Brick Calculator: measuring notes and method
Separate wall leaves and special units
Measure the wall face and subtract openings that contain no brickwork. Count each leaf separately. Keep soldier courses, corners, piers and shaped bricks in separate quantities instead of treating every unit as a standard stretcher.
Check the brick module
Use actual face dimensions and the specified joint. If a quoted nominal size already includes a joint, do not add it again. Confirm pack quantities and brick type with the supplier before converting the count to an order.
CHECK A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE
Actual brick size changes the count
A 12 m² wall face has no openings in this example. Both options use a 10 mm joint and 5% allowance; dimensions are illustrative.
230 × 76 mm face
- Bricks to buy
- 611
- Net wall area
- 12 m²
215 × 65 mm face
- Bricks to buy
- 747
- Net wall area
- 12 m²
The mortar module changes with the face dimensions. Confirm the selected brick instead of applying a universal bricks-per-square-metre figure.
Fixed comparison in metric units. Values are illustrative unless linked to a recorded project; changing the calculator above does not change this example.
Formula
Unit module = (unit length + joint) × (unit height + joint). Count = net area ÷ module, with waste, rounded up.
Worked examples in metric and imperial units
Illustrative values match Reset example and stay fixed when you edit the calculator. Both columns describe the same calculation; converted inputs are rounded.
Metric worked example
- Total surface area
- 24 m²
- Openings / excluded area
- 0 m²
- Unit length
- 215 mm
- Unit height
- 65 mm
- Mortar joint
- 10 mm
- Waste allowance
- 5 %
Bricks to buy: 1,494
Imperial worked example
- Total surface area
- 258.3339 ft²
- Openings / excluded area
- 0 ft²
- Unit length
- 8.4646 in
- Unit height
- 2.5591 in
- Mortar joint
- 0.3937 in
- Waste allowance
- 5 %
Bricks to buy: 1,494
Follow the calculation
Lengths in this working are in metres.
- Net area = 24 − 0 = 24 m².
- Module area = (0.215 + 0.01) × (0.065 + 0.01) = 0.016875 m².
- Divide net wall area by that module, multiply by 1.05 and round up to whole units.
How many bricks per m²?
Actual brick dimensions of 215 × 65 mm with 10 mm joints give a repeating face of 225 × 75 mm. One square metre divided by 0.225 × 0.075 is about 59.26 bricks before waste. For 10 m² with 5% extra, round 10 × 59.259… × 1.05 up to 623 bricks. Brick dimensions vary worldwide; these are an example.
Reviewed 19 October 2026. How calculations are checked · Report a correction