IFC Floor Area Takeoff

Reads each IfcSpace's floor area from its quantity sets (NetFloorArea preferred), reports per-space areas with a project total, and flags spaces missing an area quantity. Run it on its own, or stack it with other checks in the Validation Center.

Pull a per-space floor-area schedule out of an IFC model, with a project total — and find the spaces that have no area quantity at all, which are the ones that silently vanish from every downstream area report.

Floor area is the number that decides rent, planning compliance, cost per square metre and most feasibility arguments, and it is usually taken from a schedule nobody re-derives from the model. This does derive it from the model — space by space, with the total — so the figure can be checked rather than inherited.

When to reach for it: When you need a quick per-space floor-area schedule straight from the model, or want to find the spaces that have no area quantity set before a takeoff.

What you get: A per-space floor-area schedule (NetFloorArea preferred) with a project total, plus a findings list of spaces missing an area quantity — exportable to CSV, HTML, or BCF.

Example: Pull a quick per-space area schedule and find the spaces that have no area quantity set.

Where the area comes from

Each IfcSpace is read for its floor-area quantity, preferring NetFloorArea, then GrossFloorArea, then a plain FloorArea, then any area quantity the space carries. The preference order is deliberate: net before gross, because a net figure is the one an area schedule normally reports, and a tool that grabbed whichever it found first would give different answers on models that carry both.

Areas are reported in the model's OWN area unit, taken verbatim from the quantity — no conversion is applied, so nothing is silently rescaled. Check the model's declared units with Get IFC File Info if you're not sure what you're looking at.

A takeoff that doubles as a completeness check

The result comes back as two things. The takeoff itself: a parent line giving the space count and the total, with one row per space carrying its area. And separately, a flagged group of spaces that have NO area quantity — reported at medium severity, because those spaces exist in the model and contribute nothing to any area report built from it. A schedule that quietly omits four rooms looks exactly like a correct one.

A model with no IfcSpace at all is called out explicitly rather than scored as clean. That distinction matters: a structural or MEP model has no spaces by nature, and a silent pass on "no spaces found" is the single most common reason a validation tool gets written off as broken.

Run it alone, or stack it with other checks

It works as a standalone tool on a single upload, and it also runs as one section inside the Validation Center, so an area takeoff can sit alongside a space-program check, a name validation and a health report in one pass over the same model. Results ride the same findings plumbing as every other check: click a space to isolate it in the 3D viewer, export the schedule as an HTML or CSV report, or push the flagged spaces into a collaboration room as issues.

If the spaces are missing areas because the export never wrote quantity sets, Add IFC Base Quantities can compute and write them from geometry — then re-run this and the flagged group empties.

How to take floor areas off an IFC model

Upload your IFC file
Click Run — no configuration needed
Review the per-space areas, the project total, and any spaces with no area quantity
Export the schedule to CSV or the findings to BCF / HTML

Under the hood

BIMCamel parses IFC files in the browser using the open-source web-ifc engine and renders models with @thatopen/components + three.js. Heavy operations (clean / optimise / validate / convert) run on disposable server-side workers using the same web-ifc stack plus our own .NET pipeline; results stream back to your browser as soon as they're ready. Uploads sit on our servers only as long as your tier's retention window allows and are never used to train AI.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get floor areas out of an IFC file?

Upload the model and run this tool. It reads each IfcSpace's floor-area quantity and returns a per-space schedule with a project total, plus a list of any spaces that have no area quantity.

Which area does it report — net or gross?

NetFloorArea when the space has one, then GrossFloorArea, then a plain FloorArea, then any area quantity present. Net is preferred because that is what an area schedule normally reports; every row shows the value it used.

Why are some spaces flagged instead of measured?

Because they carry no area quantity. Those spaces contribute nothing to any area report generated from the model, so they're reported separately at medium severity — a schedule missing four rooms looks identical to a correct one otherwise.

What if my model has no spaces?

You'll be told so explicitly rather than getting a clean pass. Structural and MEP models generally have no IfcSpace, and reporting that as "no problems found" would be misleading. Run it on the architectural model, which is where spaces live.

Are the areas converted to square metres?

No — they're reported in the model's own declared area unit, verbatim from the quantity, so nothing is silently rescaled. Get IFC File Info shows what units the model declares.

What's the maximum IFC file size?

Up to 25 MB as a guest, 100 MB with a free account, 500 MB on Pro, and 1 GB on Team. The caps are on upload size only — every tool itself is available on every tier.

What happens to my file after processing?

Your file is uploaded over HTTPS and processed on our servers. Guest uploads are stream-only — the working files are deleted as soon as your download finishes. Free accounts keep results for 7 days; Pro keeps them 90 days and Team 180 days. Files are never shared with third parties or used to train AI.

Is IFC Floor Area Takeoff free?

Yes. IFC Floor Area Takeoff is free to use — guests get 3 runs a day with 25 MB uploads, and a free account raises that to 10 runs a day with 100 MB uploads. No trial clock, no watermarks.