Brick Calculator
Work out how many bricks you need for a wall or veneer from its size and the brick type, plus the mortar and cost.
- Wall area
- Per square foot
- Net count
- Courses
- Mortar
- Mortar volume
- Cost
- Add prices to estimate
Wall List
Walls you add are saved in this browser.
| Wall | Size | Area | Bricks | Mortar Bags | Cost | Remove |
|---|
How to Calculate Bricks
Each brick covers its face size plus one mortar joint in each direction. A modular brick is 7⅝″ long and 2¼″ tall; with 3/8″ joints it covers 8″ × 2⅝″ = 21 square inches, so 144 ÷ 21 = 6.86 bricks per square foot. The Brick Industry Association lists 6.75 per square foot for modular brick because it assumes three courses to 8″ of height, which works out to slightly thicker bed joints.
Multiply by the wall area, subtract openings, and add 5% to 10% for cuts and breakage. A double-wythe wall, two bricks thick, takes twice as many.
Worked Example
Common Brick Sizes
| Type | Actual Size (D × H × L) | Per Sq. Ft. | Per 100 Sq. Ft. |
|---|
With 3/8″ mortar joints, before waste.
Mortar
Quikrete's data sheet says an 80 lb bag of its Mortar Mix lays up to 37 standard bricks, so the calculator divides the brick count by 37 and rounds up. The mortar volume comes from the joint size: each brick needs a bed joint under it and a head joint at one end. For modular brick with 3/8″ joints that's about 8 cubic feet per 1,000 bricks, before waste.
Tips for Brickwork
Brick sizes vary by maker and region, so check the actual size of the brick you're buying and use Custom if it differs. Buy all the brick for a job at once so the color matches, and blend bricks from several pallets as you lay them.