Brick and mortar calculator & cost estimator - brickwork calculation online

Brick and mortar calculator & cost estimator online

Brick calculator will help you to easily find the required number of bricks for brickwork, mortar, masonry mesh, lintels (if needed).

We consider and take into account the following elements:

• walls;
• window openings;
• door openings;
• end walls / pediments (gable end wall, trapezoidal, gambrel end wall);
• lintels;
• masonry mesh.

How to use it?

First you need to decide what type of bricks you are going to use in the house construction. If you choose brick, then you need to specify its dimensions and price:

• type (ceramic or red burnt clay bricks, engineering bricks; sand lime bricks or calcium silicate bricks);
• design (perforated bricks, hollow, cored or solid);
• size (single, Queen, double, Euro, modular);
• price per unit.

We strongly recommend you considering brick waste factor (losses due to breakages, etc.) — 3-5% is more than enough.

Then enter the data in fields of block "Walls dimensions". Run calculator separately for calculation of the external (+ internal load-bearing walls) and separately for wall partitions, since they have different mortar thickness. These and all other data, enter stick to a plan and documentation on your house.

• the total length of all walls (with the same mortar thickness);
• the height of the walls in the corners (ceiling height);
• the type of brickwork (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 bricks thick);
• the thickness of mortar in masonry (10, 15, 20 mm);
• masonry mesh (the feasibility of using you have to define yourself).

After that you can immediately scroll down and click "Calculate". The data will be correct with previously specified parameters.

If you want to get much more precise values, we provide the opportunity to take into account window openings, door openings, end walls, lintels and masonry mesh.

To activate these additional options you are interested in, click on the button "Add".

Enter the window and door dimensions:

• height, cm;
• width, cm;
• number.

If the roof of your home is different from the flat, specify the end walls parameters and it's quantity.

• height, m (at peak);
• lower height (distance from the floor to the peak of the lower rafter), m (only for trapezoidal end wall and gambrel end wall);
• building width, m;
• upper slope span (minor wall width), m (for trapezoidal and gambrel end wall).

Lintels are used for covering the window and door openings. Enter data in the fields:

• thickness, mm;
• length, m;
• quantity, pcs.

If you are going to strengthen the house construction — use reinforced brickwork (with masonry mesh), add the appropriate item and enter values:

• thickness, mm;
• quantity, pcs.

Width of the mesh and lintels will be the same as the brick width.

If you have any questions, suggestions or you've found an inaccuracy, please write in the comments or fill out the form on the website, we will soon reply.

How to calculate the number of bricks manually ?

In order to answer the question you must know the main types and sizes of bricks, brickwork methods, of course, the calculation method. You should be familiar with this information, at least, in order to understand the process and be confident in the accuracy of calculations

Types of bricks for masonry

First and foremost, bricks can be divided into two large groups depending on the material:

• ceramic (red burnt clay bricks, engineering bricks);
• silicate (sand lime bricks or calcium silicate bricks).

The red ceramic bricks made of high quality burnt clay with minimum amount of impurities. Red burnt clay bricks are created by forming, drying and firing in kilns at a temperature of from 1000 to 1300 degrees.

Calcium-silicate bricks is made of quartz sand and lime. Manufacturing process includes pressing and hardening under the conditions of saturated steam at a temperature of 170-200 degrees and a pressure of 8-12 ATM. Sometimes it could include the binding material addition, for example, titanium dioxide allows to preserve the white color of the product over decades.

Bricks can be:

• solid;
• hollow or perforated.

The solid brick must be a minimum 75% solid (less than 25% voids). It is the most durable brick type, used for load-bearing walls.

The hollow and perforated bricks contains the holes (voids - greater than 25% of the brick volume), holes are used to retain heat and improve insulation. The rate of voidness can reach 40%. They are cheaper, can reduce the total weight of the construction. Often it is used to create partition walls.

The last significant characteristic is the brick dimensions. It differs from country to country. Standard brick sizes in mm (average):

How to choose the thickness of the brick wall?

We recommend to choose the thickness of masonry based on loads, structural parameters of the house and local climatic conditions.

Minimum thickness of load-bearing masonry wall should be at least 304.8 mm (1 ft.) thick for maximum wall height of 10.668m (35 ft.). Moreover, the thickness of masonry wall needs to be increased by 101.6 mm (4in.) for each successive 10.668m (35 ft.) height or fractions of this height measured from the top of the masonry wall. For brick walls, a common thickness is 230mm or 9" (finished thickness).

There are a lot of different types of brick bonding (e.g. Stretcher Bond, Flemish Bond, Header Bond, etc.). The average thickness of the different types of masonry:

• half-brick wall (single leaf wall) – 120 mm;
• single wythe (one brick thick wall) – 250 mm;
• one-and-a-half-brick wall — 380 mm (10 mm is added for a mortar between the bricks);
• double wythe (double brick wall) – 510 mm (10 mm per mortar);
• two-and-a-half-brick wall – 640 mm.

We wish you a successful brickwork!