Guides · Floor Plan Measurement

How to Get Square Footage from an iGUIDE Floor Plan

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 accuracy and measurement methodology

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.

Getting the iGUIDE floor plan

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.

Uploading and tracing

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.

Setting scale

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.

Interior vs exterior: the GLA adjustment

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.