How to Calculate Bricks for a Wall

A standard 8-by-20-foot single-wythe wall with modular bricks and 3/8-inch mortar joints needs about 1,098 bricks before waste and 1,153 after adding 5 percent. The math starts with your wall area, factors in mortar joint thickness, then rounds up and adds a buffer. Below is the full calculation from tape measure to purchase order, with the exact formulas the FigureCalc brick calculator uses.

Step 1: Measure the Wall and Get the Area

Grab a tape measure and record the wall’s total length and height in feet. If you already know the total square footage of your wall, you can skip straight to Step 2 and use that number directly. The brick calculator supports both approaches.

Wall area (sq ft) = Wall length (ft) × Wall height (ft)

For a wall that’s 20 feet long and 8 feet tall, the area is 160 square feet. If the wall has openings for windows or doors, measure each opening separately and subtract that area from the total. A 3-by-5-foot window removes 15 square feet, bringing the net wall area to 145 square feet.

Measure at two or three points along the height if the ground is uneven. Use the average height. Overestimating height by even 6 inches on a 40-foot wall adds 20 extra square feet and nearly 140 unnecessary bricks.

Step 2: Factor In Mortar Joint Spacing

Mortar joints fill the gaps between bricks, so each brick takes up more than its actual face area once you account for the joint on one side and the top. The standard mortar joint thickness is 3/8 inch, but some masons use 1/2 inch. That difference changes your brick count by roughly 5 to 7 percent on a large wall.

Here’s how mortar changes the effective brick face area:

Effective brick length (in) = Actual brick length (in) + Mortar joint thickness (in)

Effective brick height (in) = Actual brick height (in) + Mortar joint thickness (in)

Effective face area (sq in) = Effective brick length × Effective brick height

For a standard modular brick (7-5/8 inches long, 2-1/4 inches tall) with a 3/8-inch joint:

• Effective length = 7.625 + 0.375 = 8.0 inches
• Effective height = 2.25 + 0.375 = 2.625 inches
• Effective face area = 8.0 × 2.625 = 21.0 square inches

Each square foot has 144 square inches, so one square foot of wall face needs 144 ÷ 21.0 = 6.857 bricks. Most contractors round this to 6.86 bricks per square foot for modular bricks with 3/8-inch joints.

If you use a 1/2-inch joint instead, the numbers shift:

• Effective length = 8.125 inches
• Effective height = 2.75 inches
• Bricks per square foot = 144 ÷ 22.344 = 6.44

That’s about 6 percent fewer bricks per square foot. On a 500-square-foot project, that’s the difference between 3,430 and 3,220 bricks. Always confirm mortar joint thickness with your mason before ordering.

Step 3: Calculate Total Bricks

Multiply the wall area by bricks per square foot. If building a double-wythe (two-layer) wall, multiply again by 2.

Bricks needed = Wall area (sq ft) × Bricks per square foot × Wall layers

For a single-wythe wall of 160 square feet using modular bricks:

160 × 6.857 = 1,097.1 bricks

Round up to 1,098. Bricks are whole units. You can’t order a fraction of a brick, and rounding down leaves you short.

For a double-wythe wall with the same area:

160 × 6.857 × 2 = 2,194.2, rounded up to 2,195 bricks

Double-wythe construction is common for structural garden walls, boundary walls, and areas with high wind exposure. Single wythe is typical for veneer facades over a framed wall.

If you’re building a multi-section wall with varying heights, calculate each section separately and add the brick counts. A retaining wall that steps down in three tiers has three different heights, and combining them into a single averaged height skews the total.

Step 4: Add Waste Factor

Bricks break during transport, cutting, and handling. Plan for at least 5 percent waste on a straightforward rectangular wall. Bump that to 10 percent if the wall includes curves, arches, or many cut pieces around windows and doors.

Final brick count = Rounded brick count × (1 + Waste percentage ÷ 100)

For 1,098 bricks with 5 percent waste:

1,098 × 1.05 = 1,152.9, rounded up to 1,153 bricks

Those 55 extra bricks cost far less than a second delivery. Most brick suppliers charge $50 to $150 for delivery, and running short by even a dozen bricks triggers a full additional trip. Leftover bricks work for future repairs when a lawnmower kicks a rock into the wall face.

Step 5: Estimate Cost (Optional)

If you know the price per brick, multiply by the final count for a material cost estimate. Prices vary widely by brick type and region. Standard modular bricks run $0.50 to $1.00 each in most areas (2026 prices). Specialty face bricks, handmade bricks, or thin brick veneers cost $1.50 to $4.00 each.

Estimated cost = Final brick count × Price per brick

For 1,153 standard bricks at $0.65 each:

1,153 × $0.65 = $749.45

That’s material only. Mortar, wall ties, flashing, and labor are separate. A mason typically charges $8 to $14 per square foot for installation, so the 160-square-foot wall adds $1,280 to $2,240 in labor.

Enter your price per brick in the brick calculator for an instant estimate without manual math.

Full Example: Garden Boundary Wall

A homeowner is building a garden boundary wall around three sides of a raised patio. Dimensions:

• Two side walls: 12 feet long, 4 feet tall each
• One back wall: 18 feet long, 4 feet tall
• Brick type: Standard modular (7-5/8 × 2-1/4 inches)
• Mortar joint: 3/8 inch
• Wall type: Single wythe
• Waste factor: 7 percent (some cuts at the corners)

Wall area:

• Two side walls: 2 × (12 × 4) = 96 sq ft
• Back wall: 18 × 4 = 72 sq ft
• Total: 168 sq ft

Brick count:

168 × 6.857 = 1,151.98, rounded up to 1,152 bricks

With 7 percent waste:

1,152 × 1.07 = 1,232.64, rounded up to 1,233 bricks

Cost estimate at $0.70 per brick:

1,233 × $0.70 = $863.10

The homeowner orders 1,233 bricks and has about 81 extra for breakage and future patch work. Ordering in full pallets (typically 500 bricks per pallet) means buying 3 pallets of 500 for 1,500 total, which leaves a comfortable surplus.

What People Usually Get Wrong

Ignoring mortar joints. Skipping mortar spacing and dividing wall area by raw brick face area inflates the count by 15 to 20 percent. Without the joint factored in, each brick appears smaller on paper, so the formula tells you to buy more than you actually need. That’s wasted money sitting on a pallet in your yard.

Forgetting to subtract openings. A standard entry door opening (3 × 6.67 feet) removes about 20 square feet. On a 100-square-foot wall, that’s 137 fewer bricks. Always deduct windows, doors, and any other openings before calculating.

Skipping the round-up. Brick counts should always round up, never down. Rounding down by even one brick across dozens of rows can leave you short at the top course.

Using the wrong waste factor. Five percent works for simple rectangular walls. Any wall with corners, curves, or window cutouts needs 7 to 10 percent. Arched openings can push waste to 12 to 15 percent because of the tapered cuts.

Not ordering by the pallet. Bricks ship on pallets of 400 to 534 depending on the manufacturer. Ordering an odd number like 1,233 usually means the supplier rounds up to the nearest pallet anyway. Ask your supplier about pallet quantities before placing the order. Buying full pallets often comes with a small per-brick discount.

When to Use the Brick Calculator

Manual calculation works fine for a single straight wall. But most projects involve multiple walls with different heights, various brick sizes, or several window and door openings to subtract. The brick calculator handles all of that in seconds. Enter wall dimensions or paste in your total square footage, pick a brick size preset or type custom dimensions, set mortar thickness and waste percentage, and get the final count with an optional cost estimate. No formulas, no rounding errors.

For a deeper look at how brick dimensions affect coverage rates, see Brick Sizes Explained.