"Can't See it From My House"

The image above is of an extremely poorly done section of a central vacuum installation. The shocking thing is, it's not a rare occurrence. I see stuff like this far too often.

Why are there so many sloppy and incorrectly done central vacuum installations? I've thought long and hard about this, and I've come up with only two possible explanations.

The first is incompetence. The people who've done these installations simply can't do any better because they are unable. Since there are no training schools for central vacuum installation, and since many installations are done by other trades, such as alarm companies or electricians, who don't specialize in this area, it's understandable, although not excusable. You wouldn't ask your plumber to wire your house, so why have your electrician run central vacuum piping? There simply is no substitute for experience.

The second is apathy. Many people simply don't care about the quality of the work they do. They know and are capable of better work, but they are too lazy or thoughtless to do it the right way. These are the people who do a poor job and then jokingly exclaim, "You can't see it from my house". In case you aren't familiar with that expression, it means that they (the installer) don't have to look at it or deal with it after they leave. They are going to cash your check and be long gone, leaving you, the unsuspecting homeowner, with a substandard job and the headaches that go with it. Inexcusable.

People are either conscientious or they aren't. You can't train someone to care, so this problem is not correctable. Unfortunately, it's epidemic in the construction industry, and I see the results of it on nearly every other service call I am on, which is why it is so important to get the installation done correctly when you are building a new house.

A good portion of the work we do is making right what others have done incorrectly, so if your current vacuum system doesn't seem to work very well, or if you are building a new home, and want to get it right the first time, give us a call. We've helped thousands of homeowners with their central vacuum systems, and we can help you.