Brick Calculator
A brick takes up its own size plus the mortar joint around it, so the joint changes the count. Enter the wall and the brick and this works out both the bricks and the mortar.
Bricks needed
1,026bricks
- Wall area
- 160.0 sq ft
- Less openings
- 136.0 sq ft
- Bricks per sq ft
- 6.86
- Mortar
- 9 bags
- Includes a 10% waste allowance. The bare figure is 136.00 sq ft.
- A brick occupies its own size plus the mortar joint around it, so the joint thickness changes the count. Three eighths of an inch is the standard bed joint in the US; ten millimetres is the equivalent elsewhere.
- Mortar is worked out at about 125 bricks to an 80lb bag, which is the trade figure for a single-wythe wall at a standard joint.
About the brick calculator
Most brick calculators multiply the wall area by a fixed number of bricks per square foot. That figure is only right for one brick at one joint thickness. A modular brick at a three-eighths joint gives 6.86 bricks a square foot; the same wall in queen size gives 5.76. Working from the brick you are actually laying is the whole point of measuring it.
The joint matters as much as the brick. A modular brick measures 7 5/8 by 2 1/4 inches, and with a three-eighths joint it lays out on an 8 by 2 5/8 module — so every brick occupies 21 square inches of wall rather than the 17 the brick itself covers. Laying to a tighter joint puts more bricks in the same wall.
Wythes are the other thing to get right. A brick veneer on a timber-framed house is one wythe thick and the wall area is the brick count. A solid brick wall is two or more, and every wythe is a full count again.
What it works out
- Brick count for any brick size and joint thickness
- Mortar bags, at the trade yield
- Doors and windows taken off the wall area
- Solid walls of two or more wythes
The formula
Bricks = (Wall area × Wythes × (1 + Waste)) ÷ ((Brick length + Joint) × (Brick height + Joint))
The denominator is the whole idea. A brick does not occupy its own face area on the wall — it occupies its face plus the mortar joint on one long edge and one short edge, because the joint on the other two sides belongs to the next brick along and the course above.
A modular brick is 7 5/8 by 2 1/4 inches, which is 17.2 square inches of brick. Add a three-eighths joint to each dimension and it occupies 8 by 2 5/8, or 21 square inches. That is 6.86 bricks in a square foot rather than the 8.4 the bare brick face would suggest.
Wythes multiply the whole thing. A wythe is one brick thickness, so a veneer wall is one and a solid wall is two — and the second wythe is a full count again, not a fraction of one.
Waste covers the cuts at openings and corners and the brick that arrives chipped. Five per cent is enough on a plain rectangular wall; ten is right once there are openings to cut around.
- Wall area
- Length times height, with doors and windows taken off.
- Brick length
- The brick as it measures, not its nominal name. A "modular" brick is 7 5/8 inches long.
- Brick height
- The face height. Modular is 2 1/4 inches, queen 2 3/4, utility 3 5/8.
- Joint
- The mortar bed. Three eighths of an inch is standard in the US, ten millimetres elsewhere.
- Wythes
- How many bricks thick the wall is. One for a veneer, two for a solid wall.
- Waste
- Extra for cuts, corners and breakage.
A worked example
A twenty by eight foot wall with two windows in it, in modular brick at a three-eighths inch joint, one wythe thick, with ten per cent for waste.
That works out to 1,026 bricks.
- Wall area
- 160.0 sq ft
- Less openings
- 136.0 sq ft
- Bricks per sq ft
- 6.86
- Mortar
- 9 bags
Questions
How many bricks are in a square foot?
For a modular brick at a three-eighths inch joint, 6.86 — near enough seven. It changes with the brick: a queen-size brick at the same joint gives 5.76 a square foot, so a wall in queen takes about a sixth fewer bricks.
How many bricks do I need for a 10 by 10 foot wall?
686 in modular brick at a standard joint, before any allowance for waste. With ten per cent for cuts and breakage you would order 755.
How much mortar do I need?
About one 80lb bag for every 125 bricks, so a hundred square feet of wall takes six bags. That is for a single wythe at a standard joint — a thicker joint or a wall you are also filling behind takes more.
Does the mortar joint really change the brick count?
Yes, and by more than people expect. A modular brick at a three-eighths joint gives 6.86 bricks a square foot. At a ten-millimetre joint the same brick gives 6.80. The difference is small per square foot and adds up across a house.
What is a wythe?
One brick thickness of wall. A brick veneer on a timber-framed house is a single wythe — the brick is a skin and the frame behind it is the structure. A solid brick wall is two wythes or more, and each one is a full brick count.
How many bricks are on a pallet?
Usually between 500 and 550 for modular brick, but it varies by supplier and by brick size, so check the quote rather than assuming. Order in whole pallets where you can — part pallets often carry a handling charge.
Should I order all the brick at once?
Yes, and from one production run if you can. Clay brick colour varies between firings, and a wall built from two batches can show the change as a band. If you do end up with two, mix them across the wall rather than working through one and then the other.
What waste allowance should I use for brick?
Five per cent on a plain rectangular wall, ten once there are openings, corners or a pattern involving cuts. Brick also arrives chipped more often than other materials, and a chipped brick can go into the middle of a wall but not on a corner.