What is Plot Area | Built-up Area | Carpet Area | Types of Area In Building

Before purchasing a house, we must have knowledge about Plot areas, Built-up areas, and Carpet Areas related to House Construction.

When you are buying a house, then you surely need to know what the floor area is? What is its plot area? This information helps you to gain an idea about what are the areas that are referred to by the sellers in the brochures.

Different areas provide different information. The carpet area, floor area, or built-up area of the house is given to you. If you are purchasing land, then you will come across the term plot area.

If you want to know what is included in these areas so that you can estimate the area next time you come across terms like

“The carpet area for the flat is 1500 sq. feet or the plot area is 2000 sq. feet.”

Before going to purchase a house, make sure you know what each area means so that you can decide which best deal is out there for you.

Read More: Cost of Construction of One Room (10 FT. X 10 FT.)

Different Types of Areas in Building Construction

The following are different types of areas used in building construction,

1. Plot Area
2. Built-up area or Plinth area
3. Super built-up area
4. Carpet area
5. Floor area
6. Setback area

1. Plot Area

It also goes by the name Site Area.

Plot area meaning

The complete area that is under your ownership or between the fencing is called the Plot Area.

Generally, fencing is done to denote the boundaries that are under your authority.

Areas included in the plot area,

• The whole land that falls in your ownership

Calculation of plot area,

Normally, the plots are in a rectangular shape. Then you can easily calculate its area by simply taking out the product of length and breadth. (Watch Video: How to Calculate Plot Area)

Areas for some of the shapes are tabulated below for your quick reference.

However, if you have a plot of irregular shapes, then you can go for the approximations. Nevertheless, you need to calculate the exact area as the price will be per sq. unit of the plot area.

You can calculate the irregular-shaped area with the help of Heron’s formula.

Heron’s Formula:

Step 1:

Divide the plot into a number of triangles.

Step 2:

Measure the distances of the sides of the triangles by calculating chain, or a tape will also do.

Let this distance of the three sides be denoted by a, b, and c.

Step 3:

The area of each triangle can be calculated by the following formula:

Step 4:

Take the summation of the areas of all the triangles calculated in the above step, and you will get the plot area.

Plot area = A₁ + A₂ + A₃ +……..+ A_n

Watch Video: How to Calculate Plot Area BY Heron’s Formula

2. Built-up Area

The built-up area is the total area of your flat or bungalow which includes the carpet area and the wall thickness.

This will include all the space you can move on, the area of walls, and the utility area.

Normally, the built-up area is 10-15% more than the carpet area.

Areas included in the Built-up area,

• Living room and drawing room
• Kitchen
• Bedroom
• Bathroom
• Staircase
• Terrace
• Balcony
• Veranda
• Utility area
• Wall thickness

If your house possesses a common wall, 50% of that wall area is included in the built-up area.

Super built-up area,

Some of the common areas like a corridor, lift space, swimming pool, etc. are added to the built-up area to get the super built-up area.

The builder prefers to fix the price based on the super built-up area, as this area includes the area of all the amenities facilitated to you.

Areas included in the Super Built-up area,

• Built-up area
• Swimming pool
• Park
• Gym
• Playground
• Clubhouse

3. Carpet Area

The area over which you can spread a carpet is the carpet area.

Thus, it will give the total space that is available for use. In other words, the carpet area can be defined as the net usable floor area of the apartment or bungalow.

Most of the bodies regulating the real estate sector have now started enforcing builders to calculate the selling price based on the carpet area.

This uniformity is advised to ensure transparency in the selling and purchasing process. You can know precisely what you are going to get as the common areas are excluded when the rate is provided on the basis of carpet area.

Areas included in the Carpet area,

The usable floor area of

• Living room
• Dining room
• Bedroom
• Other rooms
• Kitchen
• Bathroom
• The thickness of internal walls

Areas NOT included in the Carpet area,

• Terrace area
• Lift area
• Service shafts
• Exclusive balcony
• Corridor area
• The thickness of external walls

Read More: How to Calculate Tiles Needed for A FLoor

4. Floor Area

The floor area is the summation of the horizontal areas of all the floors in the building or your bungalow, which also includes the basement area.

The area of each floor is measured out-to-out, i.e., the wall thickness is included too.

Areas included in the Floor area,

• Gross internal area
• Wall thickness
• Basement area

Areas NOT included in Floor area,

Roof area

The value of the floor area is limited to a specific value to restrict the development of usable space on a plot in terms of the number of stories. The local authoritative body determines this value.

Floor Area Ratio (FAR) serves the purpose of limiting the floor area.

The floor area ratio is also known as FSI- Floor Space Index.

The value of the Floor Area Ratio is the ratio of the built-up area to the plot area.

5. Setback Area

The plot area, which is to be left on all sides of a building from the property line, in which the construction is prohibited by law, is called the setback area.

The limits for the setback area are set up by the local municipal body that has the jurisdiction of the plot area. 

Violation of this law is a legal offense. The government can levy fines and even ask to take down the non-compliant structures of the building falling in the setback area.

If due to unavoidable circumstances, some construction work falls in the area of setback, then you need to take approval from the municipal body by submitting a petition. However, permission is granted under exceptional and unavoidable cases only.

The restriction that no construction should be done on the space around the built-up area, even though the area lies within your property, is enforced for the following purpose:

If the construction is allowed up to the boundaries of the wall, then the foundations for the walls will overlap with the foundation of the walls of the neighboring plot.

The soil needs to be excavated for the foundation. If the distance to the plot boundary is not left, the excavation of the soil renders the foundation of the neighboring walls unstable.

It helps the residents of the building by allowing the sunlight to reach inside.

It keeps the inside of the building well ventilated.

To make sure building stays away from the road

Easy movement of the vehicles

To ensure safe placement of the pipelines for water supply, gas supply, and wastewater pipes.

Setback to be left around the building varies according to the condition. The factors affecting setback distance are

• Plot size
• One-sided, two-sided, three-sided, or open plot
• Zone in which the plot is located
• Width of the road near the plot

Summary

Floor Area = total usable area + Wall thickness

Carpet Area  = Total floor area – Area of external walls

Built-up Area  = carpet area + Area of walls

Super Built-up Area   = Built-up area + Common amenities area

= Built-up Area of All Floors

• The total floor area includes the floor area of ALL the floors
• The carpet area is the net usable area on which a carpet can be spread.
• The built-up area, also called the Plinth area, is the total area provided for use.
• The Super built-up area includes common spaces like the park, playgrounds, gym, and other utilities common to the residents.
• The plot area is the land area between the fencing.
• The setback area is the offset left round the building enforced by the law.

Difference Between Plot Area, Built-Up Area, and Carpet Area

The following table shows the difference between built-up area vs plot area, plot area vs carpet area

Area	Carpet area	Floor area	Built-up area	Super built-up area
1. Bedroom	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
2. Living room	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
3. Kitchen	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
4. Bathroom	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
5. Internal Wall thickness	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
6. External Wall thickness	–	Yes	Yes	Yes
7. Exclusive balcony	–	Yes	Yes	Yes
8. Corridor	–	Yes	Yes	Yes
9. Terrace area	–	–	Yes	Yes
10. Staircase	–	–	Yes	Yes
11. Swimming pool	–	–	–	Yes
12. Gym	–	–	–	Yes
13. Park/Playground	–	–	–	Yes
14. Clubhouse	–	–	–	Yes

FAQs:

Watch Video: Difference Between Plot Area, Built-Up Area, and Carpet Area:

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