Brick Calculator
Estimate how many bricks a wall needs, allowing for mortar joints, openings and waste.
About the Brick Calculator
Enter the wall's length and height, any openings, the brick size, joint thickness, number of skins and a waste allowance. The calculator gives the bricks needed and the wall area.
Each brick plus its share of the joint covers (length + joint) × (height + joint). A UK metric brick (215 × 65 mm with 10 mm joints) gives about 60 bricks per m² for a single-skin wall; a US modular brick (7⅝ × 2¼ in with ⅜ in joints) gives about 6.75 per ft². Double the count for a double-skin wall.
The formula
Bricks = wall area ÷ ((L + j) × (H + j)) × skins × (1 + waste)
Worked example
A 20 × 6.5 ft single-skin wall in US modular bricks (7⅝ × 2¼ in, ⅜ in joints), 5% waste
- Wall area: 130 ft²
- Each brick and joint covers 8 × 2.625 = 21 in², about 6.86 per ft²
- 937 bricks with waste
Questions people ask
How much mortar?
Roughly 0.02–0.03 m³ per m² of single-skin wall with 10 mm joints.
Why add waste?
For cutting, breakages and chipped bricks: 5–10%.