Brick Calculator
Bricks and mortar bags for a wall or veneer by face area.
5% for plain runs, 10% with corners, openings, or patterns.
You need
616 bricks
Waste included. Order in one batch so the color run matches.
- Mortar (80 lb bags)
- 17 bags
- Wall face area
- 80 sq ft
Estimates only. Verify quantities before ordering.
How this is calculated
Bricks = wall face area x 7 per sq ft (modular brick with 3/8 in joints), plus waste, rounded up. Mortar assumes an 80 lb bag of mortar mix lays about 37 bricks.
Enter the wall's length and height, and this calculator counts the bricks and the mortar to lay them. It assumes standard modular brick (7 5/8 x 2 1/4 inch face) laid in a running bond with 3/8 inch mortar joints, which works out to about 7 bricks per square foot of wall face.
The waste factor covers breakage in shipping, cut bricks at corners and openings, and the culls you reject for chips or color. 5% is enough for a long uninterrupted wall; 10% is safer for anything with corners, openings, or a pattern. Brick colors vary between production runs, so order the full quantity at once, and keep a handful of spares for future repairs.
Bricks for common projects
Rows assume modular brick at 7 per sq ft with 10% waste and one 80 lb mortar bag per 37 bricks.
| Project | Bricks | Mortar |
|---|---|---|
| Mailbox pillar (2 x 5 ft faces, ~40 sq ft) | 308 bricks | 9 bags |
| Garden wall, 10 x 2 ft | 154 bricks | 5 bags |
| Garden wall, 20 x 4 ft | 616 bricks | 17 bags |
| Veneer wall, 30 x 8 ft | 1,848 bricks | 50 bags |
| Veneer wall, 40 x 9 ft | 2,772 bricks | 75 bags |
Common questions
How many bricks per square foot?
Standard modular brick with 3/8 inch mortar joints covers a nominal 8 x 2 2/3 inches of wall, which works out to just under 7 bricks per square foot. Larger formats change the count: queen brick runs about 5.8 per square foot and king brick about 4.8, so check the format before converting.
How much mortar do I need per brick?
An 80 lb bag of premixed mortar lays roughly 35 to 40 modular bricks with standard joints, so budget one bag per 37 bricks. Mixing from separate masonry cement and sand stretches further per dollar but is only worth it on larger jobs.
Does this work for a brick veneer on a house?
Yes: measure each wall's length times height, subtract large openings like garage doors and picture windows, and add the areas together. Veneer also needs wall ties (about one per 2.67 square feet per code), weep holes at the base course, and a lintel over each opening, which are separate line items.
What is the difference between face brick and common brick?
Face brick is made to tighter tolerances with consistent color for exposed walls; common (building) brick varies more and usually hides inside structures or gets painted. For a visible wall or veneer, order face brick and confirm the color from a physical sample, not a website photo.