Brick Count
Count the bricks needed for a wall including mortar joints.
About Brick Count
Each brick plus its mortar joint occupies a measured area. Dividing the wall area including waste by that coverage, rounded up, gives the brick count. Bricks are sold individually, so including the mortar joint and a waste allowance is essential to an accurate order.
Formula
Brick Count
Bricks = area x (1 + waste) / ((brick length + joint) x (brick height + joint) / 144)
- mortar joint
- Bed and head joint between bricks
Worked example
With the default values below, Brick Count returns Bricks Needed of 688. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Wall area
- 100 sq ft
- Brick length
- 8 in
- Brick height
- 2.25 in
- Mortar joint
- 0.375 in
- Waste allowanceaccepts 0–30 %
- 5 %
Results
- Brick with Joint
- 0.1527 sq ft
- Area With Waste
- 105.0 sq ft
- Bricks Needed
- 688
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Brick Count
- 3Bricks Needed= 688
- 4Brick with Joint= 0.1527 sq ft
- 5Area With Waste= 105.0 sq ft
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 4 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Brick Count calculated?
Bricks = area x (1 + waste) / ((brick length + joint) x (brick height + joint) / 144) Each brick plus its mortar joint occupies a measured area. Dividing the wall area including waste by that coverage, rounded up, gives the brick count.
Why does Brick Count matter?
Bricks are sold individually, so including the mortar joint and a waste allowance is essential to an accurate order.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Wall area, Brick length, Brick height, Mortar joint, Waste allowance. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.