Before you even think about renting office space, chances are that you want to have the measurements so that you can obtain the proper size office space for your company or corporation. Therefore, it is essential that you not only have approximate office space measurements but exact office space measurements. The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) has created the proper standard for measuring office space.
Usable Area for Measurement Purposes
In ascertaining measurements, the usable area is the part of the office which can be occupied. When determining the usable area of office space one should measure starting at the side of office space and corridors (those with a permanent wall) and move to the partitions centers. You then take all usable area measurements and add them together to get the total amount of usable area.
Floor Rentable Area for Measurement Purposes
The floor rentable area is the area of the rented premises which the tenant can use. The measurements for this area are taken from the inner finished surfaces of outer walls, without taking into account corridor walls or structures in the area. Rentable area and usable area can be converted to one another by using the common area feature in measurements.
Common Area for Measurement Purposes
The common area of a building relates to the areas which are not technically included in the office area but can still be used by office space tenants. In other words, adding the pro rata common area space to the floor rentable area space will provide the gross rentable area.
Common Area Factor for Measurement Purposes
An important calculation is the common area factor which creates a ratio of the rentable area to usable area of office space. This loss factor or load factor shows what percentage of the office area can be used as the office space. The R/U -1 ratio will dictate what part of the office space can be used by the tenant.
Reasons for Measuring Office Space
The calculations for measuring office space may seem a bit confusing at first but when you put the measurements into their proper ratio format, you will see that the resulting measurements are quite easy to come by. There are a few different reasons why office space tenants would want to calculate the measurements of prospective office space.
First, by doing so, the business owner can determine how much the rental will cost and if it will be worth the money based on the amount of office space being rented. Secondly, by measuring office space the future commercial office space tenant can ensure that there will be plenty of room to accommodate all employees and carry out the business in an efficient manner by doing so in a proper amount of office space.
Before you lease office space, it is important to determine how much space you will be getting in a particular rental. By using the BOMA standard for measuring office space, you can ensure that your future rental is the perfect one for your needs.