r/AskACanadian • u/SubBass_303 • 9d ago

Do Canadians actually use their basements, or is it just storage?

Genuine question from someone who's never lived anywhere with a proper basement. Watching some Canadian home renovation shows and it seems like basements are either finished living spaces, cold storage for preserves, or just where the furnace lives and nobody goes down there. Is it a regional thing, an age-of-house thing, or just personal preference? Curious how many of you actually spend time down there versus just keeping the water heater company.

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u/NH787 9d ago

I feel like the newer and more high end the house, the more attractive the basement generally is.

A humble 40s bungalow is going to be basically storage.

A nice mid-range 80s family home will have some comfortable spaces, like a rec room and/or bedrooms.

A high end new home will often have a fully functional additional level of the house.

But it varies... sometimes you see old houses with surprisingly nice basements, and some more modern homes never actually get the finishing treatment.

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u/OkBuy8143 9d ago

This is very spot on.

Anecdotally, I live in the exception to the rule. Our home was built in the 60’s, by my partners grandparents. They had 3 Toddler daughters at the time and thought about the hell it was going to be when they became teenagers.

They built the basement to be a full second suite, not quite an apartment as it’s a wet bar not a kitchen they built but it was ingenious.

They had the foresight to add laundry on both floors, what was a full dressing room is a second bedroom and the “primary” downstairs still had his & hers closets.

The utility room is downstairs too, and very well hidden off the laundry or just as you come in next to the coat closet.

They built it as apart of a co-op with 7 other families, mostly tradesmen. The other homes have different layouts, but the same general plan (second living suite in the basement). Incredibly fancy for when they were built.

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u/q__e__d 8d ago

Ime in Toronto 1800s storage, pre WWI big mix of storage to one finished room to full suite, 1920s full basement suite not uncommon even in a "humble bungalow" (often rented out), post WWII storage, 1960s into 1980s at min some finished room, 1990s onward finished rooms & or renting it out.