Brick Calculator: Free and Accurate

Brick and Mortar Bag Estimator

Enter the wall size, brick type and thickness. Counts assume standard 3/8 inch mortar joints.

Wall length

Wall height

Brick type

Wall thickness

Waste allowance

Your Estimate

0 bricks to buy

Wall area-

Bricks before waste-

Mortar bags (80 lb premix)-

Estimated brick cost-

Cost uses $0.60 to $1.10 per standard modular brick, national pricing checked October 2026. Mortar runs about $12 to $16 per 80 lb bag and is counted in the guide below, not the brick cost line. Footings, wall ties, lintels and labor are extra.

The Formula Behind This Calculator

Wall area = length x height (sq ft)

Bricks = wall area x bricks per sq ft for the brick type x wythe count

Bricks to buy = round up (bricks x (1 + waste %))

Mortar bags = round up (bricks to buy / 55 bricks per 80 lb bag)

Brickwork is counted by the face. Every brick size has a published coverage rate that already includes its share of the standard 3/8 inch mortar joints, so the count is the wall area times that rate, times two for a double thickness wall. The mortar figure comes from the other direction: an 80 pound bag of premix, mixed to working consistency, lays about 55 modular bricks in real conditions once dropped and struck mortar is counted. Larger bricks need proportionally less mortar per square foot because there are fewer joints, and the calculator handles that automatically through the lower brick count.

Worked Example: A 10 by 8 Garden Wall in Modular Brick

A freestanding garden wall is 10 feet long and 8 feet of total masonry height is planned across its stepped design, averaged here as a simple 10 by 8 rectangle for estimating. It is a single wythe modular brick wall with 10 percent waste.

Wall area: 10 x 8 = 80 square feet.
Bricks before waste: 80 x 6.55 = 524 bricks.
With 10 percent waste: 524 x 1.10 = 576.4, round up to 577 bricks.
Mortar: 577 / 55 = 10.5, round up to 11 bags of 80 lb premix.
Budget: 577 bricks at $0.60 to $1.10 is about $346 to $635 for the brick, plus 11 bags of mortar at $12 to $16, about $132 to $176, in October 2026 national pricing.

Switch the same wall to double wythe in the tool and both the brick and mortar counts double, which is why thickness is the most expensive decision on a masonry project. Garden walls that need to stand free usually do need that second wythe or a pier design, so price it honestly rather than discovering it at the footing stage.

A Complete Guide to Estimating Brick and Mortar

Brick is sold by the cube, laid by the unit and mortared by the bag, and a good estimate has to keep all three straight. Order bricks short and the second cube may arrive in a visibly different shade. Order mortar short and a wall stops mid course. This guide covers sizing, thickness, mortar choices and the footing that every honest brick budget has to acknowledge.

Brick Sizes and What They Do to a Wall

The modular brick is the US workhorse: sized so that three courses plus joints equal 8 inches of height and the length works cleanly with block and lumber dimensions. Queen bricks are a little larger and cheaper to lay per square foot, king bricks larger again and common in the South, and engineer modular splits the difference. Face size is not the only difference: larger units make a wall rise faster with less mortar, but they look coarser and give you fewer chances to adjust coursing around openings. For veneer over a framed house, match the brick to the existing coursing if you are adding on, or the joint lines will never align at the corner. Whatever size you choose, confirm the coverage rate with your supplier, because clay brick dimensions vary a little between makers.

Single Wythe, Double Wythe and Veneer

A wythe is one vertical thickness of brick. A brick veneer on a house is a single wythe standing in front of the framing with an air gap and metal ties, and it carries nothing but itself. A freestanding garden wall needs two wythes tied together, or single wythes with regular piers, to resist wind and bumps. Solid structural brickwork stacks two or more wythes with a filled collar joint. The calculator multiplies by the wythe count you choose, but the design decision is not a budget preference: it follows from what the wall has to do. When in doubt, describe the wall to your building department or a mason before you order, because doubling a wall after the footing is poured means a wider footing too.

What Brickwork Costs in 2026

As of October 2026, based on national pricing, standard modular face brick runs about $0.60 to $1.10 per brick in cube quantities, with premium, glazed and handmade brick at $1.50 and up. An 80 pound bag of premixed Type N or S mortar is about $12 to $16, and wall ties, flashing and weep materials add a few dollars per square foot on veneer work. Hired out, published surveys put brick veneer around $12 to $20 per square foot installed and garden walls commonly at $50 to $90 per linear foot depending on height and footing. For the 80 square foot example wall, that is roughly $480 to $810 in counted materials against $960 to $1,600 or more installed.

Foundations and Finishing Notes

Every brick wall needs a footing below frost depth, sized for the wall thickness. Budget concrete for it with the concrete calculator on this site.
Order the full brick quantity from one production run and blend bricks from several cubes as you lay, so any shade variation spreads evenly.
Plan weep holes and flashing on veneer: water that gets behind brick must have a way out at the bottom.
Keep a dozen leftover bricks and note the supplier and product name. A matching repair in ten years depends on it.
Cap freestanding walls with a sloped or overhanging cap course. Flat tops pool water and spall brick faces in freeze thaw cycles.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many bricks do I need for a 100 square foot wall?

With standard modular bricks and 3/8 inch mortar joints, about 655 bricks for a single thickness wall before waste, and about 720 with the usual 10 percent allowance. The count per square foot is set by the brick size: modular bricks run 6.55 per square foot, queen bricks 5.73, and big king bricks 4.55. A double thickness (double wythe) wall simply doubles the count, since it is two walls standing together with mortar between.

How much mortar does a brick wall take?

An 80 pound bag of premixed mortar lays roughly 50 to 55 modular bricks once you count the mortar that falls, sticks to the tub and gets struck off the joints. The 577 brick wall in the worked example therefore takes about 11 bags. Site mixed mortar from cement, lime and sand is cheaper per wall but needs the same volume of joints filled, and most DIYers find premix worth it for consistency on small jobs.

Why does brick size change the count so much?

Bricks are counted by the face they show. A modular brick face with its share of mortar joint covers about 21 square inches, so a square foot of wall holds 6.55 of them. A king brick face covers about 31.6 square inches, so only 4.55 fit. Larger bricks also mean fewer units to lay and less mortar per square foot, which is why commercial work favors big units, while small bricks give a finer scale that suits houses and garden walls.

How much waste should I allow for bricks?

Ten percent covers cuts at ends and openings, the occasional chipped or cracked unit in a cube, and a small repair reserve. Add more, up to 15 percent, for walls with many openings, arches or diagonal details, and for soft or handmade bricks that break more easily. Bricks are sold by the cube or pallet at a better price than loose, and a partial cube left over is normal: keep it, because brick lines and colors are discontinued and a matching repair later is worth far more than the bricks cost.

Can I build a structural or retaining wall from this estimate?

This calculator counts bricks and mortar for planning and budgeting, and it fits veneer walls, garden walls and other non structural work. Load bearing walls, retaining walls holding back soil, and anything over a few feet tall involve footing design, reinforcement, drainage and often permits and engineering. Use the numbers here to budget, then get the design checked by a mason or engineer and your local building department before building anything that holds weight or soil.

Brick Calculator