LayoutWise

Brick & Block Calculator

Enter the wall and pick the brick or block. You get the units with breakage allowed for, bags of mortar, the number of courses and a drawing of the bond.

Your wall

1. Wall size
Length
ft
in
Height
ft
in
2. Brick or block

Blocks

95

1.13 per sq ft

Mortar

7 bags

80 lb mortar mix

Wall area

80 sq ft

minus openings

Courses

6

15.0 units each

Running bond

3/8" joints, block drawn to scale

Shopping list

  • ✓8" concrete block (8x8x16): 95 blocks (5% extra for breakage and cuts)
  • ✓Mortar: 7 x 80 lb bags of Type S or N mortar mix (about 13 blocks per bag)
  • ✓Concrete footing below the frost line, plus rebar and grout for the cores where required
  • ✓Mason line, line blocks, a 4 ft level and a jointer

Mortar yield varies with joint size and how much drops; the bag counts follow QUIKRETE Mason Mix's published yield.

How many bricks or blocks per square foot?

Add the mortar joint to the unit's face size and divide into 144 square inches. A standard 8x8x16 concrete block is 15 5/8" x 7 5/8"; with 3/8" joints it covers 16" x 8", so there are 1.125 blocks per square foot. A modular brick (7 5/8" x 2 1/4") with 3/8" joints works out to about 6.9 per square foot.

Example: a 20' x 4' garden wall in 8" block is 80 sq ft x 1.125 = 90 blocks, or 95 with 5% extra for breakage and cuts. That's 6 courses high.

How much mortar?

QUIKRETE rates one 80 lb bag of Mason Mix at up to 37 standard bricks or 13 standard 8x8x16 blocks. So the 90-block wall needs 7 bags. A 30' x 8' brick veneer wall with 40 sq ft of windows takes about 1,440 bricks and 38 bags.

Brick veneer ties

When brick is laid as a veneer over a wood-framed wall, the residential code calls for a corrugated metal tie for every 2.67 sq ft of wall, fastened to the studs. The 200 sq ft wall above needs 75 ties.

Footings and reinforcement

Any masonry wall needs a concrete footing below the frost line. Block walls more than a few feet tall, and every retaining wall, usually need vertical rebar and grouted cores designed for the load — check with your building department before you start.

Holding back soil? Use the retaining wall calculator. Pouring the footing? Try the concrete calculator.

Sources