Occupancy Group and Occupancy: To select an occupancy from a list of available occupancies, do the following:
Click the 
button for the Occupancy Group to display the following list of occupancy groups:
Use the Occupancy screen to select one or more occupancy. The total percentage of all occupancies must be 100%. This screen has two major parts:
Selected Occupancies: Top portion of screen that lists all the occupancies you have selected. Use this list to see which occupancies you have selected (including the occupancy percentage total), and to delete an occupancy.
Occupancy Detail: Bottom portion of the screen that you use to enter a new occupancy.
The data items that you enter or select for each occupancy (in the Occupancy Detail portion of the screen) are:
Occupancy (using the Occupancy Group and Occupancy or the Code)
Use the buttons at the bottom of this screen to do the following:
Cancel: Cancel the creation of the new estimate, returning to the Estimates screen. If you click Cancel, nothing that you entered is saved.
< Previous: Move back to the previous Guided Entry screen (Building Information).
Next >: Move forward to the next Guided Entry screen (Exterior Walls). This button is not available until the total occupancy percentage is 100%.
Finish: Close Guided Entry and move to the Estimate Detail screens to continue data entry, calculate the costs or display reports.
The Selected Occupancy list at the top of the occupancy screen displays the occupancies you have selected in the section. You should continue to add occupancies until the total percentage is 100%.
To delete an occupancy, click the delete symbol at the end of that occupancy's row in the list.
If the total occupancy percentage is over 100%, you must delete one or more occupancies in this list, then reenter them with the correct percentages.
Use the Occupancy Detail to add an occupancy as follows:
Either use Occupancy Group and Occupancy to select an occupancy from a list of available occupancies, or type the occupancy code in the Code field.
Enter the Percentage for that occupancy, keeping in mind that the total occupancy percentage must be 100.
Enter the occupancy's Story Height (or accept the height automatically set by Commercial Estimator).
Select the Construction Class for the occupancy.
Select the overall Quality for the occupancy. This quality will automatically be set for all components not given their own qualities.
Click the Add button to add the occupancy to the Selected Occupancies list.
Use either the Occupancy Group and Occupancy fields or the Code field to select an occupancy to add as follows:
Occupancy Group and Occupancy: To select an occupancy from a list of available occupancies, do the following:
Click the button for the Occupancy Group to display the following list of occupancy groups:
Apartments, Clubs, Hotels
Multiples, Motels
Stores, Commercials
Garages, Industrials, Lofts, Warehouses
Offices, Medical, Public Buildings
Churches, Theaters, Auditoriums
Sheds, Farm Buildings
Schools, Classrooms
Click the 
button for the occupancy to display a list of occupancies in this group.
Click on the occupancy in this list to add the occupancy. This automatically displays the code in the code field and the occupancy name to the right of the code.
Code: To directly enter an occupancy, enter its code in this field. The occupancy name displays to the right of the code. If the occupancy code field already contains a code, you can type a different code in this field to change the occupancy. However, if the 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.
With either of these methods, once you have selected or entered the occupancy, enter or accept its percentage, story height, class and quality, then click the Add button to add the occupancy to the Selected Occupancies List.
Enter the percentage of this occupancy. The total percentage of all occupancies, as shown at the bottom of the Selected Occupancies list, 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 roofline) 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.
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)
In addition to the Marshall & Swift Classes, you can also select one of the ISO Classes. The standard ISO Classes, together with the type of exterior walls and framing used for that class, are:
|
ISO Class |
Wall/Framing Type |
|
1 Frame/Combustible |
Wood- or Steel-Framed Exterior Walls |
|
2 Joisted Masonry |
Masonry Bearing Walls |
|
3 Noncombustible |
Metal Frame and Wall |
|
4 Masonry Noncombustible |
Masonry Bearing Walls |
|
5 Modified Fire Resistive |
Fireproof Structural Steel Frame |
|
6 Fire Resistive |
Reinforced Concrete Frame |
In addition, the following additional classes are available in Commercial Estimator to account for differences in exterior walls and framing within some ISO Classes:
|
ISO Class |
Wall/Framing Type |
|
1H Frame/Combustible |
Hoop Frame |
|
1P Frame/Combustible |
Wood Frame and Metal Walls (Pole Frame) |
|
2M Joisted Masonry |
Mill Type Construction |
|
3W Noncombustible |
Metal Slant Frame and Walls |
|
5B Modified Fire Resistive |
Reinforced Concrete Frame |
|
5C Modified Fire Resistive |
Framing other than Protected Steel or Reinforced Concrete, or NO FRAME |
|
6A Fire Resistive |
Fireproof Structural Steel Frame |
|
6C Fire Resistive |
Framing other than Protected Steel or Reinforced Concrete, or NO FRAME |
Note that all classes are not available for all occupancies. When selecting a class for an occupancy, only the available classes display.
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. The descriptions on the following pages are only a brief guide as to the basic characteristics found at each quality level. You are urged to refer to Sections 11-18 of the Marshall Valuation Service or Commercial Cost Explorer for pictures and written descriptions to aid in the quality selection.