Brick Coverage Calculator: Bricks to Sqft Both Ways

A blank wall stares back at you. It’s going to be solid brick. Your mortar bags is waiting to go, your bricks are all nicely stacked on pallet; but now what? How many of these red rectangle do I want in the space? Before you lay it down, you’d like to know exactly how many.

At first glance this looks easy, this is multiplication right? Well… yes…but no. Brick work isnt always that simple. There aren’t just “blocks” being laid here. You aren’t just stacking block, you are filling a void with both clay and mortar. This duality is where the majority of folks makes their first guess on the wrong track.

How to Calculate Bricks and Mortar for Your Wall

After specifying your own parameters, calculator takes care of all the work for you. You no longer have to guess about the conversion rate and coefficient. A brick is never alone on wall face; there are always other bricks surrounding it, each with a thin layer of wet cement between them. These thin layers adds up very fast when you’re talking about hundreds of units.

If you choose a mortar joint thickness in the tool, you’re effectively adjusting the size of each individual unit. Although a three-eighth-inch joint may seem insignificant on an individual brick, if you multiply that tiny space times thousands of courses on a massive facade, you’ll see how it can affects your overall count quite a lot. Since the mortar is taking up more space between the bricks (thick joints), they can cover more surface area; thus reducing the number of bricks needed overall by just a bit. Which, while not much, does matter if you’re trying to make sure you don’t run out of something midway through your project.

Another variable that seems unimportant until it isn’t is waste. There are five bricks left over from 20-square-foot area in one corner. Ouch. You can input a waste percentage into the calculator. For me, this is generally between five and ten percent based off how complex my layout is. That’s for any broken ones from being transported, any cutting mistakes I make on corners of windows, etc. It’s also for the naturaly chipping that occurs as you lug these bad boys around. With some straight walls where there aren’t too many openings, you can err on the lower side. The more complex the pattern/arch, etc., the more of that safety net you should of plan for.

This is by far the most common reason projects gets cost overruns, no one likes to pay for a half-pallet, only to run short by three bricks at the very end. Brick size also changes things completely. Smaller bricks like modular ones are different than the regular-sized brick mentioned above. Since each is smaller, you’ll use more bricks to achieve same coverage area. The tool will adjust the coverage factor to match the kind you choose. It uses existing industry standards for its face dimension. For example, bigger bricks like the utility or queen types has fewer units per square foot. Even though they’re heavier individually, it may accelerate time required to lay them.

It’s a balance between the heaviness of materials versus how quickly they go down. For some masons, small bricks is better suited for detail work because they offer greater flexibility with bonding patterns. Other masons want to get a wall done fast, so they opt for big format. There are also some more real-world numbers you get out of it. For example, it shows the mortar volume.

How much mortar do I need? You won’t have to make 10 runs to Home Depot halfway through your weekend build. This will give you an idea of how many bags of mortar you’ll need, assuming standard bag sizes and standard joint thickness. Now you know about what to expect when making a trip to the hardware store, at least for a starting point. All mixes are different, so read the directions on the bag you’re using. Double-check to ensure you’re working with the right stuff. In general, though, this formula apply to most common applications.

In short, plan for the bricks. Plan carefully but plan flexibly. The math provide you with a goal, yes, but building is built on real-world factors. Order your materials with confidence, based off those figures, and make allowances for human hands.

When you’ve got your numbers worked out and the mortar’s all stirred up, the wall no longer becomes the problem. It begins to become something else… Something tangible. Lay the first course straight, sight along it, and let the rhythm carry you forward from there.