Guides · Floor Plan Measurement
iGUIDE is a Canadian floor plan platform widely used by agents and appraisers in Canada and increasingly in the US. iGUIDE PLANIX uses a dedicated laser scanning device to produce some of the most accurate residential floor plans available. Here's how to extract total square footage from an iGUIDE plan.
iGUIDE PLANIX uses laser distance measurement, producing plans typically accurate to within 1% of a physical field measurement. One important distinction: iGUIDE measures wall-to-wall (interior), not exterior-to-exterior. For appraisal GLA comparison you'll need to account for this. For buyer research, renovation planning, and lease pricing, interior measurement is appropriate.
As a buyer or agent: access the iGUIDE floor plan from the listing or the iGUIDE tour link. In the iGUIDE viewer look for a floor plan tab: you can usually download the floor plan as a PDF. As an iGUIDE account holder: log in to the iGUIDE cloud and export the floor plan PDF from the property details. High-resolution PDF is preferred.
Upload the iGUIDE PDF to MeasureFloorPlan.com. iGUIDE plans have clean, precise wall lines and are easy to trace. For multi-story homes upload each floor separately. For interior measurement: trace the inside face of perimeter walls. For appraisal-style exterior measurement: trace the outside face. iGUIDE plans include both interior and exterior wall extents clearly shown.
iGUIDE plans include a scale bar and labeled room dimensions. Use the longest labeled dimension for best accuracy. The scale bar is also reliable: click both endpoints and enter the scale bar length.
For a typical wood-frame home with 2×6 exterior walls (plus sheathing and cladding ≈ 7–8" total per exterior side): multiply the exterior perimeter in linear feet by 0.5–0.6 to estimate the sq ft difference between interior and exterior measurement. For a 160-foot perimeter: approximately 80–100 sq ft difference. Concrete block or brick walls have greater thickness; the adjustment would be larger.
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Start Measuring →How accurate is iGUIDE PLANIX?
iGUIDE PLANIX uses laser distance measuring (LiDAR) and is one of the most accurate floor plan generators on the market: typically within 1 percent of field measurements. The accuracy comes from physical laser readings rather than visual estimation.
Why measure from an iGUIDE plan if it's already accurate?
iGUIDE provides interior wall-to-wall room dimensions and totals. For ANSI Z765 GLA you need exterior measurement, which is calculated by adding wall thickness to interior dimensions. A measurement tool that traces the exterior perimeter resolves this directly.
What's the difference between iGUIDE interior and exterior measurement?
iGUIDE measures interior dimensions (wall-to-wall) by default. ANSI Z765 GLA requires exterior dimensions (outside wall surface to outside wall surface). The exterior figure is typically 3 to 5 percent larger, depending on wall thickness.
How do I get GLA from an iGUIDE PDF?
Download the iGUIDE PDF, upload it, set scale from any labeled wall dimension, and trace the exterior perimeter (not the interior wall lines). The result is ANSI Z765 GLA in about two minutes.
Does iGUIDE include a CSV of raw measurements?
iGUIDE provides per-room dimensions in the PDF report. Some packages also include a separate measurement export. Either way, you can cross-check the traced GLA against iGUIDE's reported room totals plus wall thickness.