Brick Calculator
Enter your wall area and brick size to estimate the number of bricks needed, including a waste allowance for cuts and breakage.
Results
- Bricks needed
- 1,320 bricks
- Wall area
- 160 sq ft
- Bricks per sq ft
- 7.5
Estimates only. Round up and buy a little extra to account for waste, spills, and breakage.
Building a garden wall, veneer face, pillar, or planter? This brick calculator turns your wall dimensions into an exact brick count, plus the mortar you need to lay them, so you order one pallet quantity instead of guessing.
It accounts for the mortar joint, which is the number most estimates get wrong. A brick plus a 3/8 in joint is what actually occupies the wall, so counting bare brick faces always leaves you short.
Also used as a brick wall calculator, brick quantity estimator, and bricks-per-square-foot calculator.
How to use the brick calculator
- Enter the wall length in ft.
- Enter the wall height in ft.
- Enter the brick size.
- Enter the openings to subtract in sq ft.
- Enter the waste factor in %.
- Optionally add a price to estimate the total project cost.
- Read your quantities instantly — no sign-up, and you can print the estimate to take to the supplier.
Worked example
Inputs
- Wall length
- 20 ft
- Wall height
- 8 ft
- Brick size
- Modular (7.5 per sq ft)
- Openings to subtract
- 0 sq ft
- Waste factor
- 10 %
Results
- Bricks needed
- 1,320 bricks
- Wall area
- 160 sq ft
- Bricks per sq ft
- 7.5
Using the example values above, the brick calculator returns 1,320 bricks (bricks needed). Change any field to match your own project and the numbers update instantly.
How many bricks per square foot?
A standard modular brick measures 7 5/8 × 2 1/4 in and, with a 3/8 in mortar joint, occupies 8 × 2 5/8 in of wall face. That works out to about 6.8 bricks per square foot for a single-wythe wall, or roughly 7 per square foot once you round up.
Double-wythe walls, common on structural garden walls and pillars, double that to about 13.5 bricks per square foot. Queen and king size bricks run lower, around 5.7 and 4.6 per square foot respectively.
Mortar, pallets and ordering
Plan on about 7 bags of mortar mix per 1,000 modular bricks for standard 3/8 in joints, plus roughly a cubic yard of sand per 8 bags if you mix your own. Wider joints and rough-textured brick push consumption up.
Brick is usually sold by the pallet, commonly 500 or so units depending on the supplier and size. Order 5 to 10 percent extra for cuts at corners and openings, and keep a few spares from the same batch since colour varies between firings.
How much extra should I order?
Always order a little extra. A 5% waste factor suits simple, square projects; 10% is right for most jobs; bump it to 15–20% for irregular shapes, diagonal patterns, or uneven ground. Running short almost always costs more than the leftover material.
Cubic yard coverage by depth
| Depth | Coverage per cu yd |
|---|---|
| 1 in | 324 sq ft |
| 2 in | 162 sq ft |
| 3 in | 108 sq ft |
| 4 in | 81 sq ft |
| 6 in | 54 sq ft |
Formula
Bricks = wall area ÷ (brick face area + mortar joint), × (1 + waste%).
Frequently asked questions
- How many bricks per square foot?
- A standard modular brick wall uses about 7 bricks per square foot of face including mortar joints; sizes range from 5.5 to 7.5.
- How much waste should I add for brick?
- Add 5–10% for cuts and breakage on a straight wall, and up to 15% for patterns, curves, or older reclaimed brick.
- How many bricks do I need for a 10x10 wall?
- A 100 sq ft single-wythe wall in standard modular brick takes about 680 bricks, or roughly 720 once you add a 5 percent allowance for cuts and breakage.
- How many bricks are in a pallet?
- Most suppliers ship modular brick in pallets of 500 to 534 units, though this varies by manufacturer and brick size, so confirm before ordering.
- How much mortar do I need for 1000 bricks?
- About 7 bags of pre-mixed mortar for standard 3/8 in joints. Wider joints, rough brick, or slushed-full head joints can push that to 8 or 9 bags.
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