read

How to Calculate Square Footage

By Morgan Saylor

If you’re shopping for a home, listing your home, or just trying to wrap your brain around the concept for the sake of it – calculating square footage is no simple task. Thankfully Jonathan Deesing via Zillow Porchlight has explained it.

To calculate your gross living area, or GLA, do this:

·         Draw a floor plan – it doesn’t have to be a set of blue prints, just a simple sketch.

·         Don’t include unfinished areas (patios, porches, etc).

·         Calculate the area of each rectangle by multiplying its length times it’s width.

·         The sum of all the rectangles is your GLA.

This may not be your total square footage, however. Deesing writes that some standards don’t include basements, even if they’re finished in overall square footage; and that attic space that’s “fit for habitation and boasts at least seven feet of clearance should be included in your GLA”.

Tags: square footage