How many bricks do I need?
Brick counts start from the area of the face you are covering and a bricks-per-square-foot figure that depends on the brick, not on your measurement. A modular brick at 7.625 by 2.25 inches lays up at about 6.9 bricks per square foot once a 3/8 inch mortar joint is included; a queen brick is 5.7, a king brick 4.8.
Single-wythe walls with no openings. Piers, arches, curves and decorative bonds need a higher allowance, and a cavity wall needs two separate calculations.
The joint is the reason the figure sits where it does. Brick dimensions are quoted so that the brick plus mortar reaches a round number: four courses of a modular brick plus joints equal 8 inches, which is why the raw dimensions look so odd on the pallet. Measuring one brick and dividing wall area by its face area over-counts by 15 to 20 percent every time.
Five percent is the usual allowance for a wall running in stretcher bond, because the cuts at the ends of alternate courses are the only waste. Add more for anything with openings, a soldier course, a curved wall or piers, since those consume partial bricks that cannot come from the offcut pile.
How the calculation works
Wall area = length x height. Bricks = ceil(area x bricks per square foot x (1 + allowance / 100)). Courses = wall height divided by course height, where a modular brick with joint is nominally 2.67 in and a queen or king is 3 in.
The bricks-per-square-foot figures assume a standard 3/8 in joint. Wider joints mean fewer bricks; narrower joints mean more.
- The wall is a single wythe with no openings; deduct doors and windows by area before calculating if there are any.
- Mortar joints are 3/8 in and the bond is stretcher; other bonds and decorative courses change the count modestly.
- Bricks per square foot: 6.9 modular, 5.7 queen, 4.8 king, 5.1 engineer modular - published figures including joints.
- Mortar, wall ties, flashing and reinforcement are not included.
Sources: Bricks per square foot including 3/8 in joint: modular 6.9, queen 5.7, king 4.8, engineer modular 5.1; Modular brick module: 4 courses = 8 in including joints
Worked examples
A 10 x 8 ft garden wall in modular brick
80 sq ft x 6.9 = 552 bricks, or 580 with 5 percent for cuts. That is 29 courses at 2.67 in plus joint, and roughly nine 80 lb bags of mortar mix.
A 20 x 4 ft wall in queen brick
80 sq ft x 5.7 = 456 bricks; 502 with a 10 percent allowance, because the wall has a pier at each end.
Questions
How many bricks are in a square foot?
About 6.9 for modular brick, 5.7 for queen and 4.8 for king, with a standard 3/8 in joint. The figure depends on brick height, not on the wall.
How many bricks are on a pallet?
Usually 500 to 560 bricks. Suppliers sell by the thousand, so 580 bricks means ordering 600.
How much mortar do I need?
About one 80 lb bag of mortar mix per 60 bricks for a single-wythe wall, so roughly nine bags for an 80 sq ft wall.
Do I deduct windows and doors?
Yes, by area, before multiplying by the bricks-per-square-foot figure. Add a little back for bricks cut around the openings.
Why is the brick size called modular?
Because the brick plus its mortar joint fits a module: four courses of a modular brick plus joints equal 8 inches, and two bricks plus a joint equal 8 inches in length.
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