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FAQ
Got questions?
General info
Info for commercial property owners
BOMA Standards
Pricing
General info
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How long will it take you to measure?
That depends on the size and type of the unit.
Residential - Once we get on premise, it takes about 2 hours to measure most houses. We’ll send the final plans within 3 business days.
Commercial - The complexity of the layout will determine how much time we’ll need. Generally, we can do about 50,000 square feet per measurer per day. Completed plans will be available within about 2 weeks.
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Will PLANiT need access to every room and storage area?
Yes. To be able to provide you with an accurate space audit, we must be able to access all the areas in your building.
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What about secure areas?
We need access to all secure areas and computer server rooms so we can offer you comprehensive, highly accurate floor plans. Please coordinate with your tenants ahead of time so we can get the necessary clearances for our field crews and ensure the process goes quickly and smoothly.
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Can you give a fixed price quote?
No. Because we charge per square foot for base drawings (with options quoted separately), we’re unable to provide a fixed price quote.
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I don’t live in Toronto. Can you provide measuring services outside the GTA?
For commercial measuring, PLANiT can supply field staff to most North American cities. When it comes to residential properties, however, our services are currently best suited for the Greater Toronto Area.
PLANiT has a scheduled rollout of residential field services in major North American cities. Please contact us for details.
If you would like to become a Qualified PLANiT Service Provider in your city, we’d love to hear from you. We’re always looking for partners to help us better serve our growing market.
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Info for Commercial Property Owners
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Does a building's rentable square footage (RSF) generally increase or decrease after a resurvey?
We’ve found that buildings resurveyed to BOMA 1996 Standards typically have a 3-5% increase in gross RSF, which more than offsets the costs of plan preparation.
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Do you provide engineering design services? Do you do structural, electrical or mechanical systems inspections/surveys?
We do not provide engineering design or consulting services. However, we can indicate any fixtures you’d like to incorporate, including accessible electrical and data outlets. We will determine the additional costs for adding fixtures to a floor plan prior to starting the project.
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Are you land surveyors?
No. Land surveyors locate property lines. We only measure buildings and attached structures such as loading docks, decking, balconies, etc. However, we can prepare site or parking lot plans if we’re provided with a current survey or site plan.
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Can you check the accuracy of our old blueprints or CAD files?
Yes. We can take old drawings in hard copy format and enter them into CAD, or check the accuracy of your CAD files with an onsite verification.
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Will PLANiT need access to every room and storage area?
Yes. To be able to provide you with an accurate space audit, we must be able to access all the areas in your building.
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What is the BOMA Standard?
Since 1915, the BOMA Standard has been the only floor measurement method for commercial real estate approved by the American National Standards Institute.
In 1996, it was revised to differentiate common areas that benefit all tenants (building common) from floor-specific common areas (floor common). BOMA now prorates an allocation of both types of common area on the basis of their share of building-rentable and floor-rentable areas respectively. With the new BOMA standard, rentable areas are calculated much more fairly, which benefits tenants.
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What’s the difference between “rentable” and “usable” areas?
The rentable area (on which rent is paid) is larger than the area that’s actually usable by tenants. The rentable area includes a prorated portion of all common areas within the building, including common bathrooms, hallways, stairs and elevators.
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Why is the BOMA Standard not applicable to warehouse and industrial premises?
The BOMA Standard is only applicable to office space adjacent to warehouse and industrial structures. Generally the SIOR Standard is applied to warehouse space. BOMA and SIOR are currently working together to create a new, more comprehensive standard.
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How do you calculate your prices?
Pricing is based on gross square footage from the outside perimeter wall, for both commercial and residential drawings. For industrial and warehouse spaces, prices depend on the type of structure and what it is currently being used for.
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Do you have a minimum charge?
Yes. We have a minimum charge per site visited, regardless of the size of the premise. (The minimum charge does not include travel.) For specific pricing, please contact us directly.
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If you have to make several return trips to my building, is that going to cost me more?
The only additional charge you may face is for each return visit if we were not able to gain access to the required areas on our initial site visit.
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Do you require an up-front deposit?
Yes, we ask for a deposit for residential properties (please contact us for specific prices). For all other building types, please expect to pay a 25% retainer before measuring begins.
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Can you give a fixed price quote?
No, we always charge by the square foot for the base drawings, with options quoted separately.
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| Copyright © 2007 PLANiT Measuring. |
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