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In measuring construction floor area of a building :
1. should exterior wall cladding be included?
2. is exterior column projecting outside the exterior wall be included?
Are you referring to the 'Construction Gross Area' in the The Gross Areas of a Building: Methods of Measurement (2009) or are you referring to the BOMA 1996 for office?
Yes, I am referring to construction gross area. Will the exterior wall cladding be included in the measurement? will column protruding outside the building be also included?
1. Though the Standard does not specifically speak of "cladding", the Gross Construction Area is delineated by the "building perimeter" which is defined as:
A horizontal line forming a perimeter that encompasses all the constructed elements of a given floor of a building and other areas covered by a roof. Nonstructural protrusions, including eaves, cornices, canopies, awnings, sills, ledges, casing, wainscoting, gutters, downspouts, signs, shutters, attached electrical or mechanical systems or decorative projections, are ignored.
So, you need to decide whether your cladding is part of the wall structure or whether it is a nonstructural protrusion. In the case of standard aluminum or vinyl style cladding, we would include this material in the calculation of the building perimeter.
2. Exterior Columns that support a roof or drip-line condition are included in Construction Gross Area.