Measurement Flashcards
RICS Professional Standard: RICS Property Measurement 2018
- Guidance provides an understanding of the application of the professional standard and technical definitions
- It also incorporates aspects of the IMPS guidance
What are the two elements of the RICS Property Measurement Professional Standard?
- Professional Standard: Property Measurement
- RICS IMPS Data Standard
What must RICS members comply with / what information should be retained on file when measuring a building?
- Purpose of the instruction
- Date of measurement
- Measurement standard adopted
- If IMPS not used, document the reason for departure
- Measurement methodology adopted (e.g. laser measurer or tape measure)
- Scale of any plans used
- Floor area schedule with relevant areas cross referenced to floorplans
- Unit of measurement
- Name of the RICS member and/or RICS regulated firm responsible for the instruction
Advising your client on the use of IMPS
- RICS members are expected to advise their client or employer on the benefits of using IMPS
- However, it is understood that IMPS is not suitable in all circumstances and in these circumstances RICS members must document the reason for departure
What is IPMS?
International Property Measurement Standards
It is a global RICS-led initiative that is aimed at avoiding inconsistent definitions of measurement in different countries and bringing greater global transparency
Is IPMS mandatory guidance?
Yes, RICS members must advise their clients about the benefits of IPMS, and members are encouraged to report on a dual basis until IMPS is embedded into market practice
What is IMPS: All Buildings?
- This is stated to supersede all previously published IMPS standards for individual asset classes. However, it has not yet been incorporated into RICS guidance
- RICS Professional Standard: Property Measurement 2018 incorporates out of date IPMS publications for Office Buildings and Residential Buildings
What is the most up to date guidance for property measurement?
- RICS Professional Standard: Property Measurement 2018
- It applies to all properties and includes IPMS measurements for offices and residential buildings only
- The RICS Code of measuring practice 2015 applies to all other asset classses
Which guidance should you adopt when measuring industrial and retail properties?
Code of Measuring Practice 2015
Which guidance should you adopt when measuring office and residential properties?
- IPMS unless clients/employers instruct otherwise
- Must document the reason for departure from IMPS
What is the definition of common facilities?
The parts of a building that provides shared facilities that typically do not change over time, for example the stairs and lifts
What is the component area?
The area at ground level enclosed by the outermost structural extension of a building, usually the drip line
What is a finished surface?
The wall surface directly above the horizontal wall-floor junction, ignoring skirting boards, cable trunking, heating and cooling units and pipework
What is the internal dominant face (IDF)?
- It is the inside finish comprising more than 50% of the floor to ceiling height for each IDF wall section
- If such does not occur, the Finished Surface is deemed to be the IDF
What is the IDF wall section?
Each internal finish of a section of an External Wall, ignoring the existence of any columns, that is either recessed from or protrudes from its adjacenet section
What is a limited use area?
- In certain markets there may be areas in buildings that are incapable of legal or effective occupation due to local or national legislation
- IMPS does not specify what a limited use area is, as that differs from market to market
- The area should be identified, measured and stated separately within the IMPS reported areas
- An example of a limited use area would be areas below 1.5m in height
Also areas with limited natural light
What is IMPS 1: Offices used for?
- Planning or building cost purposes (GEA)
- Used for measuring the area of a building including external walls on a floor-by-floor basis
What is IMPS 2: Offices used for?
- Agency and valuation purposes (GIA)
- Used for measuring the interior of an office to include all areas available for direct use, measured to the IDF of the wall on a floor-by-floor basis in component areas
What is IMPS 3: Offices used for?
- Agency and valuation purposes (NIA)
- Used for measuring the occupation of floor areas in exclusive use using same assumptions as IMPS2
- Measured to the IDF on a floor-by-floor basis
- Excludes standard facilities providing shared facilities such as stairs, lifts etc.
What are the measurements included but stated separately for IMPS 1?
- Covered galleries
- Balconies
- Generally accessible roof terraces
What are the exclusions for IMPS 1?
- Upper void levels of an atrium
- Open external stairwells
- Patios, refuse areas, external parking at ground level
What are the measurements included but stated separately for IMPS 2?
- Covered galleries and balconies
- Generally accessible roof terraces
What are the exclusions for IMPS 2?
- Open light wells and upper-level voids of an atrium
- Patio and decks at ground floor level
- External parking and refuse areas
What are the measurements included but stated separately for IMPS 3?
- Covered galleries and balconies
- Generally accessible roof terraces
What are the main differences between IMPS3 and NIA?
- Perimeter measurements are taken to the IDF
- No exclusions for restricted height of less than 1.5m
- All columns are included
- Where there are multiple occupiers on the floor, the area is taken to the midpoint of the partition wall between tenancies
- Covered galleries and balconies for the exclusive use of one tenant are included and stated separately
When did the IMPS for Residential Buildings come into effect?
1st May 2018
* IPMS 1 External
* IPMS 2 Internal
* IPMS 3 Occupier
IMPS All Buildings 2023
- This document will supersede all standards previously published by IMPS
- But NOT currently incorporated into RICS guidance
- Aims to establish a consistent methodology for measuring all types of buildings in the world and promote international collaboration
- Brings all building classess into a single document into one set of standards
What is the RICS Code of Measuring Practice, 2015?
- The RICS COMP 2015 is still a best practice document for all measurement exercises except for offices and residential properties
- Provides precise definitions to ensure a common & consistent approach to measurement
What are the COMP bases of measurement?
- GEA
- GIA
- NIA
What is GEA used for?
Town planning and building cost estimates for houses
What is GIA used for?
Estate agency, rating, building cost estimation for commercial assets & valuation of industrial
Approx 2-3% deduction from GEA
What is NIA used for?
Estate agency, rating, building cost estimatation & valuation as GIA and for shops
Approx 15% deduction from GIA
What do you include when measuring an industrial unit on a GIA basis?
- Columns
- Lift wells
- Mezzanines with permanent access
- Loading bays
What do you exclude when measuring an industrial unit on a GIA basis?
- Canopies
- Fire escapes
- Fuel stalls
- Open sided balconies
When measuring a shop unit fitted out with full height partitioning by the tenant, what are the techniques used to estimate the actual built width of the shop?
- Remove a ceiling tile
- Try and get behind the partitioning
- Inspect the basement or first floor to see actual built width
- Scale from floor plans
- Take sufficient on-site measurements to calculate the ITZA measurements
What is ITZA?
‘in terms of zone A’
- Zoning is a valuation methodology for comparing rents of shops
- Depth of each zone is 6.1m
- First zone is Zone A which is the most valuable
- The less valuation zones are halved-back from Zone A - for example Zone B is Zone A / 2, Zone C is Zone A / 4
What would you include when measuring an office building on an NIA basis?
- Atria with clear height above and entrance halls if not used in common areas
- Kitchens
- Built-in cupboards
- Areas occupied by ventilation
- Areas occupied by skirting and perimeter trunking
- Areas occupied by non-structural walls subdividing accomodation in sole occupancy
What would you exclude when measuring an office building on an NIA basis?
- WCs
- Plant and lift rooms
- Stairwells
- Meter and service cupboards and service risers
- Areas less than 1.5m in height
- Cleaners’ rooms
- Space occupied by permanent, continuous air conditioning if space it occupies is rendered substantially unusable
- Measurements should be taken to the glazing for full height glazing unless elements of the window structure or design render the space substantially unusable
What are the internal eaves height?
The clear height between the floor and the lowest point on the underside of the roof e.g. at the eaves
What is the site depth?
The measurement from the front to rear boundaries
What is the shop depth?
The measurement from the notional display window to the rear of the retail area, including the thickness of the display window
What is the built depth?
The maximum external measurement from the front to rear walls
What is the gross frontage?
The overall external measurement in a straight line across the front of the building from the outside of the external walls or the centre line of the party walls
What is the net frontage?
The overall frontage of the shop line measured between the internal face of the external walls
What does current RICS guidance state on measurement accuracy?
- It is the responsibility of RICS members and regulated firms to adopt appropriate measuring and computing processes so as to satisfy the requirements of clients and users
- These requirements can range from a very broad approximation of measured area for some temporary purpose to a precise area calculation for contractual or other reasons
What are the parameters RICs members and regulated firms must consider when evaluating the level of accuracy that could be expected from a measured survey?
- What is the purpose of the measurement exercise?
- What are the client’s requirements and expectations in terms of accuracy and confidence in measurement?
- What are the building or site conditions at the time of survey that would influence how measurements are undertaken?
- What would be the ramifications if the level of accuracy is deemed insufficient for the purpose?
How do you measure land?
- Software such as Promap and/or trundle wheel can be used for measuring land
- Cross check with site boundaries with an OS plan
What is a plot ratio / site cover?
Ratio between the size of the site and the building footprint (GEA)
What is 1 acre in hectares?
1 acre is 0.4046 hectare
What is the building line?
This is a line within, or coinciding with, the property line, beyond which it is illegal to build
What are scales?
A scale is the ratio of the length in a drawing to the length of the real thing
What are the commonly used scales?
- 1:50 Room plan
- 1:100 Building plan
- 1:1250 Street plan
- 1:2500 Location plan
- 1:50000 Road/walking map
What are the different measuring tools?
Tape, rod, laser device and software for measuring property
Which one is the most accurate?
Lasers tend to be accurate to within c.1.5mm up to 200m but bright sunlight can distort measurements
How do you check the accuracy of measurment tools?
- All measurement tools should be checked for accuracy frequently against a known distance adn the results recorded in a log
- Lasers should be calibrated annually by manufacturers
