Yardwise

Brick calculator

How many bricks a wall needs, course by course, and how many bags of mortar to lay them.

Measurements in feet and inches. Updated .

Bricks needed
Wall area
Per sq ft
80 lb mortar bags

How to use it

Enter the wall's length and height in feet. The brick size is set for a standard US modular brick, 7⅝ × 2¼ in on the face, with a ⅜ in mortar joint. Change the size if you're using a different brick, such as a queen or king size.

The count is for a single layer of brick (one wythe), like a veneer or garden wall.

How it's calculated

  1. Courses = wall height in inches ÷ (brick height + joint), rounded up.
  2. Bricks per course = wall length in inches ÷ (brick length + joint), rounded up.
  3. Bricks = courses × bricks per course, plus the breakage allowance.
  4. Mortar bags = bricks ÷ 37, rounded up.

With the default sizes, a wall takes about 6.86 bricks per square foot. The Brick Industry Association's published figure for modular brick is 6.75, because it counts three courses as exactly 8 in. The calculator's number is a little higher, which errs on the side of having enough.

Wall Bricks (no extra) 80 lb mortar bags
10 × 3 ft 14 courses × 15 = 210 6
20 × 4 ft 19 × 30 = 570 16

Tips

  • Order 5 to 10% extra. Bricks chip and break, and you'll cut some at ends and openings.
  • Buy from one batch. Brick color varies between production runs; mixing pallets as you lay helps blend any difference.
  • Mortar: the bag estimate uses Quikrete's label figure of up to 37 bricks per 80 lb bag. Wider joints or thicker beds use more.

Sources