Brick Calculator

Measuring for brick is quick once you know the wall size. 1) Enter the wall length and height in feet. For an L-shaped or multi-section wall, add up each section's area first. 2) Pick your brick size. Modular brick (7 5/8 x 2 1/4 in) is the most common face brick in the US and is the default, so if you are not sure, leave it. 3) Read the result - you instantly get the total bricks needed plus how many 80 lb bags of mortar to buy. Want more control? Open More options to switch to metric, change the waste allowance, set a custom brick size, or add a price per brick to estimate your material cost. A common question is *how many bricks do I need for a 20x8 wall* - a modular wall that size needs about 1,232 bricks with 10% waste included.

Brick counts are driven by face area, not wall thickness. Every brick covers a small rectangle of wall equal to its face plus the mortar joint around it, so smaller bricks mean more units per square foot. A standard modular brick covers the wall at about 7 bricks per square foot once a 3/8 in mortar joint is included - that single number does most of the work. Multiply your wall area by the bricks-per-square-foot rate for your chosen size, then add a waste factor for cuts, breakage and the odd dropped brick. This calculator handles a single wythe (one brick thick) wall, which is the usual case for a veneer or garden wall. For a double-thick structural wall, simply double the brick count.

Bricks = Wall area x Bricks per sq ft x (1 + waste %)

- Wall area (sq ft) = length x height
- Bricks per sq ft depends on brick size: modular ~7, standard ~6.75, queen ~5.5, king ~4.8, utility ~3
- For a custom brick: bricks per sq ft = 144 / ((brick length + joint) x (brick height + joint)), with all values in inches

Mortar bags = Total bricks / bricks per bag (rounded up). A typical 80 lb bag of mix lays roughly 36 modular bricks at a 3/8 in joint. Thicker joints use more mortar, so fewer bricks per bag.

Example 1 - garden wall: A 20 ft long, 8 ft high wall in modular brick. Area = 160 sq ft. Bricks = 160 x 7 = 1,120, plus 10% waste = 1,232 bricks. Mortar = 1,232 / 36 = 35 bags.

Example 2 - small veneer patch: A 10 ft x 4 ft section in standard brick. Area = 40 sq ft. Bricks = 40 x 6.75 = 270, plus 10% = 297 bricks, needing 9 bags of mortar.

Example 3 - metric: A 6 m x 2.5 m wall in modular brick = 15 sq m = 161 sq ft, about 1,240 bricks with waste.

- Always round up and buy full packs. Suppliers sell brick by the pack or cube, not the single unit.
- Keep the waste factor. 10% is right for most straight walls; bump to 15-20% for lots of corners, curves or angle cuts.
- Order all brick in one batch so the color matches - dye lots vary between runs.
- Buy a few extra and store them; you will want spares for future repairs.
- Mortar goes off fast once mixed, so buy bags as needed rather than all at once for a long job.