We have Nutone. I installed it a little over 20 yrs ago. It works excellent. It'll practically suck up ball bearings it's so powerful. It's an easy DIY especially in a new build.

Thanks for the response...I'm hoping our contractor will take care of the install

Dear LMRinc,
It’s great that you are considering a central vacuum for your home and you will find a tremendous amount of information online with many people willing to share their experience. You will find those who love them and those who hate them! The most common delineator in this experience is not so much the brand but the installer. They often have a favorite brand and know it well. You can’t go wrong with one of the leading brands such as Beam (Electrolux), HP (Vacuflo), MD (Silent Master) or Lindsay (Vacuumaid). Many of the installers listed on their website have been in the business for more than 20 years . I would recommend an installer who specializes in CVAC rather than someone who does it on the side. Their website will be clear with their credentials.
The advantages far outweigh the costs, especially as you are building your home. Allergies and dust are not recirculated, you have 3-5 times the power, convenience to clean all surfaces in the home, infrequent emptying, and excellent resale value,.
You are spot-on considering the Hide-a-Hose. This eliminates the need for the VacPan (kick plate) as it is so much easier to use. For non-carpeted areas it is amazing how convenient it is; especially if you hate to put the bulky hose away! For wall-to-wall carpet you should consider an electrified beater brush kit. This will not work with the Hide-a-Hose so you might simply limit this to the areas where the carpet is and cover the other areas (downstairs?) with the HAH. I have both in my home and use them both regularly.
You are also correct that Miele and Nilfisk are extremely well-built portable vacuums. You might call up your local Miele dealer and ask what brand of Central Vacuum they recommend. Not many dealer sell the Sebo in the USA so you might consider the Stealth attachment set which is Italian made. It comes with a lifetime belt warranty.
Where you will find a difference in brands is in the filtration system. Take a look at a unit that has been used for a while and see how easy (or messy) it is to empty. Yes, you will only be doing this twice a year but for some you have to take a shower afterwards because you are dealing with all the dust. Also consider the newer quieter units on the market. Some manufacturers have put fancy LED screens and light on the units but they generally do nothing for the performance. Also you will find that there are still a few brands that have factories in the USA. None can truly claim “Made in the USA” because they all have major components that are not made in the USA.
For the past 20 years the most comprehensive website for central vacuums has been www.builtinvacuum.com. Every manufacturer has used this site at some time in their career because it has so much information on every brand.
I do hope this insight is helpful. Yes, I represent one of the manufacturers and would gladly provide you with free design of your system from 38 years experience in the field and 33 years of teaching installers from every single manufacturer. Good luck in your pursuit!

Expensive central vac or regular vac?

Neither!

Since I got my Roomba, I marked central vac off my gotta-have list. This thing works GREAT, and it's less work than either of the other two aforementioned options.

It's as close to no work as anything -- I have to move the barstools to block off the kitchen, close the door into the office, and be sure the dog's toys are picked up off the floor. When it's done, I have to empty the (tiny) dustpan, and the rollers need cleaning out relatively often (but, then, three long-haired girls might make that worse).

If you haven't already, please give Hide A Hose very serious consideration. There are several past threads that will give you an idea how those of us that have them love them. 8 years after our major remodel I still think Hide A Hose may be the single best improvement we made!

I have a Roomba too but still need a CV for corners, dusting, the refrigerator and A/C grilles etc, the stairs, the car, garage, pool deck, all the places Roomba can't go.

I agree with sis! Consider HAH; I love mine. I use it to vacuum and dust. A roomba could not vacuum the counter (yep, I do that,) vacuum spiderwebs up high, etc. My husband teases me for using it to vacuum my garage and patio, so I'm glad someone else admitted to doing that, too. :)

As you can see in my original post the Hide-a-hose is a must for me...that was the easy part...now I just need to know which unit is best.

I think I want a bagged unit because dumping a bunch of air born dirt into another container just seems silly to me.

What power units do you have if you have a CV

Though I'm the one who recommended the Roomba, I must agree that it won't REPLACE your vacuum. You'll still want a regular vacuum for big jobs like cleaning up needles after you remove the Christmas tree, and you'll want to be able to vacuum corners and the furniture occasionally.

However, with a Roomba on the job, your regular vacuum will be able to stay in the closet for weeks at a time. And for that little bit of use, I'd say stick with a regular old cheap vacuum -- I wouldn't bother with central vac for those occasional jobs.

Vacuuming the garage or the patio? Nope, that's not me.

It's advisable that whenever you buy a vacuum must be a trusted a powerful brand. Recently i have purchased Panasonic Vacuum ( https://www.the-vacmaster.ca/panasonic/?limit=50 ) for my newly built house. It has a great suction power and lasting use as well.

It's been almost a year since this thread was started, so she's probably no longer reading this. But at the construction stage, you don't need to think about brands. You need pipe in the wall. And the pipe is the same no matter the brand.

Except of course for Hide-a-hose.

I would advise making sure you provide for power for powered attachments, and I would use direct connect outlets regardless of the vacuum unit brand. Don't use Vacuflo proproprietary outlets - they only fit official Vacuflo attachments, which are much more expensive.