How to Calculate GLA

Used by both Realtors and homeowners to describe the physical dimensions of a home, GLA, or Gross Living Area, is a measurement of how much actual square footage is usable by its occupants. Although there are several different ways of measuring actual GLA, the American National Standard Institute (ANSI), has published official guidelines for measuring GLA, and it is these guidelines that are used by most home appraisers. You can also measure the GLA of your home yourself if you know the measurements of all its rooms.

Instructions

- 1
  Include all rooms of the home that have floors that are above the grade of the ground outside of the house. All basement rooms, or rooms that have even just a corner below ground level, are kept out of GLA calculations.
- 2
  Exclude all bathrooms, foyers, breakfast areas and laundry areas from the count. These areas are not used when calculating the total GLA of a home because they're dedicated to a particular use and aren't available to be used around-the-clock.
- 3
  Take a total count of all living rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms, kitchens and other rooms that aren't excluded by the above rules. Remember that bedrooms in the basement or garage spaces that have been converted to living spaces are not included in the GLA calculation.
- 4
  Exclude any spaces that are shared by two or more levels in the house; landings, stairways and transitional spaces are examples. These areas are primarily used to move between different areas, so aren't included in GLA calculations.
- 5
  Add together the total square footage of all qualifying rooms in the house. This number is the GLA of the home.

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