Bricks, mortar bags, and cost estimate for any wall
Enter your wall dimensions (or a known wall area), pick your brick size, and this calculator returns the number of bricks to buy, the number of 80lb mortar bags to mix, and a material cost estimate. It works for face brick, structural brick veneer, and garden walls. Openings like doors and windows should be subtracted from the wall area before you enter it.
Bricks per sq ft is computed from the bedded size — brick plus one mortar joint:
A 20 ft × 8 ft wall in modular brick with ⅜ in joints: area = 160 sq ft. Bricks = 160 × 6.86 = 1,097; add 10% waste → 1,207 bricks (buy 1.21 thousand). Mortar = 1,097 ÷ 37 ≈ 30 bags before waste. At $500 per thousand, brick costs about $605.
How many modular bricks are in a square foot? With a standard ⅜ in mortar joint, a bedded modular brick measures 8 × 2⅝ inches, giving 144 ÷ 21 = 6.86 — round to 7 bricks per square foot.
How much mortar does a bag make? An 80lb bag of premixed mortar yields about 0.72 ft³, enough to lay roughly 35–40 modular bricks. A 3,000-brick job needs 75–85 bags.
What waste factor should I use? 5–10% for clean running bond walls; 12–15% for walls with many openings, closures, or soldier courses where cuts are frequent.
King vs Queen vs modular? King and Queen bricks are larger and cheaper per square foot, but modular brick aligns with 3 courses per 8 inches, which simplifies layout with standard lintels and rowslock.