Brick and Mortar Count Calculator
Bricks per square foot and for a wall from eight brick sizes or your own, in US or metric units, plus mortar, 80 lb premix bags or cement and sand, and cost. How it works
Use the Brick and Mortar Count Calculator
About the Brick and Mortar Count Calculator
The Standard brick preset, 8 × 2 1/4 in on the face, laid with a 3/8 in mortar joint covers 6.55 bricks per square foot, so a 200 sq ft wall takes 1,311 bricks, or 1,442 with 10% waste. The brick calculator divides the wall area by the face of one brick plus its joint, 8.375 × 2.625 in, and works out the mortar from the joints: 11.63 cu ft with waste, or 20 bags of 80 lb at an assumed 0.6 cu ft a bag.
Bricks and mortar per 100 sq ft of wall one brick thick
| Brick | Joint | Bricks per sq ft | Bricks per 100 sq ft | Mortar per 100 sq ft | 80 lb bags per 100 sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard (8×2¼×3½ in) | 3/8 in | 6.55 | 656 | 5.29 cu ft | 9 |
| Standard (8×2¼×3½ in) | 1/2 in | 6.16 | 617 | 6.71 cu ft | 12 |
| Norman (11⅝×2¼×3⅝ in actual) | 3/8 in | 4.57 | 458 | 5.12 cu ft | 9 |
| Norman (11⅝×2¼×3⅝ in actual) | 1/2 in | 4.32 | 432 | 6.51 cu ft | 11 |
| Roman (11⅝×1⅝×3⅝ in actual) | 3/8 in | 6.00 | 600 | 6.43 cu ft | 11 |
| Engineer (8×2¾×3½ in) | 3/8 in | 5.50 | 551 | 4.65 cu ft | 8 |
| UK metric (215×102.5×65 mm) | 10 mm | 5.51 | 551 | 5.78 cu ft | 10 |
| Modular (7⅝×2¼×3⅝ in) | 3/8 in | 6.86 | 686 | 5.53 cu ft | 10 |
| Queen (7⅝×2¾×2¾ in) | 3/8 in | 5.76 | 576 | 3.70 cu ft | 7 |
| Utility (11⅝×3⅝×3⅝ in) | 3/8 in | 3.00 | 300 | 3.69 cu ft | 7 |
No waste. Bags assume the default yield of 0.6 cu ft per 80 lb bag, rounded up. US sizes are length × height × depth; the UK size is length × depth × height. Bricks are rounded up; mortar is the bed and head joints through the full depth of the brick. Modular, Queen and Utility are the specified sizes in BIA Technical Note 10. Its Table 4 lists 675 Modular and 550 Queen per 100 sq ft because it sets the bed joint by coursing (three Modular courses rise 8 in, a bed joint of about 0.42 in), while this calculator uses the joint you type for bed and head joints alike; for Utility, Standard and Roman the two agree.
Frequently asked questions
- How many bricks per square foot?
- 6.55 for a standard 8 × 2 1/4 in brick with a 3/8 in joint, and 6.16 with a 1/2 in joint. With 3/8 in joints a Norman brick covers 4.57 per sq ft, a Roman 6.00 and an engineer brick 5.50. A UK brick with a 10 mm joint covers 5.51 per sq ft, or 59.26 per square meter. Switch to Metric to type the area in m² and the joint in mm.
- How many bricks do I need for a wall?
- Wall area × bricks per square foot, plus waste. A 200 sq ft wall of standard bricks with 3/8 in joints takes 1,311, or 1,442 with 10% waste. Take doors and windows off the area first; the count is for a wall one brick thick.
- How many bags of mortar do I need?
- The mortar volume with waste ÷ what one bag makes. The 200 sq ft wall needs 11.63 cu ft with waste: 20 bags of 80 lb at the assumed 0.6 cu ft a bag, 24 at 0.5 cu ft and 17 at 0.7 cu ft. Enter the yield printed on your bag.
- How much cement and sand for brick mortar?
- For a site mix the calculator assumes 1 part cement to 3 parts sand by volume, with the dry materials taking 1.25 times the mortar volume and a 94 lb bag of cement taken as 1 cu ft. For the 200 sq ft wall that is 3.63 cu ft of cement (4 bags) and 10.90 cu ft of sand. Your mason may specify a different mix.
- What size is a UK brick?
- 215 × 102.5 × 65 mm, laid with a 10 mm joint, so each brick with its joint takes 225 × 112.5 × 75 mm. Choosing the UK size in the calculator sets the joint to 10 mm.
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