A question was based on, Maximum stories they could build (Assuming each story was built to it’s full extent/setback allowed) based on the FAR and setbacks, and long story short the math came to 5.9.
The correct answer was 6 however, and the answer did not say to round to the nearest whole number. So why isn’t the correct answer 5, if it specifically stated “If each story was built to it’s full extent/setback allowed”? Would NCARB try something like that?
Hi @tmann7465 thanks for writing in!
When a question asks ‘what’s the maximum number of floors’ the answer will always be a whole number, so no rounding instructions will be given. The question states to ‘Assume that each floor is built to the maximum allowable footprint…’ which is influenced both by FAR and setbacks. Floors 1-5 have a maximum footprint governed by setbacks, and floor 6 is slightly smaller due to FAR regulations.
A question like this is in line with what you can expect on the actual ARE.