, beginning around 5 a.m. this morning it seems. It's been reported to GW, but it can't hurt to send them additional reports of abuse -- especially since the spam posts are still alive on a number of threads.

I chose a Beam over several competing brands 13 years ago and would still recommend it. Their power-head [electric driven] works great on removing sand and pet hair from plush carpeting, the suction is great and there is an adjustment to reduce it for cleaning drapes or furniture. I have the dustpan in a kitchen with wood floors and use it frequently.

I found the handle easy to hold, the powerhead has a low profile for cleaning underneath furniture, it has a light, the motor is quiet and my kids like using it. This hose is much lighter to move around than competing brands, is flexible and tough.

The product is well-made, easily serviced and parts are readily available when needed [after 10 years of use, some things need replacement]. I had a life time warranty and received a new motor after about 11 years. Labor was reasonable, about $100. Any handy person could have replaced it themselves. Parts are available on-line and through local sales outlets. Don't forget to clean the canister out regularly when you move in because new carpet and new homes put out a lot of fuzz and dust.

The hose holder attaches to a wall behind a door in my laundry room. I take it up and down stairs as I vacuum my way through the house.

Take a bit of time with your blueprint to plan your outlets and think about potential expansion areas, storage rooms, cleaning corner cobwebs on walls, tall window treatments and even your cars in the garage.

Good Luck!

We've had a Beam for over 18 years in our present home and love it. Added new accessories last year so the Beam is now the only vac we use [we have 2 dogs so our Beam is our "MIA" (Most Important Appliance]. One big improvement in air quality in our house was achieved when we vented the vac system outside. This eliminated all residual dust and odors you might expect from any vacuum system. We do live in the country so venting outside was no problem.