Calculate how many bricks you need for a wall, including mortar joints, doors, windows and waste — metric or imperial, with regional brick-size presets.
Wall sections
Openings (doors, windows) — optional
Cost (optional)
| Item | Value |
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Written and reviewed by Mohsin Iqbal · Last reviewed August 2026
This calculator for bricks estimates how many bricks you need for a wall from your wall dimensions, brick size, mortar-joint thickness, openings and waste allowance. It works as a brick wall calculator for single or multiple wall sections, subtracts doors and windows, and gives you bricks per square foot or square metre alongside the final whole-brick quantity to buy.
Divide your net wall area (wall area minus door and window area) by the effective brick module — the brick's face area plus its mortar joint — then round up and add a waste allowance. There's no single number that fits every project: brick size and joint thickness both change the answer, sometimes significantly. Enter your own dimensions above for an exact figure.
Gross Wall Area = Wall Length × Wall Height
Net Wall Area = Gross Wall Area − Opening Area
Effective Brick Module = (Brick Length + Joint) × (Brick Height + Joint)
Bricks Before Waste = Net Wall Area ÷ Effective Brick Module
Final Bricks = ROUND UP[ Bricks Before Waste × (1 + Waste %) ]
The calculator keeps every measurement internally consistent in one base unit before applying this formula, then converts the results back to your display unit — so switching between metric and imperial never changes the underlying quantity, only how it's displayed.
It depends entirely on the brick size and mortar joint you use, so there's no single correct number. For a common US modular brick (7-5/8 × 2-1/4in) with a 3/8in joint, the effective module is 8in × 2-5/8in = 21 sq in, which works out to about 6.9 bricks per square foot. A larger brick or a thicker joint needs fewer bricks per square foot; a smaller brick or thinner joint needs more. Use the calculator above with your own brick size for an exact figure.
Again, this depends on brick size and joint thickness. For a UK standard brick (215 × 65mm) with a 10mm joint, the effective module is 225mm × 75mm = 0.016875 m², which works out to about 59.3 bricks per square metre. A larger Australian standard brick (230 × 76mm) with the same 10mm joint needs closer to 48.5 bricks per square metre, since each brick covers more wall face. Always state your brick size and joint when comparing bricks-per-area figures.
| Region | Example brick | Actual dimensions (L × H × W) | Typical joint |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | UK Standard (Work Size) | 215 × 65 × 102.5mm | 10mm |
| United States | US Modular | 7-5/8 × 2-1/4 × 3-5/8in | 3/8in (~9.5mm) |
| Australia | Australian Standard | 230 × 76 × 110mm | 10mm |
| Canada | Metric Modular (common) | 190 × 57 × 90mm | 10mm |
| New Zealand | Common NZ brick | 230 × 76 × 110mm (commonly aligned with AU standard) | 10mm |
These are commonly cited reference dimensions, not a single global standard — brick sizes vary by manufacturer, product line and country, and several other sizes (US Queen, King and Utility bricks; UK metric and imperial variants) are also widely sold. Always check the actual brick dimensions supplied by your manufacturer before ordering materials, and use the Custom brick size option above to enter them exactly.
The mortar joint matters more than people expect. A brick doesn't occupy just its own bare face on the wall — it occupies its face plus half the mortar joint on each side, which is why this calculator adds the joint thickness to both the brick's length and height before working out how many bricks fit a given wall area. Leaving the joint out of the calculation makes the bare brick face look smaller than it actually occupies on the wall, which overstates the number of bricks needed — dividing the wall area by a smaller-than-real brick module returns more bricks than the wall will actually take.
Add each door, window or other opening's width, height and quantity in the Openings section above. The calculator multiplies each opening's width by height by quantity, adds all openings together, and subtracts that total from the gross wall area to get the net brickwork area used in the brick-count formula. If your total opening area is greater than or equal to your total wall area, the calculator shows an error instead of returning a negative or nonsensical brick count.
Waste allowance covers bricks lost to cutting, breakage, damaged units, corners, and pattern or bond complexity. There's no universally correct figure — 5% is a common starting point for a simple straight wall, while more complex bond patterns, feature walls or projects with many corners and cuts often justify 10% or more. Choose an allowance that reflects your specific project, or set it to 0% if you're calculating a bare minimum quantity.
Used as a brick estimator, this section turns your final brick quantity into a rough material cost: enter a price per brick and currency above, and it multiplies final brick quantity × price per brick. This calculator doesn't publish or assume brick prices, since they vary enormously by region, brick type and supplier — you enter your own local price. The estimate covers brick material only; it doesn't include labour, mortar, delivery, scaffolding, wastage beyond your selected allowance, or tax unless you factor those in separately.
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Wall | 5m × 2.4m, UK Standard brick (215 × 65mm), 10mm joint, 5% waste | 12 m² gross |
| Effective module | (215+10) × (65+10) = 225 × 75mm | 0.016875 m² |
| Bricks before waste | 12 ÷ 0.016875 | 711.11 → 712 bricks |
| +5% waste | 711.11 × 1.05 = 746.67, round up | 747 bricks |
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Wall | 20ft × 8ft, US Modular brick (7-5/8 × 2-1/4in), 3/8in joint, 10% waste | 160 ft² gross |
| Effective module | (7.625+0.375) × (2.25+0.375) = 8 × 2.625in | 21 sq in (0.1458 ft²) |
| Bricks before waste | 160 ÷ 0.1458 | 1,097.14 → 1,098 bricks |
| +10% waste | 1,097.14 × 1.10 = 1,206.86, round up | 1,207 bricks |
| Step | Working | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Wall | 6m × 2.7m, Australian Standard brick (230 × 76mm), 10mm joint, 5% waste | 16.2 m² gross |
| Door opening | 0.9m × 2.1m | 1.89 m² |
| Net area | 16.2 − 1.89 | 14.31 m² |
| Effective module | (230+10) × (76+10) = 240 × 86mm | 0.02064 m² |
| Bricks before waste | 14.31 ÷ 0.02064 | 693.31 → 694 bricks |
| +5% waste | 693.31 × 1.05 = 727.98, round up | 728 bricks |
The wall-area-divided-by-brick-module formula used here is a reasonable estimate for most common bond patterns, including running (stretcher) bond, English bond and Flemish bond, since it's based on the visible brick face area rather than a specific laying pattern. However, bond pattern genuinely affects real-world cutting, header placement, waste and appearance — a Flemish or English bond with headers and half-bats typically involves more cutting than a simple running bond. This calculator doesn't model bond-specific cutting patterns in detail; increase your waste allowance for more complex bonds.
This calculator estimates brick quantity, area and material cost from the wall dimensions, brick size, joint thickness, openings and waste allowance you enter. It does not check structural wall design, footing requirements, reinforcement, wall thickness or leaf/wythe arrangement, or building-code compliance. The formula is based on the visible wall-face area, so it applies the same whether the wall is a single veneer leaf, one wythe of a cavity wall, or a solid wall — it doesn't calculate additional leaves, ties or backing structure. Bond pattern, cutting layout and workmanship are not modelled in detail; use the waste allowance to account for these. Always confirm brick dimensions with your manufacturer and structural requirements with a qualified professional before ordering materials or beginning construction.
Divide your net wall area (wall area minus doors and windows) by the effective brick module - the brick's face area plus its mortar joint on two sides - then round up and add your waste allowance. Enter your wall size, brick size, joint and waste above for an exact figure, since the answer depends entirely on those inputs.
Work out the gross wall area (length x height), subtract any door and window areas to get net area, then divide net area by the effective brick module (brick length plus joint, times brick height plus joint). Round up to a whole number and add a waste allowance for cuts and breakage.
It depends on the brick size and mortar joint used - for a common US modular brick (7-5/8 x 2-1/4in) with a 3/8in joint, that's about 6.9 bricks per square foot. Larger bricks or thicker joints need fewer bricks per square foot. Use the calculator above with your own brick size for an exact figure.
It depends on the brick size and mortar joint - for a common UK standard brick (215 x 65mm) with a 10mm joint, that's about 59 bricks per square metre. Bigger bricks like the Australian standard (230 x 76mm) need fewer bricks per square metre. Enter your own brick size above for an exact figure.
That depends on whether "10 by 10" means feet or metres, and on your brick size and joint - enter those dimensions into the calculator above for an exact count. As a general idea, a 10ft x 10ft wall (100 sq ft) built with common US modular brick needs roughly 690 bricks before waste.
Yes - it adds your entered joint thickness to both the brick's length and height to work out the effective brick module before dividing the wall area by it. Leaving the joint out of the calculation makes the bare brick face look smaller than it really occupies on the wall, which overstates the number of bricks needed.
Add each opening's width, height and quantity in the Openings section above. The calculator multiplies width by height by quantity for each opening, adds them together, and subtracts the total from the gross wall area to get the net brickwork area.
There's no universal figure - it depends on cutting, breakage, corners, the bond pattern used and how complex the project is. 5-10% is a commonly used starting range for straightforward walls, but choose an allowance that reflects your specific project.
There is no single global standard - a common US modular brick is about 7-5/8 x 2-1/4 x 3-5/8in, a UK standard brick is about 215 x 65 x 102.5mm, and an Australian standard brick is about 230 x 76 x 110mm. Always check the actual dimensions from your brick manufacturer, since sizes vary by product.
This calculator only estimates material cost if you enter your own price per brick - it doesn't publish market brick prices, since these vary widely by region, brick type and supplier. Multiply the final brick quantity by your local price per brick for an estimate, keeping in mind labour, mortar, delivery and other costs are separate.
The basic quantity formula (wall area divided by brick module) is a reasonable estimate for most common bonds, but bond pattern can affect cutting, headers and waste in ways this calculator doesn't model in detail. Increase your waste allowance for more complex bond patterns.
Yes - the calculator works from the visible wall face area, which is what brick veneer uses regardless of what's behind it. It doesn't model cavity ties, flashing or the backing wall structure, since those are structural elements outside a material-quantity estimator's scope.