How Many Bricks for 400 Square Feet?
Brick to buy
2,880 brick
400 square feet of wall face in modular brick, 3/8 in joints, five percent waste.
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How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- Wall length50 ft
- Wall height8 ft
- Openings to deduct0 sq ft
- Brick sizeModular, 7 5/8 x 2 1/4
- Mortar joint0.375 in
- Waste allowance5 %
Brick to buy2,880 brick
| Net wall area | 400 sq ft |
|---|---|
| Brick per sq ft | 6.86 |
| Brick before waste | 2,743 |
| Courses | 37at 2.625 in per course |
| Mortar in the joints | 22.1 cu ft |
| Mortar to buy | 44.2 cu ftjoint volume doubled, see the assumptions |
| Mortar mix, 80 lb bags | 7437 brick per bag |
| Wall ties | 150 |
| Weep holes | 19 |
The material list this produces
| Brick | 2,880 |
|---|---|
| Mortar mix, 80 lb bags | 74 |
| Wall ties | 150 |
| Weep vents | 19 |
| Flashing, ft | 50 |
Brick size compared
The same wall in every brick size the calculator carries, at this page's area. Modular is the default because it is what most of the country builds with, but a wall specified in king or utility brick needs far fewer units and far less mortar, and the labor drops with the unit count.
| Brick size | Brick to buy | Brick per sq ft | Mortar mix, 80 lb bags |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modular | 2,880 brick | 6.86 | 74 |
| Standard | 2,752 brick | 6.55 | 73 |
| Queen | 2,420 brick | 5.76 | 50 |
| Engineer | 2,372 brick | 5.65 | 65 |
| King | 2,016 brick | 4.8 | 49 |
| Utility | 1,260 brick | 3 | 50 |
What else matters here
Four hundred square feet is one elevation of a small house, or the front of a larger one, and it is the first size where the number that matters is brick per square foot rather than brick.
For modular brick that figure is 6.86, and it is worth knowing because it is the only number on this page you can carry to another wall. Measure any face, multiply by 6.86, add your waste, and you have the order. It comes from the brick being 7 5/8 by 2 1/4 with a 3/8 joint, which makes each one occupy 8 by 2 5/8 of wall, and 144 divided by that is where the 6.86 lands.
It also means the deduction for openings is worth doing properly rather than ignoring. A single window at fifteen square feet is a hundred brick, and a 400 square foot elevation with two windows and a door is carrying enough openings to change the order by most of a cube.
What this calculator assumes
- Sizes are actual face dimensions, not nominal. A modular brick is 7 5/8 by 2 1/4, and it is the 3/8 joint around it that makes up the nominal 8 by 2 2/3 the coursing is laid out from.
- This is a single wythe, which is what a veneer is. A solid two wythe wall is twice the brick and twice the mortar.
- Mortar is the volume of the bed and head joints across the bed depth of the brick, doubled. The doubling is not a fudge, it lands the bag count on the figure printed on the bag: an 80 pound bag of mortar mix yields about 0.6 cubic feet and lays roughly 37 modular brick.
- Wall ties are one per 2.67 square feet, which is 16 inches horizontally by 24 vertically, the spacing in TMS 402 for anchored veneer.
- Weep holes are one every 33 inches along the base course, which is the usual reading of the 33 inch maximum.
Questions people ask
How many bricks do I need for 400 square feet?
2,880 modular brick, which is 2,743 for the wall plus a five percent waste allowance.
How many bricks are in a square foot?
6.86 modular brick. The brick is 7 5/8 by 2 1/4 and the 3/8 joint makes it occupy 8 by 2 5/8 of the wall, and 144 square inches divided by that area gives 6.86.
Should I deduct windows and doors?
Yes. At 6.86 brick a square foot, one ordinary window is about a hundred brick, so a few openings move the order by most of a cube.
The brick calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.