The real estate experts seem to have a difference of opinion.
The question is this:
When you measure a room with a sloped ceiling, do you add for the width of an exterior wall (like you do in all other upper-level measurements taken from interior dimensions)?
The answer depends on who you ask. One appraiser will swear you are cheating the consumer if you don’t add for the exterior walls. You count the exterior walls in the main level measurements, so why would you not count them on the upper level?
Other appraisers will guarantee you that the measurement on rooms with sloped ceilings stops at the five-foot point on the sloped ceiling. They are positive you do NOT add for the width of the exterior wall. Who’s correct?
What does ANSI® say? It doesn’t. It says not to count the space where the ceiling height is less than 5.0 – and, it states that at least half of the finished area must be 7.0 where sloped ceilings are present. What it doesn’t say, is whether or not you should add for the width of the exterior walls where sloped ceilings are present. Since the only recognized “standard” doesn’t provide a specific rule, agents and appraisers have developed their own local customs and most professionals firmly believe their method is what ANSI® prescribes.
Who’s right? It obviously depends. However, considering that we are the real estate experts and consumers pay us for our knowledge, this is one area of the home selling process where one new rule could get rid of this debate and help to promote consistency and consumer protection. It seems like such a simple thing but, like measuring stairs and the sloped spaces below, the experts disagree.
So, how do you measure these spaces?
It’s your house and your money. Before you buy or sell, make sure your home has been professionally measured, and measured according to the ANSI measurement standard. Size does matter!
In the case of rooms with sloped ceilings, we follow the American Measurement Standard. We do NOT add for the width of the exterior walls in rooms with sloped ceilings. Our measurements are more consistent and considered to be used by the majority of real estate professionals.