Brick Calculator
Count wall bricks from real geometry — wall size and openings, brick type, mortar joint and wythes — then size the mortar bags and sand, with U.S. pricing and a downloadable PDF.
Brick sizes, joint widths and mortar yields vary by maker and mix — follow their specs. Prices use 2024-2025 U.S. figures. For planning purposes only.
| Brick Size | Per sq ft | Total Bricks | Mortar Bags |
|---|
For your 109 sq ft wall at 3/8 in joints, 1 wythe. Bigger bricks mean fewer pieces.
How to use the brick calculator
Four quick steps turn your wall size into a full order — bricks, mortar bags, and cost — with doors and windows subtracted, your brick size and waste dialed in, a size comparison, and a downloadable PDF.
Enter the wall
Length and height for each wall, and subtract doors and windows you won’t brick over.
Pick the brick
Choose a brick size or enter custom dimensions — the bricks per square foot update to match.
Set wythes & waste
Choose single or double wythe, set the waste %, and enter brick and mortar prices.
Read results & save a PDF
Get bricks, mortar bags, a full cost breakdown, a size comparison, and a material list.
How the brick estimate is calculated
It starts from your wall area, subtracts the openings, then multiplies by the bricks per square foot for your brick size — which the mortar joint sets — and adds waste. Mortar follows from the brick count. Here is the exact math.
Worked example — a 20 ft × 10 ft single-wythe wall, modular brick, +10%
Wall area: 20 × 10 = 200 sq ft
Bricks per sq ft: 144 ÷ (8 × 2.625) ≈ 6.86
Bricks: 200 × 6.86 × 1.10 ≈ 1,509
Mortar: 1,509 ÷ 1000 × 7 ≈ 11 bags
≈ 1,509 modular bricks and about 11 bags of mortar for a 200 sq ft single-wythe wall.
Brick estimating charts
Handy lookups for the questions people ask most — bricks per square foot by size, bricks and mortar by wall area, and typical U.S. costs. Figures use a 3/8-inch joint and +10% waste, so always confirm your own brick’s size.
| Brick size | Nominal face | Bricks / sq ft | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modular | 8 × 2⅔″ | ~6.9 | The most common U.S. brick |
| Standard | 8⅜ × 2⅔″ | ~6.6 | Slightly longer than modular |
| Queen | 8 × 3⅛″ | ~5.8 | Taller face; fewer per sq ft |
| King | 10 × 3⅛″ | ~4.6 | Large face; fewer bricks & joints |
| Utility | 12 × 4″ | ~3.0 | Big block-like brick |
Bricks per sq ft = 144 ÷ the face area including the mortar joint. Bigger bricks cover more wall, so you need fewer of them — and fewer mortar joints too.
| Wall area | Bricks | Mortar bags |
|---|---|---|
| 50 sq ft | ~378 | 3 |
| 100 sq ft | ~755 | 6 |
| 200 sq ft | ~1,509 | 11 |
| 300 sq ft | ~2,263 | 16 |
| 500 sq ft | ~3,772 | 27 |
Single-wythe wall at ~6.9 bricks/sq ft and ~7 mortar bags per 1,000 bricks. Double the bricks and mortar for a two-wythe (double-thick) wall.
| Wall (L × H) | Area | Bricks |
|---|---|---|
| 10 × 8 ft | 80 sq ft | ~604 |
| 20 × 8 ft | 160 sq ft | ~1,207 |
| 30 × 8 ft | 240 sq ft | ~1,811 |
| 40 × 10 ft | 400 sq ft | ~3,018 |
Subtract your doors and windows from the area first — a standard door is about 21 sq ft and a window about 15 sq ft. These counts assume no openings.
| Line item | Typical U.S. range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Common brick | $0.50–$1.00 each | Type, color, and region |
| Brick material | ~$5–$10 / sq ft | Brick size and price per brick |
| Mortar mix | ~$5–$10 / bag | Type N/S, premixed vs. site-mixed |
| Specialty / reclaimed | $1–$3+ each | Handmade, tumbled, or salvage |
| Installed brickwork | $10–$30+ / sq ft | Mason’s labor, wall complexity |
2024–2025 U.S. ballparks. Material is the brick plus mortar; installed cost adds a mason’s labor and depends on the wall. Your local prices will vary.
mortar joint
staggered courses
openings
The brick count comes from three things: the brick size, the mortar joint around it, and the wall area after openings.
- Brick + joint — the face plus a 3/8″ joint sets how much wall each brick covers.
- Bond pattern — running bond is the common layout; fancier bonds can add cuts and waste.
- Openings — subtract doors and windows so you don’t buy bricks for empty space.
Everything the calculator works out
One set of wall dimensions gives you a complete brick order — the bricks, the mortar, the cost, and a size comparison.
Key figures every brick job depends on
Built for any brick project
From a garden wall to a full veneer, the same calculator scales to the wall, the brick size, and the number of wythes.
Building a planter, garden wall, or BBQ and wants the right number of bricks and bags without a second trip.
- Measure each wall length & height
- Pick the brick size you’re buying
- Keep a few spares for breakage
Quoting brickwork and needs bricks, mortar, and labor per square foot in one place to bid fast.
- Set wythes and waste for the job
- Add a labor rate for a full bid
- Save the PDF material list for the quote
Bricking a house or extension and comparing brick sizes on total count and cost across every wall.
- Add all walls, subtract openings
- Compare sizes on brick count
- Total bricks and mortar for the build
7 tips for an accurate brick order
Small habits keep your count right and your wall consistent, whether you’re laying it yourself or buying for a mason.
Brick calculator FAQ
The brick count, mortar, size, and U.S. cost questions people ask most before ordering brick.
Work out the wall area as length times height, subtract any doors and windows, then multiply by the bricks per square foot for your brick size and add waste. Standard modular brick runs about 7 bricks per square foot of single-wythe wall.
A 20 × 10 ft wall is 200 sq ft, so at about 7 bricks per square foot with 10% waste that’s roughly 1,500 modular bricks, plus mortar.
For standard modular brick with a 3/8-inch mortar joint, there are about 6.9 bricks per square foot of wall face, which most people round to 7.
Larger bricks cover more, so you need fewer: queen size is about 5.8 per square foot and king size about 4.6. The bigger the brick face, the fewer bricks per square foot.
A common rule is about 7 bags of mortar mix per 1,000 bricks, so a wall of 1,500 bricks needs roughly 10 to 11 bags. Each bag is usually mixed with sand.
The exact amount depends on your joint thickness and brick size, and thicker joints use more mortar. Buy a little extra so you don’t run out mid-course, and mix only what you can lay before it sets.
In the U.S., a modular brick is about 7 5/8 by 2 1/4 by 3 5/8 inches, which with a 3/8-inch joint works out to an 8 by 2 2/3 inch face. It’s the most common size.
Other common sizes include standard, queen, and king, which have larger faces and so cover more wall per brick. Always confirm the actual dimensions of the brick you’re buying, since they vary by maker and region.
Add about 5% to 10% for breakage, cuts around openings and corners, and the odd flawed brick. Around 10% is a safe default for a typical job with several openings.
Use the higher end for walls with lots of corners, arches, or angled cuts, where more bricks are trimmed. It’s much easier to have a few spare bricks than to reorder and risk a color mismatch.
Multiply the wall length by its height to get the area, subtract the area of any doors and windows, then multiply by the bricks per square foot for your brick and add a waste allowance.
For several walls, add their areas together first. A double-wythe (two-brick-thick) wall needs about twice the bricks of a single-wythe wall of the same face area.
In the U.S., common bricks run roughly $0.50 to $1.00 each for the brick alone, so material for a wall is often about $5 to $10 per square foot before mortar and labor.
Specialty, handmade, or reclaimed bricks cost more. Installed brickwork, including mortar and a mason’s labor, commonly runs much higher per square foot. Get local quotes, since brick and labor prices vary by region.
A wythe is one vertical layer of brick. A single-wythe wall is one brick thick and is common for veneers and garden walls; a double-wythe wall is two bricks thick for more strength and is used for structural walls.
A double-wythe wall needs about twice as many bricks as a single-wythe wall of the same length and height. Set the number of wythes in the calculator so the brick count matches your wall.
General Estimating Notice: This calculator estimates bricks, mortar, and cost from your wall dimensions, brick size, mortar joint, wythes, waste, and the prices you enter, using standard face dimensions and typical 2024–2025 U.S. figures. Actual counts vary with the real brick size, joint thickness, bond pattern, and cutting, and mortar use depends on the mix and joints. Always confirm the exact dimensions of the brick you’re buying and add appropriate waste before ordering. For planning purposes only.