What is gauge? One of the often-mentioned questions in the real estate market… How to calculate the gauge? If you’re wondering the answers to these questions, you’re at the right place! Gauge, derived from the French word gabarit, means size, measure, and caliber. It can be used to refer to the dimensions of home appliances or the maximum height of vehicles that can pass through bridges and tunnels. It is also one of the most commonly used words in the real estate world and is associated with the building height. In other words, the maximum building height allowed by the municipality in any neighborhood or resort is called the gauge. This value refers to the measurement of the height of the building from the pavement level to the roof.
What Is the Precedent?
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One of the most commonly referenced concepts in gauge calculation is precedent. The precedent, stated in the proprietorship certificate as “floor area ratio,” shows how much space the construction to be done on a plot can cover at most. For example, if the precedent shown is 0.3, this means that construction can be done in an area that will cover no more than 30% of the relevant land. In other words, while the gauge indicates the maximum height of the building that can be measured (for example, 10 meters), the precedent shows the acreage of the building that can be made. For example, 300 square meters of construction can be done, which is 30% of an area of 1000 square meters.
How are the Gauge and Precedent Calculated?
Let’s start with the example we gave at the beginning of the article. Let’s say you have 1,000 square meters of land. The precedent value is shown in your proprietorship certificate 0.3. In this case, to calculate 30% of 1000 square meters, we do 1000 x 0.3 and find the result in the form of 300 square meters. In the calculation of precedent, what matters is the ratio. In the calculation of gauge, on the other hand, it is important to pay attention to roof share. Let’s say, a building of a maximum of 10.5 meters is allowed in your zoning plan. Then, you must subtract 0.5 meters from it, because 0.5 meters refers to the share allocated for the roof. So you get a 10-meter value in front of you. If a 3-storey plan is allowed in the zoning plan and we have a useful area of 300 square meters, this means that each floor of the building should be 100 square meters. But that might not always be the case. Sometimes in zoning, the number of floors is not specified, only, the height is specified.
In this case, you can find out how much space per floor falls by following these steps.
- What is the area per floor for a 1000 square meter plot with a gauge (maximum building height) of 10.5 meters and a precedent value of 0.3?
- Multiply the precedent value by the area of the plot: 1000 x 0.3 = 300 square meters
- Remove the roof share from the gauge value: 10.5-0.5 = 10 meters
- Then, divide it by floor height: 10 / 3 = 3 floors (according to the legislation, the floor height can be a minimum of 2.60 meters. In this case, a 4-story building cannot be built. Maximum 3 floors are possible.)
- Divide the total construction area by the number of floors: 300/3 = 100 square meters. (That is, each floor can be no more than 100 square meters.)
The values obtained by these calculations refer to the maximum figures for that building. So you can’t build floors and buildings that are wider or higher than those values. But if you want, there is no harm in allocating a smaller area of your land for construction. For example, after building a two-story building, it is entirely up to you to make the third floor.
How Is the Calculation Done in Proprietorship Certificate Where the Gauge Value Is Not Included?
In some cases of proprietorship certificates, the maximum height value is not specified. It is called “H free” in construction parlance. But that doesn’t mean you can build a skyscraper. If we go through our example:
- A plot of 1000 square meters would have an area of 300 square meters with a precedent of 0.3.
- If the height is not specified in the zoning, in other words, if there is an “H free” situation, it is possible to build a two-2-storey building of 150 square meters per floor, as well as a five-storey building of 60 square meters per floor. But this building can never go beyond the 300-square-foot boundaries.
If you also have a plot and are preparing to construct a building, you can use this information. Hope you have the building of your dreams…