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Brick & Block Calculator

Count the bricks or blocks and mortar a wall needs, with openings and a waste margin.

  • brick
  • bricks
  • block
  • blocks
  • masonry
  • mortar
  • wall
  • openings
  • canada

About Brick & Block Calculator

Brickwork is sold by the unit and laid by the thousand, so a wall's material list lives or dies on two small numbers: the size of the brick and the size of the mortar joint between them. This calculator combines those with your wall dimensions to count how many bricks or blocks you need, subtract the doors and windows, estimate the mortar, and add the waste margin every bricklayer allows for.

It handles any unit size, so it works equally for a modular Canadian brick, a standard concrete block, or anything in between — just type the dimensions. The default brick is the 230 × 76 mm modular size with a 10 mm joint, which is the common reference for Canadian masonry, but the moment you change the figures the counts follow.

How to use

Pick metric or imperial and enter the wall's length and height, then the length and height of a single brick or block and your mortar joint thickness. The headline brick count, the per-square-metre rate, and the mortar estimate update as you type.

If the wall has doors or windows, set how many openings and the width and height of each — the tool subtracts that area before counting, so you're not paying for bricks you'll never lay. The waste banner shows the recommended order quantity with 5% added for cuts and breakages. The counts assume a single-leaf wall; for a double-leaf or cavity wall, multiply by the number of leaves. Always confirm against the actual unit and coverage your supplier quotes.

Frequently asked questions

  • How many bricks are there in a square metre?

    For a standard 230 × 76 mm modular brick with a 10 mm mortar joint, each brick effectively occupies 240 × 86 mm, so a square metre of single-leaf wall takes about 48–49 bricks. Larger units cover more: a 390 × 190 mm concrete block needs roughly 12–13 per square metre. This calculator works it out for whatever unit size you enter rather than assuming a fixed figure.

  • Does the mortar joint affect the brick count?

    Yes — each brick takes up its own size plus one mortar joint, so a thicker joint means each unit covers slightly more wall and you need marginally fewer. A 10 mm joint is standard for brickwork. Dropping the joint to zero (a dry-stacked or tightly butted unit) raises the count, which is why the joint is a separate input you can adjust rather than a hidden constant.

  • How much mortar do I need for brickwork?

    As a planning figure, a 25 kg bag of pre-mixed mortar lays roughly 30 standard bricks with 10 mm joints, so this tool divides your brick count by 30 to estimate bags. Actual yield varies a lot with joint thickness, unit size, and how much sand you add to a site mix, so treat it as a starting point and confirm against the coverage on the bag.

  • Should I subtract doors and windows?

    For anything but a small opening, yes — a single door or window can remove a couple of square metres of brickwork, which is dozens of bricks. Enter the number of openings and the size of each and the calculator deducts that area before counting. It does cap the deduction at the wall area, so over-large openings simply take the count to zero rather than going negative.

  • How much extra should I order for waste?

    Around 5% is the usual allowance for masonry, covering the cuts you make at openings, corners, and the ends of courses, plus the occasional cracked or chipped unit and a few spares for later repairs. The calculator shows both the bare count and the count with 5% added. Bump it higher for walls with lots of angles, curves, or decorative cuts.

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