Brick Calculator

Bricks or blocks for a wall — the area is worked out for you, with doors, windows and other openings deducted.

Deducted at 1.9 m² each (standard 0.9m × 2.1m opening).
Deducted at 1.4 m² each (typical 1.2m × 1.2m opening).
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About this calculator

UK bricklaying has settled maths: a standard 215×102.5×65mm brick with 10mm joints gives 60 bricks per square metre in a single-skin wall, and a 440×215mm concrete block gives 10 per square metre. Enter the wall dimensions, pick the material, and get the quantity with waste included.

The wall area is calculated for you — tell it how many door and window openings the wall has (plus any custom opening area for gates, arches or vents) and they're deducted automatically, so you order bricks for the wall you'll actually build, not for the holes in it.

The formula

Gross area = Length × Height Net area = Gross − (Doors × 1.9) − (Windows × 1.4) − Other openings Units = Net area × Units-per-m² × (1 + Waste% ÷ 100)

Worked example

A garden wall 6m × 1.8m with one gate opening of 1.7 m², single skin, 5% waste:

  • Gross area = 10.8 m²; net area = 10.8 − 1.7 = 9.1 m²
  • Bricks = 9.1 × 60 × 1.05 ≈ 574 bricks

Common mistakes

  • Counting an opening's bricks anyway by entering the gross wall size and no openings.
  • Ordering exactly — cuts, breakages and rejects need the waste margin.
  • Forgetting the lintel over every opening, which must be ordered separately.
  • Ignoring the foundation: garden walls need a proper concrete footing sized to the wall.

Frequently asked questions

Standard allowances: 1.9 m² per door (0.9m × 2.1m) and 1.4 m² per window (about 1.2m × 1.2m). Openings of other sizes — gates, arches, vents — go in the "other openings" box as their actual m² (width × height).

Roughly 0.02 m³ per m² of single-skin brickwork — about one 25kg sand+cement mix per ~0.5 m². The calculator shows a volume estimate based on the net area.

Half-brick (single skin, 102.5mm) suits low garden walls with piers; anything taller or load-bearing usually needs a one-brick (215mm) wall — 120/m².

Same mortar, bigger joints per unit but fewer units — about 0.01 m³ per m².

Assumptions & limitations

Standard UK brick/block sizes with 10mm mortar joints; door openings deducted at 1.9 m² and windows at 1.4 m² (use "other openings" for non-standard sizes). Lintels excluded. Structural walls need building-regulations compliance.

Sources & verification

  • Brick Development Association — Industry guidance; ~60 bricks/m² in a half-brick wall with standard UK brick format (215×102.5×65 mm) and 10 mm joints

All sources last accessed 24 July 2026.

Formula last verified: 24 July 2026
Maintained by: Steve Davis, Founder & Editor — see our editorial standards

Spotted an error or an out-of-date figure? Report it — corrections are prioritised over all other work (see our corrections policy).

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