GLA - Gross Living Area
When people refer to GLA they actually refer to the Gross Living Area obtained following the measurements precept of the United Standard ANSI-Z765. We've named our add-on that gives you ANSI compliant calculation after it for readability and simplicity.
The GLA add-on produces floor plans and reports which contain detailed calculation of the GLA and will include or exclude spaces following the ANSI rules.
Bases for calculation
GLA calculation includes all spaces that are:
Heated
Finished
Enclosed
Contiguous
Permitted
with a minimum ceiling height of 7'
As an example: a garage or an unfinished basement are excluded from the calculation, as a finished attic lower than 7' would.
Additional rules
Ceiling height
Rules differ when you have a flat ceiling or a sloped ceiling. For sloped ceilings, provided the highest point is at minimum 7', the area from the highest point to 5' will be accounted for and areas under 5' will not.
External walls
Rules will vary based on the property type and are covered in this dedicated article.
Stairs & openings to below
Stairs are included in the floor they descend from.
The area below the stairs (regardless of finish or ceiling height) are included in the level on which the stairs land.
Openings to the floor below are not included (areas where the stair treads and landings are not considered open to below).
You get more details in our dedicated article.
Bay windows
are included if they are floor to ceiling
are excluded otherwise
Specific areas
Below grade
Below grade areas are not included in the GLA calculation.
Accessory Dwelling Units
ADUs are calculated following the same rules, but to qualify as an ADU several criteria must be met. You can read our dedicated article about ADUS here.
Getting the official documentation
Some elements cannot be detected by Cubicasa and need your input. You will want to follow the exact rules of the standard. In that case we recommend getting the actual documentation.
Disclaimer
Every reference to GLA in Cubicasa documentation and communication is a reference to the United States standard ANSI-Z765. Every output obtained from the GLA add-on in Cubicasa solutions are following this standard. If you live in another country than the US and use our GLA product, you'll probably need to change and adapt a few things.