Extreme Measures Planmine™ Help Desk
About Us
Sign In / Up

Extreme Measures

This help desk is a free resource intended for discussion purposes only. Neither BOMA, its chapters, affiliates, or Extreme Measures Inc.® are responsible for the information, comments or opinions expressed herein. For complete information, refer to the official publications of the standards themselves.

FAQ & Read-Me Articles
BOMA for Office Overview
BOMA for Industrial Overview
BOMA for Retail Overview
BOMA for Multi-Unit Residential Overview
BOMA Mixed-Use Overview
BOMA Gross Areas Overview
IPMS for Office Overview
Alternative Methodologies
Glossary of Industry Terms
What are as-built drawings / models?
What is CAD and BIM?
How do I resolve an area dispute?
Where can I get measurement standards publications?

Older Brick Buildings

Nathan Turner
Margulies Perruzzi Architects
April 18, 2014

As I keep re-reading the "dominant portion" definition I find myself wondering if the nature of 1900s era brick and beam buildings yield different perimeter boundary lines than a more contemporary steel, slab and curtain wall building.

If walls are 12-18" thick and have windows 4'-0" wide but only 12" between assemblies does one truly jog in and out for the whole perimeter condition or is there any type of "more than 50%" rule that applies here.

Any thoughts / suggestions on how to interpret this correctly?
(P.S. I am dealing with some others who seem to be mixing 1996 vs. 2010 standards AND conveniently blurring the lines of what is accepted / defined)

David Fingret
Extreme Measures Inc.
April 21, 2014

Hi Nathan,

BOMA does not make any distinctions in the application of the measuring standards based on age or construction type of a building. Therefore, you should jog in and out around the perimeter according to the rules specified in the BOMA Office standard. The 50% rule is based on what material is vertically dominant along the perimeter (usually the glazing or the inside finished surface of the exterior wall).

Nathan Turner
Margulies Perruzzi Architects
April 21, 2014

Thanks David.
I've heard some folks in the industry refer to an exterior boundary line being determined by looking at a majority condition. So if a wall has a lot of openings then one could use the glass line straight across, regardless of how many breaks there are in between.

I'm a lot more confident about my efforts to doing it right all along.

Thanks again!

Your Comments ...

Please allow up to 24 hours for your question to appear after it is reviewed.