GROSS FLOOR AREA SURVEY
A GFA (Gross Floor Area) survey is measured and calculated in accordance with each council’s Local Environmental Plan (LEP). The GFA of a commercial office building, industrial property or retail centre may need to be calculated in the preliminary stages of planning a development.
Gross floor area surveys for commercial properties
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
Step 1 – Initial consultation to determine scope and provide quote
Step 2 – Attend site to survey the Nominated Premises
Step 3 – Process data and draft floor plans to then calculate the GFA in accordance with LEP.
Step 4 -If required, use the GFA to calculate the property’s Floor Space Ratio and supply in a surveyor’s report.
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
3D Building Scanning to upgrade supermarket loading docks
A national supermarket brand needed to upgrade their loading docks with multiple sites around Australia. See how we used 3D building scanning to help achieve this
Point cloud created by a surveyor for a national hotel refurbishment program
In today’s modern era, the practice of relying on paper-based drawings and floor plans for a hotel refurbishment has become obsolete, with architects increasingly turning to modern workflows to maximise on the benefits that 3D scanning and modelling can offer
3D scanning of shopping centre amenities in Noarlunga, SA
To assist with the planning of a refurbishment program aimed at enhancing visitors’ experience at a shopping centre, Realserve survey technicians provided 3D building scanning services in Adelaide’s south.
3D scanning of a free standing restaurant building in Adelaide
Realserve routinely engages in the practice of 3D scanning buildings that are used for retail tenancies. Our surveyors in Adelaide were engaged to produce a Revit Model and Point Cloud for a free standing restaurant in a shopping centre car park
Using 3D scanning to create a new retail tenancy plan in Sydney
The Realserve surveyors in Sydney were engaged by Lendlease to create new retail tenancy documentation in their shopping centre at Erina Fair. Instead of using traditional survey methods we used a Leica BLK to create a 3D scan of the 130 square metre area.
3D Revit Model of a heritage building in Launceston
Realserve sent a team of surveyors to Launceston to create a 3D Revit Model for a heritage building in the city to help facilitate a refurbishment program.