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Brick Calculator — How Many Bricks Do I Need?
Calculate the number of bricks needed for any wall. Supports stretcher, English, and Flemish bond with standard UK brick sizes.
Average length per wall
Standard storey height is 2.4m
Number of walls with the same dimensions
Subtract Openings
Each door deducts 1.8 m²
Each window deducts 1.2 m²
Adds 10% extra for cutting and breakage during laying
10% standard; 15% for decorative work or complex patterns
Enter price per thousand for a cost estimate
Default: 0.9m
Default: 2.0m
Default: 1.2m
Default: 1.0m
Default 0.022 m³/m² for half-brick (stretcher) walls; doubled automatically for full-brick bonds
Safety notice
Structural elements must be designed or checked by a structural engineer before construction. Treat these figures as initial guidance for planning and budgeting, not a structural design.
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How We Calculate This
This calculator determines the number of bricks needed by calculating the net wall area (after deducting door and window openings), then multiplying by the bricks-per-square-metre rate for your chosen bond type.
The formula
Bricks = (Wall area - Openings) × Bricks per m² × Wastage factor
Rates used
- Stretcher bond (half brick): 60 bricks per m² — standard cavity wall leaf
- English bond (full brick): 120 bricks per m² — alternating stretcher and header courses
- Flemish bond (full brick): 120 bricks per m² — alternating stretchers and headers in each course
These rates are based on the standard UK brick size (215 × 102.5 × 65mm) with 10mm mortar joints, giving a coordinating size of 225 × 75mm face area. This is the industry standard calculation method used across UK construction. See our full standard UK brick size and dimensions reference for coordinating sizes and bricks-per-m² by bond. If you are building the outer leaf of a cavity wall, remember the ties that hold the two leaves together — our wall ties calculator works out how many wall ties per m² of brickwork you need to Approved Document A. If you are building a house extension, our brick and block extension wall calculator estimates the full cavity-wall package — bricks, blocks, insulation, wall ties, lintels and cavity closers — in one pass.
Mortar estimate
For a half-brick (stretcher bond) wall, allow approximately 0.022 m³ of mortar per m² of wall face — roughly 0.02 m³/m² of net joint volume plus a small waste allowance for 60 bricks/m² with 10mm joints. For full-brick walls (English/Flemish bond, one brick thick) this doubles to about 0.044 m³ per m². Use our Mortar Calculator for a detailed breakdown of cement and sand quantities.
Standards
Brick sizes conform to BS EN 771-1:2011+A1:2015. Masonry design in the UK now follows Eurocode 6 (BS EN 1996), which superseded the former BS 5628 code of practice when the BS 5628 suite was withdrawn by BSI on 31 March 2010.
Working figures for this are collected in our UK Brick Types & Specifications reference table.
Working figures for this are collected in our Brick Bond Patterns reference table.
Frequently Asked Questions
For a standard stretcher bond (half-brick wall), you need 60 bricks per m². For English bond or Flemish bond (full-brick wall, one brick thick), you need 120 bricks per m². These figures include 10mm mortar joints and use the standard UK brick size of 215 × 102.5 × 65mm.
The standard UK brick is 215 × 102.5 × 65mm (length × width × height). With 10mm mortar joints, the coordinating size is 225 × 112.5 × 75mm. This is the work size used by virtually all UK brick manufacturers, conforming to BS EN 771-1:2011+A1:2015 (the current clay masonry units specification).
Stretcher bond is a half-brick thick wall (102.5mm) where all bricks are laid lengthways. It is the most common bond for cavity wall construction. English bond alternates rows of stretchers and headers to create a full-brick thick wall (215mm), which is much stronger and used for retaining walls and older solid-wall construction.
Allow at least 10% wastage for bricks. Bricks are brittle and break during delivery and handling. Cutting around openings and corners also creates waste. For complex patterns, decorative work, or if you are a less experienced bricklayer, allow 15% wastage. You can also use our Mortar Calculator to work out the cement and sand needed for the mortar joints.
A standard pallet typically contains 400-500 bricks, depending on the manufacturer. Some facing bricks come in packs of 370-400, while engineering bricks are often packed at 400 per pallet. When ordering, round up to full packs to get the best price and ensure you have enough from a single batch for colour consistency.
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Last updated: February 2026
Verified against UK standards · estimates only, confirm with your supplier.