Brick Calculator

A standard modular brick covers 0.143 square feet of wall face, so a single-wythe wall needs roughly 7 bricks per square foot. Queen-size bricks require 5.7 per square foot; King-size bricks need 4.75. Multiply your net wall area by the bricks-per-square-foot value for your selected size, then add 5–10% for cuts and breakage. Use the calculator above for an exact count by bond pattern.

Net wall area equals length times height, minus any door and window openings. A 20 ft × 8 ft garden wall has 160 sq ft gross, no openings, so the brick count for modular brick is 160 × 7 = 1,120 bricks before waste. With a 5% running-bond waste factor, you order 1,176 bricks — three modular pallets at 500 bricks each, with room to spare.

Six US brick sizes dominate residential and light commercial masonry. Each has a specified actual dimension (after the kiln) and a nominal dimension (actual plus mortar joint), and each yields a different bricks-per-square-foot rate. Use the table when you compare suppliers or convert between sizes mid-project.

Standard US Brick Sizes and Coverage Rates

Nominal vs. Actual Brick Size — Why It Matters

Nominal size includes a 3/8-inch mortar joint on one head and one bed side. Actual size is the brick alone, kiln-fired. A modular brick measures 7-5/8 in long actual, but lays 8 in nominal — three modular bricks plus three joints fit in a 24-in module. Suppliers quote nominal; specifications quote actual. Confirm which figure your quote uses before you multiply.

The four-step procedure below mirrors the calculator widget at the top of the page. Follow it once for a wall, again for a patio, and a third time for a CMU back-up wythe.

Step 1: Enter Your Wall Dimensions

Enter wall length and wall height in feet (or meters via the unit toggle). For a wall with doors or windows, add up the openings and enter the combined area in the Openings field. A standard exterior door is 21 sq ft; a typical window is 12 to 16 sq ft. The calculator subtracts openings from gross wall area before any brick math runs.

Step 2: Select Your Brick Size

Pick a size preset — Modular, Queen, King, Norman, Utility, or Jumbo. Each preset ships with its exact actual dimensions and mortar bag rate per 1,000 bricks. If you have a manufacturer-specific size, choose Custom and enter the length and height in inches; the calculator handles the rest.

Step 3: Choose a Bond Pattern

Running bond is the default at 5% waste. Switch to Herringbone for a 15% waste factor on diagonal patios, or to Flemish for an 8% waste factor on heritage walls.

Step 4: Add Mortar and Waste Details

Choose Type N, S, or M mortar to match your application. Enter a per-brick price (optional) for a cost estimate. The results card returns bricks (with and without waste), 80-lb mortar bags by type, pallets to order, and the courses needed to reach the wall height.

The brick quantity formula is: Bricks = Wall Area ÷ Brick Face Area × (1 + Waste Factor). Wall Area equals Length × Height, minus door and window openings. Brick Face Area equals (Brick Length + Mortar Joint) × (Brick Height + Mortar Joint), expressed in square feet. For modular brick with 3/8-inch joints, Brick Face Area = 0.143 sq ft.

The Brick Quantity Formula

How Mortar Joints Affect the Count

Mortar joint thickness changes the effective brick face area. A 3/8-inch joint (the industry default per ASTM C270) gives a modular brick 0.143 sq ft of face, or 7.0 bricks per square foot. Drop to a 1/4-inch joint and the face area falls to 0.137 sq ft — 7.3 bricks per square foot, or roughly 30 extra bricks on a 200-square-foot wall.

Worked Example: 20-ft × 8-ft Garden Wall

“On a 200 sq ft herringbone patio I estimated 15% waste; actual waste came to 14.3% — the formula holds. The lesson is that bond-pattern waste factors are not made up; they are field-validated.”

Once you have your brick count, use the mortar calculator to estimate cement and sand quantities for a site-mixed batch. Building on a concrete footing? The concrete calculator sizes the footing volume from length, width, and depth.

Bond pattern significantly affects waste because different patterns require different cut angles. Running bond wastes approximately 5%; Herringbone wastes 15% because every brick at the perimeter is cut at 45 degrees.

Why Bond Pattern Changes Your Waste Factor

Every bond pattern handles the wall perimeter differently. Running bond shifts each course half a brick over — only the ends get cut. Herringbone runs bricks at 45 degrees, so every brick that meets the wall edge is a diagonal cut. That geometry alone drives the waste factor.

Bond Pattern Waste Factor Table

For standard modular brick with 3/8-inch mortar joints, estimate 7 bags of 80-pound pre-mixed mortar per 1,000 bricks. Use Type N for above-grade exterior walls in moderate climates, Type S for below-grade or high-wind zones, and Type M for heavy-duty foundations.

Type N vs. Type S vs. Type M Mortar

Mortar type is a compressive-strength specification. ASTM C270 sets the property ranges and IRC Table R607.1 maps each type to a specific application:

• Type N (750 psi): Above-grade exterior walls, chimneys, interior load-bearing walls in moderate climates.
• Type S (1,800 psi): Below-grade walls, patio bedding, retaining walls, exterior walls in high-wind zones.
• Type M (2,500 psi): Heavy-duty foundations, structural masonry, earth-contact applications.

Mortar Bags Per 1,000 Bricks by Size

For mix design and site-mixed volume calculations, see the mortar calculator. For concrete masonry units instead of clay brick, switch to the concrete block calculator tab on the widget above.

Brick suppliers sell by the pallet. A standard modular brick pallet holds 500 to 525 bricks; Queen and King pallets hold approximately 450 bricks; Utility pallets hold 400.

Order one extra pallet whenever the calculation rounds within 10% of a pallet boundary. Breakage, color variation between batches, and last-mile cuts routinely push the count over the line. Most suppliers will buy back unopened pallets.

For brick retaining walls, see the retaining wall calculator. For patio paving rather than wall construction, the paver calculator handles base-material depths and edge restraint linear footage.