Brick Calculator

What the Brick Calculator Does

The Brick Calculator estimates how many bricks a wall needs from its dimensions, the brick size, the mortar joint, and a waste allowance. It works in feet and inches or meters and millimeters, supports standard US and metric brick presets, and also reports the net wall area, the number of bricks per square unit, and the mortar volume for the wall.

How to Calculate Bricks for a Wall

1. Choose your measurement units and enter the wall length and height.
2. Subtract openings: enter the combined area of doors and windows so they are not counted.
3. Pick a brick preset or enter custom brick dimensions.
4. Set the mortar joint thickness and the waste factor.
5. Read the brick count with waste and the supporting estimates on the right.

Every value recalculates on the spot as you type, and the step by step breakdown shows the arithmetic behind each stage of the estimate.

The Brick Formula

The number of bricks depends on the area each brick occupies once the mortar joint is included. Adding the joint to the brick length and height gives its effective footprint:

\[ \text{bricks} = \left\lceil \frac{L \times H - \text{openings}}{(\text{brickL} + \text{joint}) \times (\text{brickH} + \text{joint})} \right\rceil \]

The ceiling function rounds up to whole bricks. A 20 by 8 foot wall with no openings is 160 square feet. A standard US brick plus a 3/8 inch joint occupies about 0.153 square feet, so the wall needs roughly 1,049 bricks, or 1,102 with a 5 percent waste allowance.

Mortar Volume

Mortar fills the space between bricks. The tool estimates it by subtracting the volume of the bricks from the volume of the wall:

\[ V_{\text{mortar}} = A \times t - B \times \text{brickL} \times \text{brickH} \times t \]

Here \(A\) is the net wall area, \(t\) is the wall thickness (the brick width), and \(B\) is the brick count. The result is reported in cubic feet or cubic meters and is a good starting point for ordering mortar mix, though wastage and mixing loss mean you should round up.

Standard Brick Sizes

The presets cover the three most common sizes in the English speaking world:

• Standard US: 8 x 2.25 x 3.625 inches (length, height, width).
• Modular US: 7.625 x 2.25 x 3.625 inches, designed to line up with modular grids.
• Metric UK: 215 x 65 x 102.5 millimeters, the standard UK facing brick.

If your supplier stocks a different size, choose Custom and enter the exact dimensions from the product data sheet.

Mortar Joints and Waste

A mortar joint of 3/8 inch (10 mm) is typical for most walls, and reducing or increasing it changes the brick count noticeably because the joint affects the area each brick occupies. The waste factor covers cuts at corners and openings, breakage, and site handling. Five percent is a common allowance for simple walls, while walls with many corners, arches, or decorative patterns usually warrant 10 percent.

Related Construction Tools

• Concrete Calculator estimates concrete volume for footings, slabs, and piers that support the wall.
• Tile Calculator works the same way for tiled surfaces, with grout spacing included.
• Gravel Calculator covers driveways and drainage layers around the project.
• Square Footage Calculator totals irregular areas before you plug them into the brick estimate.