Free Calculator · By SubcontractorHub Editorial Team · Published November 2026
Brick Calculator for a Modular Wall
A brick calculator on this page counts brick. A 20 foot by 8 foot wall, with the modular defaults and no openings, is 1134 brick after 5 percent waste. The 6.75 brick per square foot is the Brick Industry Association table, not a guess. Concrete block and a retaining wall are other tools. This page does not print a price.
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Book a DemoHow the Brick Calculator Counts
Net wall area times brick per square foot, then the waste percent you leave in the box.
7.625 by 2.25 inches and a 0.375 inch joint are the modular specified size in BIA Table 1. Five percent is the note's "at least 5 percent" brick waste, and you can type higher. Mortar waste stays blank until you type a percent.
6.750 brick per square foot on 160.00 net square feet. 1080 before waste, 1134 after 5.0 percent. Mortar net 8.80 cubic feet, before any mortar waste.
All calculations are estimates based on historical information and should be verified by the user.
Important: the modular row is a fetched table
All calculations are estimates based on historical information and should be verified by the user. This tool is provided as a free service for planning purposes only and is not a substitute for a professional assessment, a supplier quote, or applicable local code requirements.
This Brick Calculator Is Not a Block Count
Concrete masonry units on a nominal 8 by 16 inch face live on the concrete block calculator. A retaining run with an optional cap is the retaining wall calculator. Those faces are not a modular brick. Mixing them is how an order shows up as the wrong unit.
Brick Industry Association Technical Note 10, fetched the day this was written, estimates brick by the wall-area method: net wall area times a known quantity per square foot. Table 4 lists 675 modular brick per 100 square feet when the joint is 3/8 inch, and 5.5 cubic feet of mortar per 100 square feet on that same row. Both quantities exclude waste. Table 1's specified size for that modular brick is 3 5/8 by 2 1/4 by 7 5/8 inches. The boxes start there.
Worked wall
Length 20 feet. Height 8 feet. Gross area 160 square feet. Openings at zero leave 160. At 6.75 brick per square foot that is 1,080 brick before waste. The note says allowances for waste and breakage vary, but as a general rule at least 5 percent is added. Five percent of 1,080 is 54, and the order is 1134 brick. Type a higher waste percent if the job has more cuts. The page will not pick a number above 5 for you.
Mortar on that row is 5.5 cubic feet per 100 square feet, so 160 square feet is 8.8 cubic feet, not including waste. The same note says to add 15 to 25 percent for mortar waste as a general rule. The mortar-waste box starts empty so this brick calculator does not choose 15, 20, or 25. Type one if you want it applied. Change the brick length, height, or joint and the mortar line goes blank, because Table 4's 5.5 is only that modular row.
| Line | Source or formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Brick per sq ft | 675 per 100 sq ft, modular, 3/8 in | 6.75 |
| Net area | length × height − openings | 160 sq ft |
| With waste | ceil(net × per × (1 + waste)) | 1134 |
| Mortar, net | 5.5 cu ft per 100 sq ft | 8.80 cu ft |
How should you write the brick count?
- Wall length, height, and the openings you subtracted.
- Whether the count used the modular table or a face you typed.
- Brick before waste and after the waste percent.
- Mortar cubic feet only if the modular row was still selected, and whether waste was typed.
- A line that bond pattern, cores, and collar joints were not applied. The note says those are correction factors. This page does not.
- No price.
What the Count Leaves Out
Technical Note 10 also tells you to modify estimates for bond pattern, and it prints a table of correction factors. This brick calculator does not apply that table. A header course or a soldier course is a different count. If the wall is not a running bond of stretchers, do not treat 6.75 as finished.
Hollow brick and a collar joint change the mortar. The note says a reduction for voids is typically 25 to 35 percent of the mortar quantity in some cases, and that veneer should still be laid in a full bed. Those sentences are why the mortar line is a note. They are not a second calculator.
A half-inch joint is a different row in Table 4. The modular half-inch brick count in the extract is still listed beside 675, while the mortar rises. This page does not switch rows for you. Change the joint and the count becomes the face division, and the mortar line clears. No price was on the technical note, so none is printed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the brick calculator count brick?
With the modular defaults, Brick Industry Association Technical Note 10 lists 675 brick per 100 square feet for a 3/8 inch joint, which is 6.75 brick per square foot, not including waste. A 20 by 8 foot wall is 160 square feet and 1,080 brick before waste. At least 5 percent waste, the note's general rule, makes 1,134 brick. If you change the brick size or the joint, the page divides 144 by the face of specified length plus joint times specified height plus joint.
Is this a mortar calculator?
Only as a note, and only on the modular 3/8 inch row. Technical Note 10 lists 5.5 cubic feet of mortar per 100 square feet for that row, not including waste, and a general mortar waste band of 15 to 25 percent. This brick calculator does not pick a percent inside that band unless you type one. A changed brick size leaves the mortar line blank.
Is this the concrete block calculator?
No. The concrete block calculator counts concrete masonry units on a nominal 8 by 16 inch face. The retaining wall calculator counts courses of that face with an optional cap. This brick calculator counts clay brick from the BIA modular table or from a face you type.
Why is 6.75 not the same as the specified face?
Table 1 lists a modular brick with a 3/8 inch joint as 3-5/8 by 2-1/4 by 7-5/8 inches specified. Adding the joint to that face is not the same division as 675 per 100 square feet. This page uses the table quantity when those defaults are unchanged, and it uses the face division only after you edit a size.
Count Brick, Then Order From the Yard
The table is a quantity. The price is the supplier's ticket.
Get a Free DemoAll calculations are estimates based on historical information and should be verified by the user. This tool is provided as a free service for planning purposes only and is not a substitute for a professional assessment, a supplier quote, or applicable local code requirements.