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Calculate Countertops |
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Calculating Square Footage | |
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Calculating Flooring | |
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Calculating Cubic Yard | |
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Calculating Drywall |
| Always Double Check Sq. Ft. | 1 Acre Has = 43,560 Square Feet - Sample Lot Size 60' x 115' = 6,900 Sq. Ft. /43,560 = 0.1584 Lot Size | |
| Central Air Conditioner Sizing | How to Convert Square Foot to Cubic Yard = 12 x 12 sq. ft. = 144 / 27 = 5.3333 cubic yard | |
| A/C Unit System Sizing Help |
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Court
Ruling: Square Footage Must Be Accurate
A Texas appeals court has upheld the principle that size matters in a case in which the square footage of a home sold in the central part of the state wasn’t what was advertised. The buyers, who sued and won against the real estate professionals who handled the sale, told the court that they bought the property largely because they thought they were paying a lower rate per square foot than other sellers in the area were asking. The house turned out to be 253 square feet smaller than the practitioner put on the information sheet and on the multiple listing service posting. A jury awarded the purchasers damages and held the real estate professionals liable for misrepresentation and fraud. The court of appeals in Austin upheld the decision, even though the couple had moved into the home 30 days prior to settlement and the information came from tax records filed with the local municipality. The appeals court said the real estate professionals had a duty to get the information right and the buyers shouldn’t have to pull out a tape measure. Source: United Features Syndicate, Lew Sichelman (11/21/2008) Buying a Home in Thomasville, GA. or in any other part of the country always look at the square footage the home is being listed for then compare that with public records. it will save you much heartache. At one time or another most homeowners need to figure out the square footage of their home, lot, or even a single room. Whether you're getting ready to sell, just want to know how much square footage you have, or are undertaking a home improvement project that requires you know how big any given area is, knowing how to calculate the square footage of an area (without a square foot calculator!), as well as the cubic feet of a space, is an important skill to master. When buying a new home you need add the square footage of heated and cooled area only the garage should not be included. How to Calculate Square Footage: This chore is about as it easy as it gets. If you're goal is to figure out the square footage of your home, the process is fairly straightforward. Of course, a web-based square foot calculator is capable of doing it for you, but even so, this is a good thing to know how to do on your own. It all boils down to basic math. If you are getting ready to sell your home, most realtors and appraisal companies measure from the outside, and include any area that is heated and used year-round. Don't count your garage into the equation, but other than that the basic formula includes measuring the width and length of each story of your home and multiplying them together. If you have a modest home running 60 feet long by 30 feet wide, you just need to multiply those two distances together. 30 x 60 = 1800 square feet. Don't forget that the only area that is included in the price of a home is the heated & cooled area. If the home has an outdoor porch and it is not under A/C it is not included in the homes square footage. Example on how to calculate home price per square foot. House $269,900 / 1733 Sq. Ft. = 155.74 per foot. This would be a sample of an over priced home! What are you really getting for the price? |
| Things You Should look out for when pricing a New Home Square Footage. 1) New flat light switches or 50 your old switches that cost .60 cents. 2) New Square Outlets or 50 year old round outlets? that cost .60 cents 3) Granite countertops throughout or Formica 4) Custom cabinets throughout or Standard cabinets 5) Wired for voice, data, video & Wireless throughout the home or Plain old looped telephone lines. 6) Two Cable T.V. outlet in each room or One cable T.V. outlet in each room. + $65.00 per run. 7) 1 - 14 Seer York Energy Efficient A/C $60/Month or A Minimum Code 1, 2 & 3 A/C units for one home at $400 to 500/Month bill. NOT Energy Efficient at all. 8) ENERGY STAR Certified Home or GREENWASHING 9) 4 Year appliance warranty or None 10) Savings of more then 40% on utility bill or in increase of $300 + utility bill 11) Spray Foam Insulation or 60 year old Cellulose Insulation 12) Tankless Water Heater or A home with 1, 2 & 3 60gal. Water Heater (Always ask how many water heaters) |
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Cubic Feet: The other valuable space measurement you're likely to run into won't be addressed by a square foot calculator. So here, you're on your own. Still, it's not too much different. Say you're installing an attic fan and need to know the volume of air in your home measured in cubic feet. Figure out the square footage first, then multiply that by the height of the space as well. That 1800 square foot home we mentioned earlier, with 8 foot ceilings, has 14,400 cubic feet of air to move (30 x 60 x 8 = 14,400). In landscaping you may also run into the measurement of a cubic yard, which is three cubic feet by three cubic feet, or 27 cubic feet (3 x 3 x 3 = 27) of material when it's all said and done. Square Footage Calculator: It's good to know how to figure these measurements out on your own, since you won't always have a computer handy to help you. By all means, though, if you're in the planning phases and have the correct measurements, a square footage calculator can save you time. Some square foot calculator websites even convert your measurements into necessary materials, saving you a lot of time converting one to the other. Run a quick web search and you're sure to find a square footage calculator out there to help you on your way. |
| To obtain a gross idea of the square footage of an area, multiply the length by the width. It really doesn't matter whether you are calculating the size of your lot or the size of your living room unless you are trying to figure how much paint you need or how much space you have for a vegetable garden. Then getting a more accurate number becomes important. |
| Measuring your lot: Lots in cities tend to be square, however it is by no means uncommon for lots to be pie shaped or irregular, especially when plotted around a cul-de-sac or defined by a geographical feature such as a creek. The lot dimensions should form part of your mortgage package. When you purchased your home, the lenders certainly required the dimensions and lot size so they would know precisely what they were investing in. However, where those property lines are located can be an issue if your lot has not been recently surveyed. If you don't know where your property starts and ends, you may want to get that information nailed down, especially if you want to add a fence or wall. Even the best of neighbors can be mistaken about where the lot line is and if they mow on your side of the lawn for years, they may actually assume that they own property that rightfully belongs to you ... or vice versa. | |
| So, assuming you know precisely where your property lines are, and the width of your lot is 55 feet and its depth is 110 feet (an ordinary city lot) then your lot is 6050 square feet or just shy of 0.14 acre (an acre being 43,560 square feet). In other words, you and six of your closest neighbors probably equal one acre if their lots are the same size as yours. This is a perfectly respectable lot size, however if your house is a 2500 sq. ft., single-story ranch, your lot may feel considerably smaller than if your home splits its total square footage between two stories. Such are the benefits of a smaller footprint. | |
| But what if your lot size is oddly shaped? How do you calculate square footage then? Probably the simplest means is to revisit your high school geometry lessons and break your lot into more easily calculatable elements. Your lot comprises rectangles, squares, and triangles. Even if math isn't your strong suit, it's not too difficult to lay out a series of rectilinear shapes and determine square footage. In the adjacent image, you can see how a series of rectangles have been imposed over an otherwise irregular shape. Where a diagonal bisects a rectangle, the total is divided by 2. All individual components are calculated, then added together to obtain the total. Square footage of your home: Determining the actual square footage of your home is not as straightforward as you would expect. American National Standards Institute (ANSI) suggests that residential property be measured using exterior measurements of the building at each level. (For the purposes of figuring a home's square footage, room dimensions are irrelevant.) Keep in mind that ANSI standards (which are guidelines, not regulations) define finished |
Rectangles and triangles help determine
square footage.
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spaces as any enclosed area that is used year around. Exclude any space that is not finished or heated like the main body of the house. Don't include the garage as part of your home's square footage, though you would count it when calculating its footprint relative to the property itself. |
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| Determining the actual square footage of your home is not as straightforward as you would expect. American National Standards Institute (ANSI) suggests that residential property be measured using exterior measurements of the building at each level. (For the purposes of figuring a home's square footage, room dimensions are irrelevant.) Keep in mind that ANSI standards (which are guidelines, not regulations) define finished spaces as any enclosed area that is used year around. Exclude any space that is not finished or heated like the main body of the house. Don't include the garage as part of your home's square footage, though you would count it when calculating its footprint relative to the property itself. | |
| Measure the exterior of the building at the level of the floor. If a bumpout occurs at the floor level, include it. If it occurs higher like a cantilevered window with a window seat, do not include it as part of the square footage. Measure to the nearest inch or 1/10th of a foot as this makes calculating room sizes more accurate. To arrive at total square footage, multiply width by depth. Add bumpouts and subtract indentations. Subtract stairwells. For second floors that occur under a gabled roof, you'll need to measure inside. | |
| Measuring Rooms: There are a variety of good reasons to measure the rooms in your home. Buying enough paint, wallpaper, or flooring; arranging furniture; and calculating the type of home theater components are just a few. A third dimension that often comes into play with rooms is ceiling height. Cubic area—that is, width x length x height—is used to calculate the size of air conditioning units and heat pumps. Measuring cubic feet is the same as measuring square footage. A living room that is 15 x 14 x 8 feet is 1,680 cubic feet. For a room with a cathedral ceiling, the following illustration may help. | |
Calculating squares and cubes is
manageable for most of us who have
forgotten most of what we knew about the
finer points of mathematics ages ago.
Measure Twice:
"Measure twice, cut once" is an old
saying but which always holds true.
Carry it a bit farther and keep a record
of all the measurements of your home. It
is incredibly useful to know sizes and
dimensions of each window and room,
especially when new carpet is on your
short list and there is a smoking deal
over a holiday weekend at your local
carpet retailer's. It will save you the
trip home to measure or the cost of
ordering more than you need, just to be
on "the safe side”.
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What is the right size
air conditioning system for my
house?
The old
accepted estimate is that the HVAC unit
should provide 1 ton (12,000 Btu) of air
conditioning for 400 to 500 square feet
of building area. However, this rule
fails to take into account how well the
home is insulated, how well it's sealed
and the local climate. In a very
efficient house, 1 ton could condition
800 to 1,000 square feet of space. Use a
unit too small and you won't cool the
home. If the unit's too big the home
will be cool but the unit won't properly
dehumidify. I would get a reputable A/C
Company.
Q: What is a SEER rating?A: It’s easy to think of SEER like MPG in a vehicle. The higher the SEER rating the more efficient the unit is, meaning less power is used. This is good for the environment, decreases air pollution, and greatly decreases your utility bills. In case you’re wondering, SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. The minimum SEER currently required by the U.S. government is 13. Several units exceeding 23 SEER.Q: What is the right size air conditioning system for my house?A: Having the right size system is extremely important. Even one that is too large is a big problem: It will cool your house too quickly (satisfying your thermostat before removing sufficient moisture), leaving a humid environment and potential mold problems. It will also cycle on and off more frequently decreasing efficiency dramatically. Of course, a system that is too small simply can’t get the job done. Determining the size of a system involves a lot more than matching square footage to the right unit. Every house is different. Factors such as floor plan, types of walls, windows, orientation, sunlight/shade, attic conditions and much more affect the required size. It is best to have an experienced HVAC technician thoroughly inspect your home before making any decision on what size unit to install.Q: Do air purifiers, like the ones for sale in malls, work to improve indoor air quality?A: Yes and no. They improve indoor air quality, but in a very limited fashion. The types of purifiers you find in retail stores are extremely limited in range. They only help the room in which they are used as opposed to the whole house. Even in that one room they are far less effective in comparison to air cleaners that are a part of your home’s ventilation system. Improved filter systems and air purifiers that are embedded in your heating and air conditioning system work on all the air that is circulated through your house. Recent technology has led to products that are more than 100 times more effective than standard filters.Q: What if my heat and AC equipment are fairly new? Are there other ways to increase energy efficiency?A: Certainly. Your home’s insulation, ductwork, window sealing and much more impact how often your equipment needs to run. Improving these aspects of a home is often called weatherization. It can also include solar screens for windows and new programmable thermostats. |
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