Brick Calculator
How many bricks a wall needs, including mortar joints.
Input sheet
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Brick counts hinge on a number most homeowners don't know — about 6.86 standard modular bricks cover a square foot of wall once you account for the mortar joints. This calculator applies that and adds waste so your order is right.
How it works
A standard modular brick with mortar covers about 6.86 bricks per square foot of wall. Multiply by area and add waste.
Wall area is length times height, multiplied by 6.86 bricks per square foot for standard modular brick with mortar joints, then padded by your waste allowance. The mortar joint is baked into that 6.86 figure — without mortar, a brick covers slightly less area.
Waste covers the bricks cut at openings and corners plus the inevitable breakage. Five percent is the default for a plain wall; bump it for walls with many windows, doors, or decorative coursing.
Bricks = wall area × 6.86 × (1 + waste), rounded up.
Worked examples
A 20 ft long × 8 ft tall wall with 5% waste. → 1,153 bricks.
20 × 8 = 160 sq ft × 6.86 = 1,098 × 1.05 ≈ 1,153 bricks.
A 12 ft × 6 ft garden wall with 5% waste. → 519 bricks.
12 × 6 = 72 sq ft × 6.86 = 494 × 1.05 ≈ 519 bricks.
Tips & gotchas
- The 6.86-per-square-foot figure is for standard modular brick — oversize, queen, or thin brick veneers have different coverage, so confirm your brick size.
- Order a little extra and store it dry; bricks from a later batch can vary in color and ruin a seamless wall.
- Don't forget mortar — plan on roughly one bag of mortar mix per 100–125 bricks for a standard joint.
- Half-bats and cut bricks at every opening drive up waste, so size up the allowance on walls with lots of windows.
FAQ
How many bricks are in a square foot?
About 6.86 standard modular bricks per square foot of wall when you include the mortar joints. Other brick sizes differ, so check the product before scaling a big order.
How much mortar will I need?
Roughly one 80 lb bag of mortar mix per 100 to 125 bricks for a standard 3/8-inch joint. Thicker joints or larger bricks change the ratio.
Should I order extra brick?
Yes — beyond the waste factor for cuts, keep a small reserve from the same batch for future repairs. Brick colors shift between production runs and are hard to match later.
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