How big is the house??

A comment we frequently get is:  The square footage of that house is huge!  Or.. That is too much house for us!  Or.. That is a really big house! And on, and on!  You get the idea…

Why is that??

Because, in North America, when you talk about home size, you are talking about the interior area of the house, often only the interior, air conditioned area. For example, if you say your house is 2,500 square feet, what you are actually saying, is that the interior, usually the interior, air conditioned space, is 2,500 square feet. You are not counting into that square footage, the size of your attached garage, or the size of your balconies, or your Terraces, or any other additional spaces.

Now…think about it for a second! Probably one of the main reasons why you decided to come to Costa Rica is because you love the weather! You love the tropical conditions. You like the open views and nature that surrounds you. This means your house will have a much bigger balance of outdoor spaces, as compared to indoor spaces. Very often there is more outdoor, “under roof” area in a house, than there is “indoor” space.

All of these areas are accounted for when calculating the size of the house! Now, you can understand why, when we are talking about the size of a house, the numbers often seem so large!

​

The total area of a house, in Costa Rica, includes all the interior spaces; plus all outdoor spaces under roof, covered balconies decks and terraced areas, often including attached garages, etc.  What you will not add to the area are things like the pool, any uncovered pool or terraced areas; unattached carport or garage, etc.

For example, in the house plan shown above…. the area / the sq footage of the house would include the covered, outdoor living space / terrace and the 1 meter of sidewalk around the house.
​
So, in a nut shell… that explains why the home or building plan you are looking at, may appear to be so large!
Now you know!

​We are here to answer any of your questions or clarify any confusion you may have!

Pura Vida!

​The team at Ballena Homes
​Marcel, Bill and Darrel