Brick Calculator for Bricks, Mortar & Cost
Calculate the number of bricks, wall area, mortar volume, cement, sand, packs, waste allowance, and estimated brickwork cost for one or multiple walls. This Brick Calculator uses your wall length and height, door and window openings, brick length, brick height, brick width, mortar joint, wall thickness, bond pattern, and waste percentage to produce a practical material estimate for brick walls, masonry projects, garden walls, partitions, extensions, fireplaces, and other brickwork.
Enter the length and height of each wall, subtract the area of doors and windows, then enter the actual brick length × height × width and mortar joint. The calculator converts the measurements into a common unit, calculates the net wall area, determines bricks required from the effective brick face size, adds your selected waste percentage, and estimates mortar requirements. You can enter dimensions in feet (ft), inches (in), metres (m), centimetres (cm), or yards (yd), while brick dimensions can be entered in inches, millimetres, or centimetres.
Measure wall length and wall height. Add a quantity when several walls have the same dimensions.
Enter door and window counts. Standard opening dimensions are deducted from the corresponding gross wall area.
Enter brick length (L), brick height (H), brick width or depth (W), and mortar joint thickness for the material calculation.
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Brick Calculator
Your walls
Standard opening sizes
Brick size & bond
Mortar
Cost estimate ($)
How the Brick Calculator Works
The calculator converts every wall measurement into metres, calculates gross wall area and subtracts the selected door and window openings. The net wall area is combined with brick dimensions, mortar joint thickness, wall thickness, bond pattern, and waste allowance to estimate bricks, mortar, cement, sand, packs, and material cost.
Measure the Wall
Enter wall length, wall height, and quantity for each wall. Use ft, in, m, cm, or yd according to the measurement you have.
Remove Openings
Enter door and window counts. The calculator deducts their area from the gross wall area to determine the net brickwork area.
Define the Brick
Enter brick length, height, width, mortar joint, wall thickness, bond pattern, and waste percentage.
Read the Estimate
The result shows bricks to buy, bricks before waste, wall area, mortar volume, mortar bags or cement and sand, packs, and cost.
Brick Calculator Formula
The Brick Calculator uses the actual dimensions entered for the wall, openings, brick unit, mortar joint, and wall thickness. The following formulas show how the material quantities are calculated.
Brick, Wall Area & Mortar Formulas
Gross Area = Wall Length × Wall Height × Wall Quantity
Door Area = Door Width × Door Height × Number of Doors
Window Area = Window Width × Window Height × Number of Windows
Net Area = Gross Wall Area − Door Area − Window Area
Effective Brick Face = (Brick Length + Joint) × (Brick Height + Joint)
Bricks / m² = Wall Layers ÷ Effective Brick Face
Base Bricks = Net Wall Area × Bricks per m²
Bricks to Buy = Net Wall Area × Bricks per m² × (1 + Waste % ÷ 100)
Thickness = (Layers × Brick Width) + ((Layers − 1) × Mortar Joint)
Wall Volume = Net Wall Area × Wall Thickness
Brick Volume = Base Bricks × Brick Length × Brick Height × Brick Width
Mortar Volume = (Wall Volume − Brick Volume) × (1 + Mortar Waste ÷ 100)
Mortar Bags = Mortar Volume ÷ Bag Yield, rounded up
Dry Mortar = Mortar Volume × 1.33
Cement Volume = Dry Mortar ÷ (1 + Sand Ratio)
Sand Volume = Dry Mortar × Sand Ratio ÷ (1 + Sand Ratio)
Total Cost = Brick Cost + Mortar Cost + Laying Cost + Extras
The calculator converts the entered dimensions into a common metric basis before calculating area and volume. Brick quantity is rounded up to whole bricks, while mortar bags and packs are rounded up to complete units.
Brick Calculator Example
A practical example makes the required measurements easier to enter. The example below uses one wall, a standard door and window allowance, a US modular brick, a 10 mm mortar joint, one brick-thick calculation setting, and 5% brick waste.
Sample Brick Wall Project
Worked ExampleHorizontal wall run.
Finished wall height.
Number of identical walls.
Width × height.
Width × height for each window.
Used for wall dimensions.
Brick face length.
Brick face height.
Brick depth into the wall.
Horizontal and vertical joint allowance.
Half-brick, single-skin setting.
Standard running bond selection.
Breakage and cutting allowance.
Mortar calculated by bag yield.
0.75 ft³ nominal yield.
Used to estimate packs to order.
The gross wall area is 20 × 8 = 160 ft². The door contributes 3 × 6.75 = 20.25 ft², while two 4 × 4 ft windows contribute 32 ft², giving a net wall area of approximately 109.75 ft². The final brick quantity depends on the selected brick dimensions, mortar joint, wall layers, and waste allowance.
Helpful Information Before Calculating Bricks
Accurate measurements produce a more useful brick quantity estimate. Check the actual brick dimensions, mortar joint, wall thickness, openings, waste allowance, and material pricing before placing an order.
Measure the Wall Correctly
- Measure the full horizontal wall length from one end to the other.
- Measure the finished wall height from the base to the top of the wall.
- Enter separate walls when different walls have different dimensions.
- Use the wall quantity field when multiple walls have identical length and height.
- Keep all dimensions in the selected measurement unit for the wall inputs.
Account for Doors and Windows
- Measure opening width and height rather than estimating opening area.
- Enter the number of doors on each wall.
- Enter the number of windows on each wall.
- Use the standard opening fields when the opening dimensions apply consistently to the walls being calculated.
Use the Actual Brick Size
Brick dimensions vary by region and manufacturer. Common terminology includes modular brick, standard brick, queen brick, king brick, utility brick, UK metric brick, metric modular brick, and concrete block.
Measure or confirm the actual brick length, height, and width before calculating the material quantity. A small dimensional difference can change the number of bricks required over a large wall area.
Understand the Mortar Joint
Mortar joint thickness affects the effective brick module used for the brick count. The calculator accepts mortar joint measurements in millimetres or inches.
A 10 mm joint is a common example, while actual masonry joint dimensions depend on the brick type, construction specification, workmanship, and project requirements.
Choose the Correct Wall Thickness
- Select half brick, single skin for a one-layer wall calculation.
- Select one brick thick for two brick layers.
- Select one and a half brick for three brick layers.
Allow for Waste and Breakage
Bricks may require cutting around corners, openings, returns, edges, and other details. Breakage during transportation or installation can create additional material requirements.
The calculator allows a selectable brick waste percentage, including 3%, 5%, 10%, and 15%, with a broader input range available for custom requirements.
Mortar: Bags or Cement & Sand
The calculator supports two mortar calculation methods: pre-mix mortar bags and a cement-to-sand mix. Pre-mix calculations use the selected bag yield, while the cement-and-sand method uses the selected mix ratio and sand density.
Available cement-to-sand ratios include 1:3, 1:4, 1:5, and 1:6. Actual mortar specifications should follow the project requirements and applicable masonry standards.
Cost Estimates Need Local Prices
Brick prices can be entered per brick, per 1,000 bricks, per pack, per ft², per m², or per yd². Mortar, cement, sand, laying labour, delivery, and other extras can be included separately.
Material prices vary by supplier, location, brick type, order volume, delivery distance, and project conditions, so use current supplier quotations when preparing a purchase budget.
Related Calculators
Use these related home improvement calculators to estimate materials, quantities, areas, and project requirements for other construction and landscaping jobs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a Brick Calculator calculate?
A Brick Calculator estimates the number of bricks required for a wall after accounting for wall dimensions, door and window openings, brick size, mortar joint, wall thickness, bond pattern, and waste. The calculator can additionally estimate brick packs, mortar volume, mortar bags, cement, sand, and project cost.
How do I calculate how many bricks I need?
Calculate the net wall area first, then divide the area by the effective brick face area including the mortar joint. Multiply the resulting brick coverage rate by the wall area and add the selected waste percentage. This calculator performs those calculations automatically after you enter the wall and brick measurements.
What measurements do I need for the Brick Calculator?
You need wall length, wall height, wall quantity, door dimensions, window dimensions, brick length, brick height, brick width, mortar joint thickness, wall thickness, and brick waste percentage. Mortar and cost calculations require additional inputs such as bag size, cement-to-sand ratio, material prices, labour, and extras.
Can I calculate bricks for multiple walls?
Yes. Add another wall for each different wall dimension. Each wall can have its own length, height, quantity, door count, and window count, allowing the calculator to combine multiple wall areas into one brick and mortar estimate.
Does the calculator subtract doors and windows?
Yes. Door and window opening areas are deducted from the gross wall area. The remaining net wall area is used for the brick quantity calculation, so openings are not treated as brick-covered wall surface.
Does mortar joint size affect the number of bricks?
Yes. Mortar joint thickness changes the effective brick module used to determine how many bricks occupy a given wall area. The calculator therefore uses the entered brick dimensions together with the selected mortar joint when calculating brick coverage.
What brick sizes can I use?
You can select a preset brick size or choose a custom size. The calculator includes US modular, US standard, queen, king, utility, UK metric, metric modular, standard metric, and concrete block presets. Custom brick length, height, and width can be entered when your brick does not match a preset.
What measurement units does the Brick Calculator support?
Wall measurements support feet (ft), inches (in), metres (m), centimetres (cm), and yards (yd). Brick dimensions support inches, millimetres (mm), and centimetres (cm), while mortar joints support millimetres and inches. The calculator converts the measurements internally before performing the area and volume calculations.
How much brick waste should I allow?
A commonly selected allowance in the calculator is 5%, while 3%, 10%, and 15% options are available. The appropriate waste allowance depends on cutting, breakage, transportation, wall complexity, corners, openings, and installation conditions.
Can this calculator estimate mortar bags?
Yes. Select the pre-mix mortar option, choose the mortar bag yield, set the mortar waste percentage, and enter bags per pallet. The calculator estimates the number of complete mortar bags and pallets required.
Can I calculate cement and sand for brick mortar?
Yes. Select the cement-and-sand mortar method, choose the cement-to-sand ratio, cement bag size, and sand density. The calculator estimates cement bags and sand volume based on the calculated mortar volume.
Can the Brick Calculator estimate the total project cost?
Yes. Enter brick pricing using the available price basis, then add mortar, cement, sand, laying labour, delivery, and other extras where applicable. The calculator combines those values into an estimated total and provides cost per brick and cost per square foot when sufficient pricing information is entered.
Are Brick Calculator results exact?
No. The results are material estimates based on the dimensions and assumptions entered into the calculator. Actual brick consumption, mortar usage, waste, labour, and material prices can vary because of brick tolerances, joint consistency, cutting, breakage, workmanship, wall details, supplier packaging, and local construction requirements. Confirm quantities with your brick supplier or masonry professional before ordering materials.