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Can MeasureFloorPlan Measure Commercial Buildings?
MeasureFloorPlan measures floor area from any to-scale image: residential or commercial. The tool does not care what kind of building you are measuring. What changes is the measurement standard you apply and what you do with the result.
What MeasureFloorPlan can measure
MeasureFloorPlan works for any building where you have a to-scale floor plan:
- Small retail or office buildings
- Mixed-use buildings (residential above, commercial below)
- Duplexes, triplexes, and small multifamily properties
- Warehouses and light industrial
- Single-tenant commercial spaces
- Any residential property, including single-family, condo, and townhouse
Upload a floor plan photo or PDF, trace the perimeter or interior boundary you want to measure, set one known dimension as scale, and get area instantly.
Residential vs commercial measurement standards
MeasureFloorPlan is designed around ANSI Z765: the standard used for residential GLA measurement in appraisals. For residential properties, that is the right standard. For commercial properties, the applicable standard is usually BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) or IPMS (International Property Measurement Standards).
The key differences:
- ANSI Z765: Exterior perimeter measurement, above-grade only. Used for residential GLA. See our ANSI Z765 measurement checklist.
- BOMA Office Standard: Measures rentable area, which includes a tenant's proportionate share of common areas. Interior measurement with load factor added.
- BOMA Retail / Industrial: Different formulas depending on property type. Often gross leasable area (GLA: different from residential GLA) from interior wall face to exterior wall face.
- IPMS: Internationally harmonized standard used primarily in institutional and cross-border transactions.
MeasureFloorPlan gives you the raw measured area of whatever polygon you trace. Applying the right standard: including any load factor, deductions, or adjustments. Is still your responsibility. For complex commercial properties, consult a certified commercial appraiser or space planner.
Where MeasureFloorPlan works well for commercial
For small commercial properties where you need a quick, accurate floor area for pricing, underwriting, or renovation planning, MeasureFloorPlan is a practical tool:
- Measuring the gross building area of a small retail building or office
- Calculating the footprint of each floor in a mixed-use property
- Verifying tenant square footage against a lease exhibit
- Getting a quick area estimate before ordering a formal measurement
- Measuring individual units in a small multifamily building
Where the limitations apply
MeasureFloorPlan is not a substitute for a certified commercial measurement when:
- You need BOMA-certified measurements for a lease, sale, or institutional appraisal
- The property has shared corridors, lobbies, or mechanical rooms that affect rentable area calculation
- The floor plan is not to scale (hand-drawn or rough site plan)
- You need measurements that will be cited in a formal appraisal report with liability attached
For those situations, a certified commercial appraiser or a BOMA-certified measurement professional is the right resource.