Brick calculator for walls, blocks and mortar
This brick calculator counts the bricks or blocks for a wall from its length and height, the size of the unit and the thickness of the mortar joint. It subtracts doors and windows, multiplies for one-brick (9 in / 230 mm) or thicker walls, adds a waste allowance and then estimates the mortar — cement in 50 kg bags and sand in m³ — for the mix ratio you choose, with the brick cost in your currency.
Presets cover the Indian modular brick (190 × 90 × 90 mm, nominal 200 × 100 × 100 with a 10 mm joint), the traditional 9 × 4½ × 3 in brick, UK and US modular bricks, 4 in, 6 in and 8 in concrete blocks and AAC blocks for partition and external walls. Any other size can be entered by hand in mm or inches.
The method is the standard one used on site — bricks per square metre of face × wall thickness in units, mortar from the difference between wall volume and brick volume — and every step is shown so a contractor’s estimate can be checked line by line.
How to use the Brick & Block Calculator
- Choose metric or imperial and enter the wall length and height. Subtract the total area of doors and windows in the openings field.
- Pick the brick or block from the list, or choose “Custom size” and type its length, height and width.
- Set the mortar joint (10 mm is standard; 3 mm for AAC thin-bed adhesive) and the wall thickness in units: half brick / single leaf, one brick, or one and a half.
- Add a waste percentage (5% for bricks, 3–5% for blocks) and choose the mortar mix. Enter the price per brick or block.
- Read the number of bricks, bricks per m², cement bags, sand and cost, then copy or share the summary.
Brick & Block Calculator features
Indian, UK and US presets
Modular and traditional Indian bricks, UK 215 mm bricks, US modular bricks, concrete blocks and AAC blocks, or any custom size.
Joint and thickness aware
The mortar joint is added to the brick size and the count is multiplied for one-brick and one-and-a-half-brick walls.
Mortar in bags and sand
Wet mortar volume × 1.33 for dry materials, split by the cement : sand ratio and converted to 50 kg cement bags.
Openings and waste
Deduct doors and windows and add a breakage allowance before rounding up.
Per-area figures
Bricks per m² or per ft² of wall for quick checks against supplier tables.
Cost estimate
Brick or block cost in ₹, $, £, € and more; cement and sand quantities are listed for pricing separately.
How the number of bricks is calculated
For mortar, the wall volume (area × thickness) minus the bare volume of the bricks gives the wet mortar. Multiplying by 1.33 allows for the dry volume of loose cement and sand, which is then split in the mix ratio: for 1:6 the cement is 1/7 of the dry volume, converted to bags at 0.0347 m³ (50 kg) each.
- Wall area = length × height − openings. A 10 m × 3 m wall with no openings is 30 m².
- Bricks per m² of face = 1 ÷ ((brick length + joint) × (brick height + joint)). For a modular brick with 10 mm joints: 1 ÷ (0.2 × 0.1) = 50 per m².
- × wall thickness in units: a half-brick wall uses 50 per m², a one-brick (230 mm) wall 100 per m².
- Bricks = area × per m² × (1 + waste). 30 × 50 × 1.05 = 1,575 bricks.
Bricks and blocks per square metre
| Unit | Size (mm) | Joint | Per m² (single leaf) | Per m² (one brick thick) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian modular brick | 190 × 90 × 90 | 10 mm | 50 | 100 |
| Indian traditional brick | 230 × 115 × 75 | 10 mm | 49 | 98 |
| UK brick | 215 × 102.5 × 65 | 10 mm | 59.3 | 118.5 |
| US modular brick | 194 × 92 × 57 | 9.5 mm (⅜ in) | 73.8 (6.9 per ft²) | — |
| Concrete block | 400 × 200 × 200 | 10 mm | 11.6 | — |
| AAC block | 600 × 200 × 200 | 10 mm | 7.8 | — |
| AAC block (thin bed) | 600 × 200 × 200 | 3 mm | 8.1 | — |
Mortar, cement and site tips
- A 1:6 cement : sand mortar suits ordinary brick walls; use 1:4 for load-bearing or exposed work and the manufacturer’s thin-bed adhesive for AAC blocks.
- Roughly 0.15–0.2 m³ of wet mortar goes into every cubic metre of modular brickwork with 10 mm joints (rough traditional bricks take up to 0.3 m³) — around 1.5–2 bags of cement per 1,000 bricks in a 1:6 mix. Blocks use far less because the joints are fewer.
- Order bricks in whole lots (Indian suppliers often sell per 1,000) and keep the 5% waste: breakages, half bricks at corners and ends, and cutting around openings all eat into it.
- The slab, lintels and columns are concrete — see the concrete calculator. For plaster and paint on the finished wall, use the paint calculator.
Brick & Block Calculator FAQ
How many bricks are in 1 square metre?
About 50 modular Indian bricks (190 × 90 × 90 mm) with 10 mm joints in a half-brick wall, 100 in a one-brick (230 mm) wall; roughly 60 UK bricks per m². The brick calculator gives the exact figure for your brick and joint.
How many bricks per 100 sq ft of wall?
For a 4½ in (half-brick) wall of 9 × 4½ × 3 in bricks, around 450–460 bricks; for a 9 in wall, about 900–920. US modular bricks run close to 690 per 100 ft².
How many bricks are in a cubic metre of brickwork?
About 500 modular bricks (0.2 × 0.1 × 0.1 m each with mortar) or roughly 480 traditional 230 × 115 × 75 mm bricks. The calculator shows the wall volume so you can compare.
How much cement and sand do I need for brickwork?
For 1,000 modular bricks in a half-brick (single-leaf) wall with 1:6 mortar you need about 0.26 m³ of wet mortar — roughly 1.5 bags of cement and 0.3 m³ of sand. Enter your wall and the tool computes it from the mortar volume.
Should I subtract windows and doors?
Yes — enter their total area in the openings field. Lintels and sills are small and are usually ignored; the waste allowance covers them.
Does this work for concrete and AAC blocks?
Yes. Choose a block preset or enter the size; the wall thickness is then usually “single leaf”. AAC presets switch the mortar to a 1:3 thin-bed mix, which reflects the much smaller joint volume.