Brick Calculator
Bricks = net wall area × bricks per square foot for the size you pick, after deducting openings, plus a breakage allowance. A 30 × 8 ft modular-brick wall with a 3 × 5 ft window has 225 ft² of net area and takes 1,519 bricks, or 1,595 with 5% waste. For mortar, use the Mortar Calculator.
How it's calculated: Net area = wall length × height − openings; bricks = net area × bricks per ft² for the chosen size, plus the waste allowance.
Result appears here
Fill in the fields and press Calculate.
Formula, calculation, assumptions and sources
Net wall area = (Length × Height) − openings
Bricks = Net area (ft²) × bricks per ft² (modular = 6.75)
Mortar = bricks ÷ 1,000 × 8.1 ft³ (net, 3/8-in joints)
Run the calculation to see each step with your own numbers.
A 30 ft × 8 ft brick wall, one 3 × 5 ft window, modular brick, 5% waste.
Net area = 240 − 15 = 225 ft²
Bricks = 225 × 6.75 = 1,518.75 → 1,519; with 5% waste, order 1,595
Mortar = 1,518.75 ÷ 1,000 × 8.1 = 12.30 ft³ net → 12.92 ft³ with 5% waste (≈ 26 bags of mortar mix at 0.5 ft³)
- Single-wythe running bond. A double-wythe or a header course roughly doubles the count.
- Modular brick (7⅝ × 2¼ in) laid to modular coursing — 3 courses = 8 in, so a nominal 8 × 2⅔ in face → 6.75 per ft².
- Mortar is a net volume for full bed and head joints at 3/8 in; the waste allowance is added on top.
- Wall ties, weep holes, flashing, lintels and the cavity are separate.
- How many bricks in a square foot?
- 6.75 for standard modular brick — 675 per 100 ft² in BIA Technical Note 10, with 3 courses to 8 in. Oversize/queen brick is about 5.7, and utility brick about 3.0.
- Single-wythe or double-wythe?
- This assumes one layer of brick — a veneer or single-thickness wall. A solid double-wythe wall, or one with a bonded header course, uses roughly twice as many bricks; run it once per wythe.
- How is the mortar figured?
- 8.1 ft³ per 1,000 modular bricks with 3/8-in joints, from BIA Technical Note 10. That is a net figure with no waste, so the waste allowance is added on top. A bag of pre-blended mortar mix yields around half a cubic foot, so 1,000 bricks need about 16.2 bags before waste.
- How many bricks for a 10×8 wall?
- About 540 modular bricks for the 80 ft² face with no openings, or 567 with the default 5% allowance for breakage and cuts. Queen and utility sizes need fewer bricks per square foot.
- Does the brick count include mortar joints?
- Yes. The bricks-per-square-foot figure for each size already allows for its mortar joint, so the count covers the joints too. The mortar itself is estimated separately.
Bricks per area
Modular brick (nominal 4 × 2-2/3 × 8 in: a 7-5/8 × 2-1/4 in unit laid to modular coursing, 3 courses = 8 in) → 675 bricks per 100 ft² = 6.75 per ft² of wall. Brick Industry Association Technical Note 10 (2009), Table 4.
Mortar per brick
8.1 ft³ of mortar per 1,000 modular brick with 3/8-in joints — a net quantity based on the theoretical joint dimensions, not including waste. Brick Industry Association Technical Note 10 (2009), Table 4.
About the Brick Calculator
The Brick Calculator estimates the bricks and mortar for a wall from its area, the brick size and any openings to deduct. It assumes a single-wythe running bond — a double-wythe wall or a bonded header course roughly doubles the count. Wall ties, weep holes, flashing and lintels are separate. For concrete block instead of brick, use the Concrete Block or Block Wall calculators.
What you enter
- Wall length
- Wall height
- Openings to deduct
- Brick size + bond
- Waste allowance — Default 5%. Adjust to your own allowance — the exact figure is always shown too.
What you get back
- Net wall area — the exact result of the calculation.
- Bricks needed — shown as the exact figure and, separately, a recommended figure with your waste allowance added.
- Mortar volume — 8.1 ft³ per 1,000 modular brick (3/8-in joints), net — the waste allowance is added on top. A bag of mortar mix yields ~0.5 ft³.
The formula, a worked example, the assumptions behind it and the sources are shown in full below the calculator.
Related calculators
- Mortar Calculator — Mortar quantity for a brick or block wall.
- Block Wall Calculator — Blocks, mortar and fill for a concrete block wall.
- Concrete Block Calculator — Number of concrete masonry units (blocks) for a wall of a given area.
- Retaining Wall Calculator — Block count and base material for a segmental retaining wall.
Part of the Masonry calculators.