Brick Calculator estimates the material for a wall by working from the module the wall is actually built on. A wall is not laid out by the bare brick but by the brick plus one mortar joint on two of its sides, so a modular brick with a three-eighths inch joint occupies eight inches by two and five-eighths — about 6.9 bricks per square foot rather than the 8 the bare face would suggest. Enter the wall dimensions and pick a brick size, and the tool reports bricks per square foot, the exact count, an order quantity with your waste allowance, and an estimated mortar volume derived from the share of the wall face the joints occupy.
Features
Bricks per square foot from brick size and joint width together
Six common brick presets including modular, queen, king and metric
Exact brick count plus an order quantity with a waste allowance
Mortar volume in cubic feet and cubic yards
Reports what share of the wall face is mortar rather than brick
US and metric wall dimensions
Optional cost estimate from a price per brick
Calculated entirely on your device
How to use the Brick Calculator
Enter the wall length and height
Pick the brick size and set the mortar joint width
Add a waste allowance for cuts and breakage — 10% is typical
Read the order quantity and mortar volume, and add a unit price for a cost
Example
Input
20 × 8 ft wall, modular brick, 3/8 in joint, 10% waste
Output
6.86 bricks/sq ft · 1097 exact · 1207 to order · 8.8 cu ft mortar
A single-wythe modular wall — the joint takes up about 18% of the wall face.
Common errors & troubleshooting
The count is lower than a bricks-per-square-foot figure quoted online. — Check the joint width. A quarter-inch joint packs in noticeably more bricks than a half-inch one, and published figures usually assume three-eighths.
The estimate does not account for window and door openings. — Subtract the opening areas from the wall dimensions yourself, or run the calculation once for the gross wall and once for the openings and take the difference.
The mortar volume looks small compared with a supplier's quote. — This estimate assumes joints filled to the wall thickness with no waste. Real consumption runs higher because of spillage, mixing losses and how full the joints are struck — add 15 to 25%.
You are building a double-wythe wall. — Double the brick count and set the wall thickness to the full built thickness so the mortar volume reflects both leaves.
Frequently asked questions
How many bricks are there in a square foot?
About 6.9 for a standard modular brick with a three-eighths inch mortar joint. The figure comes from dividing 144 square inches by the brick's face area plus one joint on each dimension, which is why joint width changes the answer.
Why does the mortar joint change the brick count?
Because the wall repeats on the brick-plus-joint module, not the bare brick. A wider joint makes each repeating unit larger, so fewer of them fit into the same wall area.
How much waste should I allow when ordering bricks?
Ten percent is the usual allowance for cuts, corners and breakage on a straightforward wall. Complex work with many openings, returns or a decorative bond can justify fifteen percent or more.
What is the difference between a modular and a standard brick?
A modular brick measures 7⅝ by 2¼ inches so that with a three-eighths joint it works to an even 8 by 2⅔ inch module. A standard brick is a full 8 inches long, so its coursing does not land on the same neat module.
Are my wall measurements uploaded anywhere?
No. Every figure stays on your device and is used only for the estimate shown on the page.
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