LET'S TALK FLOOR PLANS FOR A MOMENT...
What's the purpose of a Floor Plan?
Real estate floor plans illustrate property layout and dimensions for the sale or lease of a property and are not to be used for architectural accuracy or building measurements. Read that again and then read that again. We are PHOTOGRAPHERS, providing you with a Floor Plan for your listings.
Why might your floor plan have different measurements to a previous one?
First of all, is it even the same floor plan? Yes, I'm asking because I come across this same discrepancy a while ago. A homeowner was comparing my floor plan against a floor plan of a similar unit to theirs, but not the same unit. It was a floor plan taken from another units listing and used for this particular properties previous marketing. So, the homeowner thought that this was correct. That's just one example.
However, if it is the same property and comparing apples with apples, then this could be the reason...
Your previous floor plan may have different criteria and methods for calculating quoted areas.
Example 1 - Did the floor planner measure from inside the robe wall to the other wall inside the bedroom or did they measure outside the robe door (accessible floor space)? Did they measure the hallway as part of the living area? Did they measure at the start of the kitchen bench or at the end of the kitchen bench? You don't know how they measured it in the past. Were they measuring the full room dimension being quoted or just the accessible floor space?
Example 2 - Some building plans include covered patio areas, verandas, and eaves in the 'under roof area' measurement, while others include covered external areas and exclude open areas. Some plans quote 'liveable areas,' including open decks or verandas but excluding garages unless they are internal to the main residence.
Just because you have one previous floor plan, doesn't mean that it was correctly completed the first time. I often do new floor plans for clients with new marketing within a couple months or one month of someone else doing the same floor plan for the same property. I have found on other floor plans simple things like windows missing and inaccuracies despite no renovation work changes.
What's included in total measurements?
We adhere to the standards set by the Property Council of Australia and IPMS to ensure consistency and protect against property misrepresentation.
If you have requested a total area measurement - our total area measurements will include everything inside the outside walls but will exclude internal garages and void areas. ie. open spaces over stairs and areas open to the floor below. Patios, decks, and verandas, directly connected to the property are considered external areas.
Should you quote total areas on your floor plans?
In regards to the discrepancy example I've already shown you - for more accuracy and reliability, we suggest against quoting total areas. It may cause confusion if vendors or buyers compare with other plans showing different figures. If you wish to include total areas, we include an industry-standard disclaimer on all plans and require a waiver to protect both you and us.
Why don't you show the bathroom sizes on the floor plans?
We rarely show bath, pantry, WIC and small space measurements - the simple reason is - the measurements don't fit in the tiny space on the floor plan!
