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Condo Square Footage

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MattR

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Hey,

I was wondering if anyone can shine a light on how developers calculate the listed square footage of a condo unit in Toronto?

Do they list the "usable space" or is it by exterior wall? Also, do they include shared spaces, balconies or space between or above units in the calculations?

Thanks
Matt
 
"Per builder" square footage includes walls out to the exterior of the building, and half-way to neighbouring units. It does not include balconies or terraces.
 
the square footage for Toronto condos are net floor area rather than gross floor area ... which means common hallways, elevators, common stairs, garbage chutes, amenities are excluded from the floor area ... unlike in Asia where these all form a part of the square footage a builder would sell a unit to you based on
 
Thanks for the reply, quite useful!

Typically whats "half-way" to a neighbouring suite? I'm in a loft so I have neighbours on both sides of me... would that typically add 1 ft? 6 inches?

The reason I am asking is it seems the listed sq footage does not jive with the dimensions on the unit layout... To the tune of about 80 sq ft...

The unit is a perfect rectangle so I mearly used total length by total width for both floors..

Can the builder, in the case of a loft, include the "open to below" space, which is open space, in the total sq foot calculation, and if they can, are they obligated to indicate that?

Thanks
Matt
 
"half-way" to a neighbouring suite varies depending on demising wall construction (ie. concrete or insulated studded wall, etc) ... so i estimate 3" -6" x the length of your unit x 2 (since most units have 2 neighbouring walls).

from what i've seen, in most lofts, the "open to below" space is not included in the total square footage.

from my calculations with floorplans, to get the actual "usuable space", one should deduct 8-10% of the developers listed square footage.
ie. if your plan says 1000 SF, then the "usual space" is around 900-920 SF
 
Solaris said:
the square footage for Toronto condos are net floor area rather than gross floor area ... which means common hallways, elevators, common stairs, garbage chutes, amenities are excluded from the floor area ... unlike in Asia where these all form a part of the square footage a builder would sell a unit to you based on
Click to expand...

This would imply that if the condo floor map suggests 800 sqft - pretty much thats what you get or you get closest to that number. I was just wondering how accurate are these floor maps on average for pre-construction condos ? Can the condos even end up being a little larger than the estimated size ?
 
Rocky said:
I was just wondering how accurate are these floor maps on average for pre-construction condos ? Can the condos even end up being a little larger than the estimated size ?
Click to expand...

In the Ultra's P&S Agreement, 6.2 (2) ... For information on the method of calculating the floor area of any unit, reference should be made to Builder Bulletin 22 issued by Tarion. Actual useable floor space may vary from any stated or represented floor area or gross floor area and the extent of the actual or useable living space within the confines of the Unit may vary from any represented square footage or floor area measurement(s) made by or on behalf of the Vendor, any sales agent or which may appear in any sales material. In addition, the Purchaser is advised that the floor area measurements are generally calculated based on the middle floor of the Condominium tor each unit type, such that units on lower floors may have less floor space due to thicker structural members, mechanical rooms, etc., while units on higher floors may have more floor space ...
 
Rocky said:
This would imply that if the condo floor map suggests 800 sqft - pretty much thats what you get or you get closest to that number. I was just wondering how accurate are these floor maps on average for pre-construction condos ? Can the condos even end up being a little larger than the estimated size ?
Click to expand...

I recently took measurements of my pre-construction unit (have not moved in yet but was at the PDI stage) and was pleasantly surprised to see that floor plan dimensions were accurate. The bedroom was the only room that measured 4" smaller.. and that's because I measured from the sliding bedroom door to the opposite wall.

And as for your second question, in my case the length of the den is a foot longer than the measurements listed on my floorplan.
 
Also, as stated above, make sure your calculation include measurements to the outside exterior wall - not the interior wall.
 
Any idea as to how many inches thick are the interior walls? I'm referring to the inner ones.
 
Thanks very much guys. I'm curious, as I got the wall between the living room and the bedroom removed and wanting to know how much
more that would increase the amount of inches in either room.
 
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