Free brick calculator: bricks and mortar bags
Get the net wall area, the bricks to order and the mortar bags of a brick wall or veneer in seconds, free and without an account. One row per wall: its length, its height and its openings (doors, windows). Type the brick's actual size, without the joint, the joint width, the wythes, your waste and the bricks per bag printed on the mortar bag: you get the net area, the net bricks, the bricks to order and the mortar bags. Each row gives its wall's area and bricks.
Bricks per square foot, joints and waste: the sources (reference)
The figures published by the brick industry's association, a maker, the code and a heritage sheet. Your wall's brick and joint have the last word: measure them.
| What the source says | |
|---|---|
| BIA (TN 10) | Modular brick 7 5/8 x 2 1/4 in with 3/8 in joints: 675 brick and 5.5 cu ft of mortar per 100 sq ft (Table 4); at least 5% added to the net brick for waste and breakage, 15 to 25% to the net mortar |
| Glen-Gery | Modular brick 7 5/8 x 2 1/4 in at 6.86 per sq ft with 3/8 in joints: calculated minimum quantities, to be increased for waste |
| NBC 2020 (9.20.4.1) | Mortar joints 10 mm thick for clay brick and concrete units, within 5 mm |
| Plateau-Mont-Royal (heritage sheet) | Early brick about 200 x 60 x 100 mm, joints usually 6 mm; 1920s and 1930s plexes: joints of 6 to 10 mm, often recessed |
Sources: BIA TN 10; Glen-Gery, brick sizes; NBC 2020, 9.20.4.1; Plateau-Mont-Royal, heritage sheet
Mortar: what the bags print (reference)
The bricks per bag a bag prints and BIA's net volume do not give the same number of bags: follow your mortar's bag.
| What the source says | |
|---|---|
| Sable Marco, type N mortar | A 30 kg bag yields 0.018 m³ (0.65 cu ft), about 12 blocks or 40 bricks |
| Sakrete, type S mortar | A 30 kg (66 lb) bag yields about 0.018 m³ (0.65 cu ft) and lays, with 10 mm (3/8 in) joints, about 12 blocks of 6 x 8 x 12 in or 33 bricks |
| BIA (TN 10) | 5.5 cu ft of mortar per 100 sq ft of modular brick with 3/8 in joints, plus 15 to 25% to the net mortar |
Sources: Sable Marco, mortar; Sakrete, type S mortar; BIA TN 10
How it is calculated
Net wall area = length x height - openings, never below 0, as in the concrete block wall template. Net bricks = net area x 144 / ((brick length + joint) x (brick height + joint)) x wythes, the masonry repair template's formula: a 7 5/8 x 2 1/4 in modular brick with 3/8 in joints gives 6.86 bricks per sq ft, Glen-Gery's figure, and BIA counts 675 bricks per 100 sq ft on the 8 x 2 2/3 in module. Bricks to order = net bricks x (1 + waste), rounded up to the next brick on the total; the waste starts at 5%, BIA's minimum for waste and breakage. Mortar bags = bricks to order / bricks per bag, rounded up to the next bag, as the block wall template's bags: the bricks per bag are the ones printed on your mortar's bag.
Example: a brick veneer on two walls
A fictitious veneer on two walls of a house: the 30 by 9 ft front, less 45 sq ft of door and windows, and a 24 by 9 ft side, less a 12 sq ft window. A 7 5/8 x 2 1/4 in modular brick (7.625 and 2.25 in the calculator), 3/8 in joints (0.375), 1 wythe, 5% waste (BIA's minimum) and a mortar whose bag prints about 40 bricks (Sable Marco). Net area: 429 sq ft; net bricks: 2,942; to order: 3,089 bricks and 78 bags of mortar.
The whole job in MesuPro
Masonry repair survey
Elevations, repointing by the square foot and by the linear foot of joint, mortar bags, bricks, cracks, lintels and sills, chimneys and parging.
You get: Joint length Mortar Mortar bags
Concrete block wall: survey
Wall by wall: net area, blocks from the size and joint with waste, mortar bags, grouted cores and grout bags, per product.
You get: Net wall area Blocks Mortar bags
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