Brick and Mortar Calculator

1. Enter the wall length and height in feet, and the total openings area to subtract.
2. Choose the brick size and the mortar joint thickness.
3. Keep or adjust the brick waste (5 percent) and mortar waste (20 percent), the BIA guidance.
4. Read the bricks to order, the mortar volume and the approximate sand.

Here is what each result line means:

A brick and mortar calculator turns the size of a wall into the number of bricks and the volume of mortar to buy. It uses the wall-area method from Brick Industry Association Technical Note 10, which BIA describes as the most widely used estimating procedure: multiply the net wall area by known quantities per square foot.

Mortar is a cement-based material, so a brick wall shares a lot with concrete work. For a concrete block wall use the block calculator in the related tools. To get a concrete footing mix right use the concrete mix calculator, for its weight the concrete weight calculator, and to price the pour the concrete cost calculator.

BIA Table 4 lists, for each brick size, how many bricks cover 100 square feet and how many cubic feet of mortar 1,000 bricks take, for 3/8 and 1/2 inch joints. Those figures do not include waste, so BIA says to add it afterwards.

1. Subtract openings from the gross wall area for the net area.
2. Multiply the net area by the brick per 100 square feet and divide by 100 for the net brick count.
3. Multiply the net bricks by the mortar per 1,000 brick and divide by 1,000 for net mortar.
4. Add at least 5 percent to the bricks and 15 to 25 percent to the mortar for waste.

Suppose you are building a 20 by 8 foot wall in modular brick with 3/8 inch joints, no openings, using 5 percent brick waste and 20 percent mortar waste.

Calculation: the net area is 20 x 8 = 160 sq ft. At 675 per 100 square feet, that is 1,080 bricks net, or 1,134 with 5 percent waste. Mortar is 1,080 / 1,000 x 8.1 = 8.75 cu ft net, or 10.5 cu ft with 20 percent waste. BIA’s rough rule of 8 bags of masonry cement per 1,000 modular brick suggests about 10 bags.

The lesson: modular brick works out to 6.75 per square foot, so a small wall is already over a thousand bricks.

BIA Technical Note 10, Table 4, quantities without waste:

The figures assume running or stack bond with fully bedded solid units. BIA gives correction factors for header bonds and hollow brick.

Brick Size

Larger bricks mean fewer units per square foot: utility brick needs fewer than half as many as modular for the same wall.

Joint Thickness

A 1/2 inch joint uses noticeably more mortar than a 3/8 inch joint; for modular brick, 10.3 versus 8.1 cubic feet per 1,000.

Bond Pattern

Patterns with headers, such as Flemish or English bond, need more bricks and mortar. BIA adds, for example, one fifth more brick for common bond with headers every fifth course.

Collar Joints and Hollow Units

A mortared collar joint between wythes adds mortar, while hollow units laid with face-shell bedding use less.

Brick and concrete block are both laid in mortar, but they are sized and used differently.

For a block wall, the concrete block calculator in the related tools counts units and mortar by area.

Ordering Brick

Turn the wall into a brick count with waste before you order, so the whole job comes from one production run and the colour matches.

Ordering Mortar Materials

The mortar volume and the sand estimate size the masonry cement and sand you need.

Comparing Brick Sizes

See how a larger brick cuts the unit count and laying time before you choose.

1. Using the Gross Area

BIA uses the net area. Subtract doors and windows so you do not order brick for holes.

2. Forgetting Waste

The Table 4 figures exclude waste. Add at least 5 percent to brick and 15 to 25 percent to mortar, as BIA advises.

3. Picking the Wrong Brick Size

Brick names vary between manufacturers. Check the specified dimensions, not just the name.

4. Ignoring the Bond Pattern

Header bonds need more brick than running bond. Apply the BIA correction if you use one.

5. Treating the Estimate as a Design

Ties, flashing, weeps and structural design for a wall come from code and the engineer, not from this tool.

The quantities follow BIA Table 4 exactly; the waste allowances are planning figures.

For modular brick, BIA Technical Note 10 gives 675 per 100 square feet, or 6.75 per square foot. Standard non-modular brick is 6.55, queen 5.5, Norman 4.5 and utility 3.0 per square foot.

Multiply the net wall area by the brick per square foot, then add at least 5 percent waste. A 20 by 8 foot wall in modular brick is 160 x 6.75 = 1,080 bricks, or about 1,134 with waste.

For modular brick, BIA gives 8.1 cubic feet per 1,000 with a 3/8 inch joint and 10.3 with a 1/2 inch joint, before waste. Larger and non-modular bricks take more per 1,000.

BIA notes the masons’ rough rule that 8 bags of masonry cement lay 1,000 modular brick, including some waste. It calls this a very rough estimate; the cubic-foot figures are more precise.

BIA suggests at least 5 percent for brick and 15 to 25 percent for mortar, added after the net quantities. Job conditions or experience may call for more.

BIA notes that 1 cubic foot of loose, damp sand yields about 1 cubic foot of mortar, so plan roughly the same volume of sand as mortar.

For modular brick, BIA lists the same brick count for 3/8 and 1/2 inch joints, because the joint is built into the modular size. The joint changes the mortar quantity.

No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser and nothing you enter is stored or sent anywhere.

• BIA Technical Note 10, Dimensioning and Estimating Brick Masonry (Brick Industry Association; Table 4 quantities and waste guidance).
• Brick Industry Association (BIA; technical notes on brick construction).
• American Cement Association (American Cement Association; cement and masonry basics).