Did the person tell you why a garage mount will shorten life?

Because of all the plastic in that particular unit?

If so, you don't really want that cheaply constructed unit mounted anywhere do you?

How hot are summers in Canada?

There are plenty of garage mounted vacs in Texas, SoCal, Georgia and Florida where temps summer temps average mid to high 90's. Homes in Florida and Texas rarely have basements to mount them in anyway.

Choose a quality power unit and mount it in a location that makes the most sense for you piping layout.

Why would the garage be better in terms of dust and dirt? If you choose a model that can be exhausted to the out of doors, it won't be an issue.

In my previous home, the central unit was in the basement and vented through the wall to the outside. Dust and dirt were never an issue, even when emptying the dirt collection canister (every 6 months, or so). The canister was simply unhooked from the bottom of the unit, carried outside, dumped into a plastic trash bag and the dirt chukked into the garbage can.

Be sure to get a model with a vacuum hose that retracts into the wall. Having to haul out 30 feet of hose from the closet every time you want to vacuum is a PITA. The retractable hoses are much simpler. After use, you simply put your hand over the end of the hose and the blocked vacuum sucks the hose back into the wall.

" retractable hoses are much simpler"

agreed - but tell em the good part - the price !

We live in the Yukon and have our central vac in the garage. It's perfect! It's been there for 20 years.

Now, our summers are probably not that hot but we do get +28 and again has not been a problem.

One nice thing about having the CV in the garage is for vacuuming vehicles and dumping the can easily in the garbage without it being in your house.

I have had mine in the garage for 19 yrs and I live in SW Ontario.

Ours has been in the garage for 15 years and we live in Southern Alberta.

I too live in Canada and also have the central vac in the garage. Besides being able to empty it straight into the garbage can I have in the garage(so the bears don't get at it), it is nice having it there because it is so noisy(it's a Beam)!
Our garage is insulated so it doesn't get extremely cold or hot.

We've lived in our house for over 26 years, weather gets into the 100 plus degrees in the summer and our central vac canister is in the garage which gets even hotter than the weather outside.No problems

Maybe it is easier for him to run pipe from the basement. Maybe he would have to crawl under the house to put it in the garage.

I would rather have mine in the garage.

We had a Beam installed in the garage because:

1. Major reason for a central vac is to get all the dust outdoors, especially if someone has allergies in your home.

Emptying the canister puts a lot of dust into the air. You can easily see the dust particles fly when the sun is shining in your garage as you take the canister off to empty it. Mine has no bag, but I take the canister outdoors and invert it into a bag and close that bag before putting it in the trash. It looks like a small dust storm outdoors where you can see the smallest particles.

I also then hold a small plastic shopping bag up next to the fabric filter that dangles from the central unit after detaching the dust bowl and slightly shake that a bit to get excess dust removed from the filter.

2. In your climate as mine, garages and cars get filthy. With the Beam, you can attach a second hose to the canister and turn on the switch to get the cars cleaned, the rugs at the doors, dust, sawdust, dead leaves, etc. I only use it on totally dry debris. By the way, save your old vacuum's hose and attachments. Mine worked perfect for the garage hoses.

3. Whoever has enough basement storage room in a place that has four seasons? In the garage the canister hangs on the wall. Of course, you need a place you can have a hole put through and it has to have a special fitting that melts closed if the garage were to catch fire. That's part of the building code here.

4. If it's in the garage you don't need to pay extra for the "sound muffler" model.

5. I think you are less likely to forget to check how full the canister is if you think of doing that when you take trash out. I had heard from our builder that he backed up his entire system b/c he forgot to empty the canister.

If you have a pet or new carpet, you want to empty the canister or change the bag every few weeks. All that fluff takes up a lot of space and reduces your efficiency. After the carpet is older, the kids grow up and the dog dies, you can go a few months.

We've cleaned up plaster dust, sawdust, straight pins, legos, and more. But you don't ever want to vacuum a sock or piece of clothing. It has the suction to do this. If it happens, and I've done this, you must have a trigger finger and shut the handle switch off. Then after detaching the hose from the wall, you can attach it to the side outlet where I hook up the extra garage hose [hopefully your model has this feature]. The main canister switch can be turned on and the sock will go into the canister--if you were quick enough on the switch! You don't want a sock stuck in the tubes inside your walls.

Mine has been there 12 years and my motor was replaced after about 10 years. I paid for labor, but the motor, at least when I bought it, had a lifetime warranty.

I'm very happy with the quality of the Beam. I have the hose holder installed behind the door in my laundry room.

I'd rather drag this hose around than deal with lifting a trad'l vacuum up and down stairs as in my last house or pushing and pulling a heavy upright.

One thing I really enjoy about my central vac is that my sons like to use it!! Yeah! I took them shopping for this appliance when our house was being built. Although they were in grade school, they took this task seriously. They liked the smooth operations of the Beam, the lighter hose, and how it manipulated. This strategy has paid off for many, many years. I hate to vacuum and it's become the guy thing at our house. Even now, when they are home from college, they are happy to vacuum.

Good Luck and I hope you enjoy your new system.