GCA vs GFA

[guitarchitect]

Can anyone elucidate the differences of GFA vs GCA? I used to know it like the back of my hand, but it has been a while. I believe the way I used to calculate GCA was to take the entire perimeter of the building and subtract shafts and floor openings. GFA (for residential buildings) would further subtract any non-residential program space like electrical closets or mechanical rooms. I know there is a BOMA standard but unfortunately I don't have access to their resources. If anyone has a web resource that points to it I would love to see it, I had a really difficult time sourcing anything.

Thanks!

[Wanderer]

Can anyone elucidate the differences of GFA vs GCA? I used to know it like the back of my hand, but it has been a while. I believe the way I used to calculate GCA was to take the entire perimeter of the building and subtract shafts and floor openings. GFA (for residential buildings) would further subtract any non-residential program space like electrical closets or mechanical rooms. I know there is a BOMA standard but unfortunately I don't have access to their resources. If anyone has a web resource that points to it I would love to see it, I had a really difficult time sourcing anything.

Thanks!Could we define your abbreviations, please, as I wouldn't want to reply incorrectly... I'm assuming G is gross and A is area, but, it's the F and C that I'm missing out on.

For example:

Plannable Gross Area (PGA) = Exterior Gross Area (EGA) - voids - major vertical penetrations - service areas - primary circulation

This is from some space standard notes my company started putting together but never quite finished. It's primarily referencing IFMA standards, but, the IFMA standards seem to reference the BOMA standards, so I'm not sure how much overlap there would be.

You can buy the IFMA standards on paper for a relatively low cost, but, if you go BOMA, be prepared to fight with your IT guys... they only do e-books now with a customer reader application that's given us fits and you may need to punch a hole in your firewall to authorize the license files.

[guitarchitect]

well that sounds like a small nightmare - yuck. I'm in canada so I'll have to look into what's applicable here.

gfa = gross floor area
gca = gross construction area