GROSS FLOOR AREA SURVEY
Gross floor area surveys for commercial properties
Our business was built on preparing surveys for commercial properties and we have become the industry leader in this space.
Three fundamentals drove our start-up business to disrupt the survey industry nearly 20 years ago;
- To become the single source of interpretation and best practice of the Property Council of Australia Method of Measurement
- Use the latest technology in obtaining accurate field data.
- Present the findings in a transparent and easy to read format for all interested parties to understand in their own way.
Obtaining accurately calculated areas for Warehouses, Industrial Buildings, Free Standing Supermarkets and Showrooms is critical and our surveys use the Property Council Method of Measurement.
It is important to note that this is a method and not a standard. So there is a lot of reliance on the expertise of the surveyor to best interpret and use the correct method keeping in mind the landlord and tenants’ best interest. The Realserve team has specialised in this space for nearly 20 years.
What is a GFA?
A Gross Floor Area (GFA) is the sum of the floor area of each floor of a building measured from the internal face of external walls, or from the internal face of walls separating the building from any other building. This is generally measured at a height of 1.4 metres above the floor, however some council’s Local Environmental Plan (LEP) may vary for the height requirement when it comes to their town planning needs.
- Gross Floor Area is calculated to then work out the Floor Space Ratio (FSR)
- Calculating the FSR is done by dividing the total GFA by the total site area (SA). For example, GFA/SA = FSR — 30,000m²/2,550m² = 11.76:1/
In the preliminary stages of planning for development or redevelopment, it is critical to know the FSR of a property to determine the area of improvements that will be permitted by your local council without exceeding the regulations of the FSR limit. Gross Floor Area is not to be confused with Gross Building Area (GBA)
Our typical process
The property council believes the best practice approach to measuring floor space as part of a lease negotiation is as follows;
Step 1 – Agree on the methods to be used
Step 2 – Agree on the measurements obtained
Step 3 – Negotiate the rental rates
Our fieldwork and area plan presentation is the best clarification of the method of measurement with your specific site. If your industrial portfolio spans Australia, you can have the peace of mind when negotiating rental calculations with incoming or existing tenants, knowing you have the correct area.
We utilise the latest surveying technology to capture our data then produce our surveys. Using the latest CAD software programs everything is captured and processed accurately to start producing survey plans. The equipment we use is state of the art, ranging from traditional total stations to 3D laser scanning or RPA (drone). We only use the latest software tools including AutoCAD & Revit.
Once our plans are drafted they go through an intensive QA process via an independent audit to ensure that what we have captured is delivered to the highest levels of accuracy possible.
In summary;
- Initial consultation to ensure we can meet your needs.
- Agree on a scope of work.
- A site visit is organised with one of our qualified technicians with the necessary data collection equipment.
- All data is then processed via our team located in one of our offices around the Country.
- All plans or drawings are then independently reviewed via our QA process.
- All deliverables are then created for viewing in PDF, AutoCAD or Revit.
- We also have the ability to create a 3D scan or virtual tour of your property to create a fully interactive view of a site.
Gross Floor Area Survey Plans
See some of our case studies
Gross Lettable Area vs Net Lettable Area
The most common question we get asked is what is Gross Lettable Area vs Net Lettable Area. Realserve are experts at creating Lettable Area Plans and we constantly field questions from either PCA or RICS members about how these are created.
IPMS Survey for a commercial building in Australia
The International Property Measurement Standard (IPMS) is a standardised and globally applicable method for measuring property. This global method of measurement is being introduced gradually into Australia
Determine a buildings floor space ratio (FSR) with a gross floor area survey
Typically, the Gross Floor Area (GFA) is measured in accordance with each Council’s Local Environmental Plan to determine a buildings Floor Space Ratio (FSR).
Why you can’t use a Lettable Area Plan in an SA lease
A Lettable Area Plan in South Australia cannot be used or registered for a written lease by a solicitor. Confirming whether your plan requires to be registered or not, is very important as it requires the appropriate Filed Plan Presentation and Lodgement.
Commercial Real Estate Virtual Tours in 3D
With our expertise in reality capture, we used our Matterport 3D Camera to create an incredible virtual tour of this commercial real estate property which needed a new tenant quickly.
How to re-establish a title and plan of subdivision
We helped a client convert a very old handshake agreement into a new Plan of Subdivision to determine the correct usage of the farming area.