Measure wall faces
Measure each rectangular wall face and multiply width by height. Repeated walls can be entered once with a larger quantity.
Gross wall area = width x height x quantity
Concrete & masonry
Brick Calculator
Calculate how many bricks you need from a known coverage rate or detailed wall, opening, brick, and mortar-joint dimensions. Add your own material allowance, convert the result to pallets or packages, and estimate optional cost.
Calculation method
How to calculate how many bricks you need
Brick quantity depends on the net wall area and the face area occupied by each brick plus its mortar joints. If your brick supplier publishes a bricks-per-square-foot or bricks-per-square-meter coverage rate, Quick Coverage can use that value directly. Detailed Walls calculates a geometric module from the dimensions you enter.
Subtract openings
Subtract rectangular windows, doors, and other areas that will not receive brick.
Net wall area = gross wall area - openings
Find brick coverage
Detailed mode adds the head joint to brick length and the bed joint to brick height to form one repeating face module.
Bricks per ft2 = 144 / module area in in2
Add allowance and round
Apply your chosen extra-material percentage, round to whole bricks, then round again to whole pallets or packages only if you entered a package size.
Planned bricks = base bricks x (1 + allowance %)
Detailed brick formula
The detailed calculation treats the exposed wall as a repeating rectangular module. The module is the actual brick face plus one head joint horizontally and one bed joint vertically.
Module lengthbrick length + head joint
Module heightbrick height + bed joint
Module areamodule length x module height
Base brick quantitynet wall area / module area
This geometric approach is useful when you know the actual face and joint dimensions. It is not a substitute for a manufacturer coverage table when the product uses a specific nominal module or coursing convention.
Worked example
Suppose a wall is 20 ft x 10 ft with one3 ft x 4 ft opening. The net wall area is:
20 x 10 - 3 x 4 = 188 ft2
Now use an exposed brick face of7.625 in x 2.25 in, a0.375 in head joint, and a0.375 in bed joint. The repeating module is 8 in x 2.625 in, or 21 in2.
144 / 21 = 6.857 bricks per ft2
The wall therefore uses about1,289.14 bricks before allowance. A 10% planning allowance gives about1,418.06 bricks, so the whole-brick requirement rounds up to 1,419 bricks.
If that exact product is supplied in packages of 500, the calculator rounds to 3 packages, or1,500 purchased bricks. Packaging itself creates additional surplus beyond the entered allowance.
Quick Coverage vs. Detailed Walls
Use Quick Coverage when
- You already know the net wall area.
- Your manufacturer or supplier gives a verified bricks-per-area rate.
- You want the shortest path to an order quantity.
Use Detailed Walls when
- You want to enter multiple wall sections.
- You need to subtract windows and doors.
- You know the actual exposed brick and joint dimensions.
- You want to see the implied brick coverage rate.
Why named brick sizes can give different coverage
Brick names such as modular, queen, standard, Norman, and utility are useful shorthand, but a product name alone is not enough for a precise takeoff. Actual dimensions can vary by manufacturer, and masonry layout can be coordinated to a nominal module or coursing dimension that is not identical to simply adding one assumed joint thickness to every brick.
That is why the presets in this calculator are conveniences rather than hidden coverage assumptions. For a purchase estimate, confirm the exact product dimensions and use the supplier's published units-per-area rate when one is available.
How should openings be measured?
Enter the rectangular width and height of the area that will not receive brick. Repeated windows or doors with identical dimensions can use one row with a larger quantity.
Detailed Walls subtracts the full entered opening area. It does not automatically add brick for returns, jambs, sills, arches, soldier courses, rowlocks, lintels, corners, piers, or decorative bands. If those details require additional or differently oriented brick, estimate them separately.
How much extra brick should you order?
There is no universal allowance that is right for every masonry project. Cuts, breakage, color sorting, bond pattern, corners, special shapes, site handling, future repairs, and supplier return policies can all change the useful reserve.
Use project specifications, supplier guidance, or a contractor's takeoff when they require a different reserve.
Brick pallets, packages, and cost
Brick packaging is product-specific. The same pallet count should not be assumed across brick sizes or manufacturers. If you enter bricks per pallet or package, the calculator first finds the whole-brick requirement and then rounds up to whole packages.
Cost can be estimated from either a price per brick or a price per package. When package size is entered, a per-brick price is applied to all bricks actually purchased, including package-rounding surplus. A package price requires the package size so the calculator can determine how many packages to buy.
Brick calculator FAQ
How many bricks do I need per square foot?
It depends on the actual exposed brick dimensions and the mortar-joint module. Use your supplier's verified coverage rate when available, or enter the face and joint dimensions in Detailed Walls.
Does mortar-joint thickness change the brick count?
Yes. Wider head or bed joints increase the repeating module area, so fewer bricks occupy the same wall face. Detailed Walls lets you enter the two joint dimensions separately.
Should I use nominal or actual brick dimensions?
Detailed Walls expects the actual exposed brick face length and height. Mortar joints are entered separately. If your supplier provides a finished coverage rate or modular estimating table, Quick Coverage is usually the better way to use that information directly.
Does brick depth affect this calculator?
Not for a one-face area takeoff. This calculator uses the exposed length and height of the brick. It does not design wall thickness, multi-wythe construction, or structural masonry.
Can I subtract windows and doors?
Yes. Detailed Walls can subtract multiple rectangular openings, including repeated openings. It does not detect overlapping openings or automatically estimate extra brick around returns and special details.
Can I calculate several walls at once?
Yes. Add as many wall sections as needed. Use quantity when several walls share the same width and height.
Does a running bond change the number of bricks?
A basic area takeoff is driven mainly by wall area and the face module, but real bond patterns affect cuts, partial units, headers, corners, and waste. Use the allowance field for your planned reserve and estimate special brick details separately when required.
Does the calculator estimate mortar?
No. This page intentionally estimates brick quantity. Mortar demand depends on brick geometry, wall details, joint dimensions, mix/product yield, workmanship, and waste, so it should be estimated separately rather than hidden behind one universal rule.
Why can package rounding add more surplus?
Your allowance is applied before purchasing. If the required quantity is then rounded to a full pallet or package, the package itself can create additional surplus beyond the allowance you selected.
Can I switch between Imperial and Metric?
Yes. The calculator converts entered areas, wall dimensions, brick dimensions, joints, and coverage rates when you switch systems.
Can I save or share a calculation?
Yes. After a valid calculation, the current state is written to the URL. Copy or share that URL and reopen it later to restore the inputs and result.
Assumptions and limitations
Quick Coverage assumes the rate you enter applies to the exact brick, wall face, coursing, and mortar-joint condition you intend to build. Detailed Walls assumes rectangular wall and opening areas plus a repeating brick face module based on the entered exposed length, exposed height, head joint, and bed joint.
The detailed estimate is an area-based material takeoff. It does not place individual bricks, optimize cut pieces, model bond patterns, distinguish headers from stretchers, design corners or returns, calculate arches, lintels, sills, piers, movement joints, wall ties, flashing, reinforcement, mortar, grout, structural capacity, or code compliance.
The calculator estimates one exposed brick face or wythe at a time. Multi-wythe walls or patterns that intentionally expose different brick faces can require a separate project takeoff. Opening areas are assumed not to overlap. Package counts and prices are based entirely on the values you enter.
Before purchasing, confirm dimensions and quantities against the actual brick product, project drawings, specifications, supplier packaging, and any professional takeoff required for the work.