Brick & block quantity

Short-order a wall and you're back at the merchant chasing a part-pack of bricks that might not even match the batch you already laid. Over-order and you're storing pallets you didn't need. This calculator gives a working count from wall length and height, so you can order close to what the job actually takes.

Where the rate comes from

60 standard bricks per square metre is the long-standing UK trade figure for a single-skin wall laid in stretcher bond with 10mm mortar joints — it's what most builders' merchants and brick calculators use. A cavity wall is two skins, so it simply doubles to 120 per square metre. Standard concrete blocks (440 × 215mm face) come in at 10 per square metre, again in standard bond with typical joints.

Why waste allowance is worth keeping

Cuts at corners, openings and reveals all produce offcuts that can't be reused, and breakages happen in handling and on site. 5% is a reasonable default for a straightforward wall; push it up for a wall with lots of openings, corners or cuts.

A worked example

A 10m long, 2.4m high single-skin wall is 24m². At 60 bricks per square metre plus 5% waste, that's 1,512 bricks. The same wall built as a cavity wall needs 3,024 bricks — two full skins. In block, it's 252 blocks.

What this doesn't cover

This assumes standard-size units and a plain rectangular wall. Openings for doors and windows reduce the real count; non-standard brick sizes, thicker joints, or a bonding pattern like Flemish or English bond will shift the rate. Mortar quantity isn't included — work that out separately for the job.