Free tool
Brick Calculator
Enter the wall size and bricks per square foot — get the number of bricks to buy, with a waste factor built in. Free, no signup for the estimate.
Bricks needed
0 bricks
- Gross wall area0 ft²
- Net area0 ft²
- Base bricks0
- With waste0
- Estimated cost—
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Or download it now (PDF)How to calculate bricks
A brick job comes down to wall area and how many bricks cover a square foot of face — plus a little extra for cuts. Get the area right, subtract the openings you won’t brick, and add waste, and you order the right pallet instead of running a course short at the top.
1. Measure the wall area
Multiply wall length × height in feet for the gross square footage. Add up each wall in the job and total it. Measure the actual brick face you’re covering, not the footprint of the building.
2. Subtract windows and doors
You don’t brick over an opening, so subtract the total window and door area from the gross. On a façade full of glass this matters; on a solid garden wall it’s zero. Enter the opening area and the calculator works from the net.
3. Use bricks per square foot
A standard modular brick with a 3/8 in mortar joint covers a square foot at about 7 bricks; utility and oversize units take fewer. Enter the per-square-foot figure for the unit you’re laying so the count matches the actual brick.
4. Add a waste factor
Corners, openings, and cracked units mean about 10% never makes it into the wall — more on a cut-heavy elevation. Buy the allowance with the run, because brick color drifts between batches and a later top-up may not match.
Measuring the job is step one. Turning it into a priced, professional quote is faster inside CrewRivet. See the retaining wall calculator, the paver calculator, or the job pricing calculator.
Brick calculator FAQ
- How many bricks do I need?
- Measure the wall’s square footage (length × height), multiply by the number of bricks it takes to cover a square foot, and add about 10% for cuts and breakage. A standard modular brick with a 3/8 in mortar joint runs about 7 bricks per square foot. This calculator does the math once you enter the wall size.
- How many bricks are in a square foot?
- For a standard modular brick with a 3/8 in mortar joint it’s about 7 per square foot of wall face. Queen, king, and utility sizes differ — utility brick is closer to 4.5 per square foot. Enter the bricks-per-square-foot for the unit you’re actually laying and the count updates.
- How much waste should I add for brick?
- Around 10% covers cuts at openings and corners plus the occasional cracked unit. Bump it toward 15% on a wall with lots of openings or angled work. Order the allowance with the run — brick color varies between batches, so a later top-up may not match.
- Does this include mortar?
- The count already assumes a standard mortar joint (that’s why ~7 modular bricks cover a square foot rather than more). It doesn’t size bags of mortar — as a rule of thumb, plan roughly one 70 lb bag of mortar per ~30–40 modular bricks and confirm against your mix.
- Is the calculator free?
- Yes — the live estimate is free with no email required. Enter your email only if you want the free Job Pricing Kit (pricing worksheet, markup cheat-sheet, and invoice + quote templates) sent to your inbox.