Gross Floor Area

Posted August 6th, 2007 by AIASD Admin
in

Posted by John Doe 08-28-2006, 09:16 PM

How is Gross Floor Area (GFA) measured? I have heard some people say it is measured from the exterior of the walls and others say it is from the interior of the (exterior) walls? Is there a consensus?

Also, How does the City measure roof deck area? Can I measure my deck from the inside of the parapet walls? Is my staircase to the roof deck included in the area calculation?

Exit stair in setbacks? ›

Response

On August 6th, 2007 AIASD Admin says:

Posted by Kevin Pollem 10-28-2006, 11:20 AM
No Easy Answer

I don't think there is an easy answer to this question. How the GFA is measured depends where in the city your project is located. I do know, that unlike many parts of the country, San Diego includes staircases on every floor as part of the GFA. (That means if you have a two-story house, you include the area of the stairs twice).

I measure my deck areas from the inside walls of the deck for a few reasons.

  1. Decks rarely count towards your FAR.
  2. The area of decks is usually an exiting issue.

Therefore, because the walls of the decks are not able to be be occupied by people, they should not count toward your limit of 500 square feet above the third floor. (If you go over 500 square feet on the 3rd floor, you need another staircase). I hope this helps because it seems my answer tends to be more of a building code issue than a muni-code issue. This site has a great link to a site where you can get those types of questions answered. __________________
Kevin Pollem, AIA
http://www.fakturaarchitecture.com