Brick Calculator
Brick count for a single-wythe veneer or garden wall. Modular brick with a ⅜″ joint works out to about 7 per square foot; queen and king brick are larger and need fewer. Enter the wall’s face area and subtract windows and doors if they are large.
Order 1,728 bricks (4 cubes) — brick ships in strapped cubes of about 500; keep 2–3% for future repairs from the same run.
- Area
- 240 ft²
- Unit 7.63×2.25″ + 0.375″ joint
- 6.86 per ft²
- Net bricks
- 1,646
- Waste / cuts 5%
- + 82
- Bricks to buy
- 1,728
- Cubes500 per cube
- 4
- Mortar, 80 lb bags (type N)
- 50 bags
- Materials + delivery$0.50–$1.50 / brick · Sep 2026
- $1,014 – $2,742
- Installed (with labor)typ. $6,419
- $3,894 – $11,142
Quantities follow the ticket. Links may earn us a commission at no cost to you; they never change a number.
What will this brick job cost?
See the installed price range for these quantities and get up to 3 quotes from local contractors. Free, no obligation.
How to calculate brick by hand
Bricks = Wall area (ft²) ÷ [(L + joint) × (H + joint) ÷ 144] × (1 + waste)
Worked example
- Wall area: 30 ft × 8 ft = 240 ft².
- Modular brick with ⅜″ joints: 8 × 2⅝″ = 21 in² → 0.146 ft² → 6.86 per ft².
- Net: 240 × 6.86 = 1,646 bricks; with 5% waste, 1,728 → 4 cubes of 500 covers it.
- Mortar: 1,728 ÷ 35 ≈ 50 × 80 lb bags.
- Modular brick per ft²
- ≈ 6.9 (7 rule of thumb)
- Queen brick per ft²
- ≈ 4.6
- King brick per ft²
- ≈ 4.8
- Mortar per 100 modular brick
- ≈ 3 × 80 lb bags
Questions crews ask
How many bricks do I need per square foot?
About 7 modular bricks per square foot of wall with ⅜″ joints (6.86 exactly), 4.6 queen, 4.8 king, or 3.4 utility. Multiply by wall area and add 5% for cuts and breakage.
How many bricks in a cube?
Modular brick is usually strapped 500 to a cube (some plants 525–530), about 2,000 lb. Queen and king brick cube at 400–450. Ask the yard — you pay delivery per cube either way.
How much mortar for 1,000 bricks?
About 30 × 80 lb bags of type N mortar for modular brick with ⅜″ joints — or 7 bags of masonry cement with 1 yd³ of sand if you are mixing from bulk. Larger brick needs less mortar per piece but about the same per square foot.
Should I subtract windows and doors?
Yes for openings over about 15 ft² each; small windows are roughly cancelled by the extra cuts around them. Subtract the opening area from the wall area before running the count, then add soldier or rowlock courses over openings separately.
What size is a standard brick?
A modular brick is 7⅝ × 3⅝ × 2¼″ (nominal 8 × 4 × 2⅔ with joints), three courses to 8″. Queen brick is 9⅝ × 2¾ × 3⅛″ and king 9⅝ × 2⅝ × 2¾″ — larger face, fewer per square foot, cheaper per wall.