Hide a hose is a must. We went with a Cyclo Vac unit and am quite happy.

Leanne, did you get any more info? We are also building a new house and were thinking of getting our unit from Costco. Do you have any idea on what the cost would be with the piping? Our house is 3000 square feet and I want two toe kicks. I would like the material sleeve over the hose to prevent scratches. Price is a factor for me and think a house of my size would need too many hoses if I did the hide a house.

Did you get any more info? Any idea on the total cost? I am looking to buy a unit for my house of 3000 sq ft. I think I would like a sleeve around the tube. I would think it would be pretty pricey to have the hide a hose in all locations with that size of a house.

I've always wanted a central vacuum so I've been looking & planning for years. I've spent hours researching, debating between a central vac and a sebo or miele... I finally decided to just go for a central vac. For mine, I ordered a tubing kit from Costco for $100 after taxes & fees. My house is only 1300 square feet & 3 levels. I'm installing everything myself & with the help of my friend because my house is pretty simple and I'm relatively handy.

https://www.costco.com/Husky-Central-Vacuum-Installation-Kit-with-3-Wall-Inlets.product.100324660.html

You can buy larger kits with more inlets from costco & ones with different inlets but I found costco to have the best deals on piping kits. This husky one has the attractive inlets that I like so I went with that. Most inlets are pretty generic so you don't need to buy a huskey vac just because you get a tubing kit that says "huskey" on it. (Youtube video on inlets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5WUpvd0u70 )

Check the kit to see how many feet of tubing it comes with & if you need more, i found this website to be cheapest.

https://www.usrenewablesolutions.com/nutone-3808-pvc-semi-rigid-tubing-2-inch-x-8-ft-white-97917

Not sure why it says call for price now but it was $5 and change for each piece last month. You'd have to see if there is a location near you. Ferguson plumbing supply also had the pipe for $7 and change.

Instead of a toe kick, I was sold on this:

https://youtu.be/OwRERQjaHEE

I always use my vacuum to remove food pieces from my stove before scrubbing it, or to clean around my (messy) espresso machine (that loves to spit coffee grounds everywhere) or any crumbs on the island; for me, this is exactly what I want (and when it came down to it, why I decided to finally just go for a central vacuum instead of a $1300 sebo). This Vroom thing in my opinion is better than a kick pan because you don't need to touch a broom, and it's a middle ground between hide a hose and a vac pan.

In terms of your head unit, the best type of motor to buy is one that has a Tangential Bypass Motor. Huskys from costco do not have this motor type. I'll probably buy my head unit and attachment kits from thinkvacuums.com - I'm waiting for a 15% sale which they have every so often. They had their best deals around black Friday if this is a long term project for you.

The best power head for carpet in my opinion is the Sebo ET-1. Prices on SEBO are never flexible; They're always $299 and you won't find them for a different price anywhere else. I'm ordering an entire attachment kit from thinkvacuums.com that has the sebo ET1 power head, hose and other attachments for $599. For the vacuum, I think I'm going to get a Purvac Stingray because it has a Tangential Bypass Motor.

That's basically all my research, I hope it helps! Sorry it's geared more for a DIY perspective. If you decide to go with someone to install it for you then from what I've read, it's best to find a local vacuum store and see if they install central vacuums. MD (Modern Day) is one of the best central vacs you can get installed and I've read Vacuflo is good too.