How Many Bricks Do I Need for a Wall?
About 60 bricks per square metre for a single-skin wall and 120 for a double skin. The sum behind those numbers, worked for a real wall, and how to turn the count into an order.
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Frequently asked questions
How many bricks do I need per square metre?
About 60 for a single-skin wall of standard UK bricks (215 × 65 mm face) with 10 mm mortar joints, and about 120 for a double skin or a solid one-brick wall. The exact figure is 59.3, because each brick plus its joint covers 0.016875 m² of wall. That is before you take off openings and add 5–10% for waste.
How many bricks do I need for a wall 5 m long and 1.8 m high?
A 5 m × 1.8 m wall is 9 m². Divided by 0.016875 m² per brick, that is 533 bricks before waste. Adding 10% for cuts and breakages and rounding up gives 587 bricks to buy. This assumes one skin of standard UK bricks, a 10 mm joint and no doors or windows.
How many extra bricks should I order for waste?
Allow 5% for a simple straight wall and 10% where there are openings, corners and cut bricks. Go to 15% for complex openings or detailed brickwork. On a 9 m² single-skin wall that is 560, 587 and 614 bricks. A few spares also help if you need to match the bricks for a repair later.
How many bricks do I need for a cavity wall?
It depends on what each leaf is made of. A brick outer leaf takes about 60 bricks per m², and a concrete block inner leaf about 10 blocks per m², so work out each leaf separately. If both leaves are brick, allow about 120 bricks per m². The cavity, wall ties and insulation are not part of the brick count.
How many bricks do I need per square foot in the US?
About 6.9 for a single-wythe wall of US modular bricks (7 5/8 × 2 1/4 in face) with 3/8 in mortar joints. Each brick plus its joint covers 8 × 2 5/8 in, which is 21 square inches, and 144 ÷ 21 is 6.86. A 16 ft × 6 ft wall needs 658 bricks before waste, or 725 with a 10% allowance.