Calculator
Engineering
MathBrick Calculator
Free brick calculator: bricks per m2, mortar bags and waste for any wall. Deducts door and window openings for an accurate brickwork estimate.
The Brick Calculator helps you estimate the number of bricks and amount of mortar needed for wall construction. Enter wall dimensions, select brick size, and get accurate material estimates.
Wall Dimensions
Have feedback? Report bugs, suggest features, or share your thoughts — we read them allWhat is a Brick Calculator?
A Brick Calculator is a construction estimation tool that helps determine the number of bricks and amount of mortar required for building walls. By inputting wall dimensions, brick size, and mortar joint thickness, you can accurately estimate material quantities, reducing waste and ensuring you order the right amount for your masonry project.
Common Brick Sizes
- Standard Brick (190×57×90mm): The most common brick size in the UK and many countries. Also known as work brick or building brick.
- Modular Brick (194×57×92mm): Designed to be compatible with modular building systems. Slightly larger than standard bricks.
- Queen Brick (244×70×92mm): Longer and taller than standard bricks, used for aesthetic purposes and faster construction.
- King Brick (244×76×92mm): The largest common brick size, often used for feature walls and modern construction.
Calculation Formulas
Number of Bricks:
Bricks = (Wall Area / Brick Area with Mortar) × (1 + Waste %)
Mortar Volume:
Mortar Volume = Total Volume - (Number of Bricks × Brick Volume)
Tips for Using Brick Calculator
- Standard mortar joint thickness is typically 10mm (3/8 inch)
- Add 5-10% waste allowance for breakage, cutting, and future repairs
- Double brick walls use approximately twice the number of bricks
- Account for door and window openings by reducing the wall area
- Different brick bonds (stretcher, Flemish, English) may affect brick count
- Always verify brick dimensions with your supplier as sizes can vary
- Consider ordering slightly more mortar as it's better to have excess
Common Applications
- Residential house construction and extensions
- Garden walls and boundary fences
- Retaining walls for landscaping
- Commercial building facades
- Fireplace and chimney construction
- Decorative feature walls
- Renovation and restoration projects
- Patio and outdoor structure walls
- Material estimation for construction quotes
Frequently Asked Questions
This brick calculator estimates how many bricks you need to build a wall of given dimensions, plus the volume of mortar required to join them. You enter the wall length and height (m, ft, in or cm), pick a brick size (standard 190x57, modular 194x57, queen 244x70 or king 244x76 mm), set the mortar joint and waste allowance, and enter any door or window openings. The tool computes the gross wall surface area, subtracts the total opening area, divides the net area by the face area of one brick (including the mortar joint) and returns the brick count, mortar volume in m3 and ft3, and the number of 50 kg mortar bags. It saves you from over-ordering pallets that clutter the jobsite or running short mid-course.
Use it for any wall larger than a small garden border, any masonry permit submission, and any project where you are buying full pallets rather than loose bricks. Single pallets typically hold 500 modular bricks and weigh around a ton, so over-ordering by even one pallet wastes money, fuel, and dumping fees. Under-ordering is worse: mid-project deliveries delay the mason crew, and dye lots from different production runs rarely match perfectly. The calculator becomes essential when you are mixing brick sizes, working with arched openings, or estimating mortar bags for a job with restricted on-site storage.
Most online brick calculators accept both imperial (feet, inches) and metric (meters, millimeters). Brick face dimensions are typically given in millimeters internationally and inches in the United States. Mortar is usually returned in cubic feet or cubic meters, sometimes converted to standard 80 lb bags or 25 kg bags. Always check that wall thickness matches brick orientation: a 4 inch wall is one brick wide (stretcher bond), 8 inch is two bricks (English or Flemish bond), 12 inch is three. Mixing units mid-form is the most common cause of orders that are off by a factor of three.
Bricks needed equals net wall area divided by the face area of one brick, where the face area includes the mortar joint. For a standard 190x57 mm brick with a 10 mm joint the effective face is 200x67 mm = 0.0134 m2, so one square metre of single-wythe wall takes about 75 bricks; a 194x57 mm modular brick gives roughly 73 per m2. Multiply by 2 for a double (full-brick) wall. Mortar volume is the wall volume (net area x brick width x wythes) minus the solid brick volume; this tool uses each preset's real width (90 mm standard, 92 mm modular/queen/king) so the m3 result is accurate. Mortar bags are derived at 1440 kg/m3 in 50 kg bags. Add 5 to 10 percent waste for cuts and breakage.
Enter the number of identical openings plus the width and height of one opening (each with its own unit: m, ft, in or cm). The tool computes the total opening area as count x width x height, then deducts it from the gross wall area to get the net wall area used for both the brick count and the mortar volume. The results panel shows gross area, the deducted opening area, and the net area so you can verify the figures. For walls with differently sized openings, run the calculation once per opening group or sum the areas yourself, then add a small extra allowance for the cut bricks around each reveal.
Three common gotchas: first, calculators often forget the perpend (vertical) joint when you specify face area, so verify the tool uses effective brick size, not nominal. Second, cuts around windows, corners, and rowlocks waste 5 to 10 percent of bricks because half-bricks rarely repurpose cleanly. Third, dye lot variance forces masons to pull bricks from multiple pallets and discard outliers, adding another 2 to 3 percent loss. Always order the calculator result plus a 10 percent buffer, and ask your supplier to set aside a partial pallet of the same lot for callbacks during the warranty period.
Mortar consumption depends on joint thickness, brick size, and bond pattern. As a rule of thumb, one cubic foot of mortar lays roughly 30 modular bricks at a 3/8 inch joint. A typical Type N mortar mix yields about 1 cubic foot per 80 lb bag of premix, or roughly 1.1 cubic feet per bag of masonry cement combined with three parts sand. Add 10 to 15 percent waste because mortar boards drop product and partial batches stiffen before use. For colored mortar, mix the entire job from one batch of dye to avoid visible seams between days of work.
Yes. In the US, masonry walls follow ACI 530 (TMS 402) for structural design and IBC Chapter 21 for fire ratings and seismic detailing. A non-load-bearing 4 inch veneer wall over 30 feet tall needs lateral ties to the backup wall every 16 inches vertically and 32 inches horizontally. Load-bearing brick over one story typically needs vertical rebar grouted into cells. In hurricane and seismic zones, special inspection of mortar joints and grout lifts is mandatory. The European equivalent is Eurocode 6 (EN 1996). Always confirm local amendments with your building department before ordering brick.
Standard brick calculators handle clay face brick and concrete masonry units, but fire brick (refractory) is a different animal. Fire brick is typically 9 inch by 4.5 inch by 2.5 inch (standard straight), bonded with high-alumina refractory mortar at a 1/16 inch joint, not 3/8 inch. The thin joint and large brick size mean the formula coefficients change: about 4.5 fire bricks per square foot of wall, not 6.86. Refractory mortar is sold dry in 50 lb buckets and consumes far less volume because the joint is thinner. Use a dedicated refractory estimator or hand-calculate for pizza ovens, kilns, and fireplace fireboxes.
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