OverviewUse the Occupancies screen to do the following: Add an Occupancy Using the Occupancy Code |
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Use the Occupancies screen to enter one or more occupancies (building uses) for the building (or section), together with the height, construction class and quality for each occupancy. The total percentage of all occupancies in the section must be 100%. The Occupancies screen has three major parts:
Occupancy Detail: Top portion of the screen that lists the values you entered for the occupancy that is highlighted in the Selected Occupancies list. Use this to enter or change the following for the occupancy:
Selected Occupancies: Middle portion of the screen that lists all the occupancies you have selected. Use this list to add or delete an occupancy, or to select an occupancy to edit.
Occupancy Search: Bottom portion of the screen that allows you to select occupancies to add to the section, and to display the description of any occupancy.
The fastest way to enter occupancies into Commercial Estimator is to first complete one of the Commercial Estimator Worksheets, then enter them directly on the Occupancies screen using the occupancy codes.
To add an occupancy directly using the occupancy code (from the Worksheet), do the following:
Type the occupancy’s code number in the Code field in the Occupancy Detail, then press the Tab key. Commercial Estimator displays the occupancy’s name next to the Code you typed, and displays default values for the other fields in the Occupancy Detail.
Make any necessary changes in these values. See the discussion of the Occupancy Detail section for further information.
Click the Add button at the bottom of the Occupancy Detail.
Commercial Estimator displays the data you have entered in the Selected Occupancies, and clears the fields in the Occupancy Detail.
To add an occupancy using search, do the following in the Occupancy Search section in the bottom portion of the screen.
Click on an Occupancy Group on the left side of the Occupancy Search section to display the occupancies in that group.
Double click on one of the Available Occupancies on the right side of the Occupancy Search section.
Commercial Estimator automatically displays this occupancy and its default values in the Occupancy Detail at the top of the screen.
Make any necessary changes in the default values. See the discussion of the Occupancy Detail section for further information.
Click the Add button at the bottom of the Occupancy Detail.
Commercial Estimator displays the data you have entered in the Selected Occupancies, and clears the fields in the Occupancy Detail.
To edit an occupancy:
Click the desired occupancy in the Selected Occupancies list in the middle of the screen. Commercial Estimator displays the information you previously entered for the occupancy in the Occupancy Detail.
Change any of the occupancy's information necessary on the Occupancy Detail. See the discussion of the Occupancy Detail section for further information.
Click the Update button at the bottom of the Occupancy Detail.
Commercial Estimator displays your changes in the Selected Occupancies, and clears the fields in the Occupancy Detail.
To delete an occupancy, click the delete icon for the occupancy in the Selected Occupancies list in the middle of the screen:
Use the Occupancy Detail at the top of the screen to enter or change the following information for the occupancy:
Commercial Estimator uses occupancy codes to uniquely identify each occupancy. Enter or select an occupancy in either of the following ways:
Direct Entry: Type the occupancy code in this field. The occupancy name displays to the right of the code.
Occupancy Search: Use the Occupancy Search section at the bottom of the screen to select an occupancy. The occupancy code and name automatically display on this line.
If the occupancy code field already contains a code, you can use either of these methods to select or enter a different occupancy. However, if the construction class selected for the old occupancy is not available for the new occupancy, Commercial Estimator automatically changes the class to the first class available for the new occupancy.
Enter the percentage of this occupancy. The total percentage of all occupancies in the section must be 100.
Story height is the vertical distance from the top of one floor to the top of the next floor. In a one-story building, measure story height from the floor surface to the roof eave. Do not include parapets (extensions of the wall above the roof line) in story height.
When using a single section, if the story heights vary in a multistory building, you can do either of the following:
Compute the average story height by dividing the total building height by the number of stories.
Example: If the first floor of a three-story building is 18 feet high and each of the other two floors are 10 feet high, compute the average story height by adding up the heights for each floor and dividing by the number of stories:
18 + 10 + 10 divided by 3 = 12.67
Enter 12.67 for the story height.
Enter the occupancy twice, once with one of the heights and the second with the other height.
Example: In the previous example, enter the occupancy with a percentage of 33% and a story height of 18 feet, then enter the occupancy again with a percentage of 67% and a story height of 10 feet.
For a building with a very high pitched roof, (e.g., A-frame):
Compute the cubic area (length x width x height) of the lower building portion, excluding A-frame roof section.
Compute the cubic area of the A-frame roof section by multiplying the length x width x height and divide by 2.
Add both sections of the building together and divide total by square foot area (excluding mezzanines) to determine building height.
For unfinished attics, include half of the increased height of the attic area when computing average story height.
Example: A two-story building with a height of 10 feet on each of the two floors and an unfinished 8-foot-high attic has an effective height of 24 feet, computed as follows:
10 + 10 + 1/2 of 8 = 24
The average story height entered for this building is 12 feet (the 24-foot effective height divided by the 2 floors).
Commercial Estimator requires a story height for the calculations.
Select the Construction Class for the occupancy. The standard Marshall & Swift Construction Classes are:
D Wood or Steel Stud Framed Exterior Walls
P Wood Frame and Metal Walls (Pole Frame)
Note: All classes are not available for all occupancies. When selecting a class for an occupancy, only the available classes display. Also, if after selecting a class you change the occupancy to an occupancy for which the class is not available, Commercial Estimator automatically changes the class to the first available one for the new occupancy.
The quality of the materials and workmanship in the building, and determines the cost level in the report. Enter one of the following qualities:
|
.5 |
Lowest |
|
1 |
Low |
|
1.5 |
Fair |
|
2 |
Average |
|
2.5 |
Above Average |
|
3 |
Good |
|
3.5 |
Very Good |
|
4 |
Excellent |
You should examine both materials and workmanship when determining the overall quality. The quality of materials and workmanship of individual building components may vary. However, the overall quality tends to be consistent for the entire building. Furthermore, the quality of materials and workmanship tend to influence each other.
Workmanship is often superficial, allowing you to easily observe its quality. The following are all indicators of better quality workmanship:
Solid and level floor structures
Plumb walls
Smooth finish on concrete and plastered surfaces
Mitered joints in both exterior and interior woodwork
Proper fitting doors and windows
As with workmanship, the quality of materials is usually apparent during the inspection of the building. Grade of wood, floor cover and fixtures (either standard or custom) are primary indications of material quality.
Since quality determines the cost level used in the report, you should exercise extreme care in choosing it. You are urged to refer to the quality selection portion of each occupancy's help for written descriptions to aid in the quality selection. Also refer to Sections 11-18 of the Marshall Valuation Service or Commercial Cost Explorer for pictures of various quality levels.
For more detailed information, see Cost Rank (Quality).