Measurement Flashcards
(24 cards)
What is IPMS and why was it introduced?
International Property Measurement Standards.
Introduced to address the lack of consistency and transparency in property measurements worldwide.
It ensures measurements are consistent, reliable and transparent globally.
What is IPMS 1?
Areas of each floor level measured to external walls - Most similar to gross external area.
Includes:
- External walls and projections.
- Integral garages and conservatories.
- All floors, including basements, mezzanines, and plant rooms.
- Balconies
Excludes:
- External areas like parking and refuse areas, open external stairwells.
What is IPMS 2?
Areas of each floor level measured to internal dominant face - component by component basis. (Most similar to GIA).
Includes:
- Internal structural elements (e.g., columns and walls).
- Staircases, lifts, and internal balconies.
- Service areas (e.g., plant rooms, maintenance zones).
Included but stated separately:
- Covered balconies and roof terraces.
Exclusions:
-External parking, patios, equipment yards, external stairways.
What is IPMS 3?
Floor area available on an exclusive basis to an occupier - excluding standard facilities and shared areas.
Occupier by occupier, floor by floor basis.
Most similar to NIA
Includes:
- Offices, meeting rooms, kitchens, and break areas.
- Internal corridors and usable walkways.
- Storage areas that are part of the office.
- includes columns and height restricted areas.
Excludes:
- Toilets, staircases, lifts, and service areas.
- Walls, and common areas.
What basis would you use for measuring industrial buildings?
GIA
What does GIA include?
Includes:
- Warehousing and storage areas, production and workshop areas.
- Loading bays and integral garages.
- Mezzanine floors (if permanent and accessible).
- Plant rooms and service areas within the main building.
- Staircases, corridors, lift wells, and internal structural walls.
Excludes:
- External canopies and loading docks not fully enclosed.
- External areas such as yards and parking.
How would you measure an industrial building?
Measure to the internal finish of the perimeter walls.
Use laser distance meters or measuring tapes for accuracy.
Measure all floors, including mezzanines and upper levels.
Document the layout with floor plans and dimensions.
Include structural features like columns and partitions.
What is a clear eaves height?
Maximum unobstructed height from the floor to the underside of the haunch.
How would you measure the external yard depth?
- Identify the boundary
- Measure the depth from the external face of building to furthest point.
- If irregular shaped - take minimum, maximum and average.
What is the Internal Dominant Face?
Internal surface that comprises more than 50% of the floor-to-ceiling height for each wall section.
How would you measure a retail building?
I don’t have experience in measuring retail, but I know it is usually measured on a NIA basis for agency purposes and the zoning back principle is included for valuation purposes.
Includes:
Sales floors and customer areas, fitting rooms, internal offices, checkout areas, ad back-of-house storage directly linked to retail use.
Excludes: toilets, corridors, plant rooms, stairwells and areas not directly used for retail functions.
What are the most commonly used scales?
1:50 - Room Plan
1:100 - Building Plan
1:1250 - Street / Location Plan
1:2500 - Location Plan
1:50000 - Road Map
How would you measure an office building?
I have limited experience in measuring offices buildings but I would measure on a IPMS 3 basis / NIA.
Used to measure the net usable area occupied by the tenant.
Includes:
Private offices and workstations, meeting rooms and conference areas, kitchens, break rooms, and private toilets and internal circulation areas exclusive to the occupier.
Excludes:
Shared areas like lobbies, staircases, and communal corridors and service areas (plant rooms, maintenance spaces).
What must be included in a measurement report?
Purpose
Date of instruction
Date of measurement
Standard adopted
If IPMS not used - why?
Methodology
Scale of any plans used
Area schedule
Unit of measurement and conversion
Name of RICS member and firm
IPMS 3 vs NIA?
IPMS3 - Measuring occupation of floor areas.
Measured to internal dominant face
No exclusions for restricted heights of less than 1.5m
Columns included
Galleries and balconies for exclusive use are included but stated separately.
How do you measure NIA for shops?
Try to estimate actual built width of the shops - remove a ceiling tile or try and get behind partitioning.
On-site measurements to calculate ITZA measurement.
How would you measure land?
Check boundaries on site and then calculate area using ProMap.
How many hectares is 1 acre?
0.4046
What is GIA?
Area of building measured to internal face of the perimeter wall at each floor level.
What is GEA?
Area of building measured externally at each floor level
When is GEA used?
Planning
Ratings / Council Tax
When is GIA used?
Agency and valuation
Rating - basis of measurement of rating of industrial, retail warehousing etc.
Prop Management.
What is NIA?
Usable area within a building measured to internal face of perimeter wall at each floor level.
What is excluded in NIA?
Toilets
Columns
Stairwells
Areas less than 1.5m in height.
Cleaning cupboards.
