No Installation Challenge Too Great for Resourceful Dealer

Central vacuum system dealers pride themselves in their abilities to install systems in nearly any home, new or existing. Installation generally can be more complex in existing homes. However, dealers occasionally find new home installations that seem intimidating. That was the case for Jerry Nelson, owner of Central Vacuum Systems of Northern California, when he won the bid to install a BEAM Central Vacuum System in a 22,000-square-foot mansion in northern California'a wine country.

The house was built on slab and included several areas with 30-foot ceilings and no attic space – making it impossible to run tubing horizontally. Adding to the complexity was a dual winding staircase – reminiscent of the one featured in the movie classic, Gone With the Wind. Nelson also needed to install a system to clean an 8,000-square-foot detached office and garage where the home owner planned to keep classic cars.

In all, the installation required 33 inlet valves and three KickSweep Automatic Dustpans.

When he measured the house for the first time Nelson began to worry, “Did I bite off more than I could chew?”

Then the idea struck him. Much like a heating and air conditioning contractor might install zoned HVAC systems, Nelson decided zoned cleaning systems would solve the problem.

"I mentally broke the house down into five separate systems and provided five power units strategically located to service all areas of the house,” Nelson says. “A sixth unit was installed in the detached garage.”